Bioscience Evidence 2026, Vol.16, No.4, 202-220 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/be 202 Review Article Open Access Advances in Research on the Bioactive Components and Health Effects of Mung Bean as a Medicinal and Edible Plant Meili Chen Jinhua Wucheng Chenmeili Family Farm, Jinhua, 321075, Zhejiang, China Corresponding email: ameilove23@126.com Bioscience Evidence, 2026, Vol.16, No.4 doi: 10.5376/be.2026.16.0016 Received: 03 Jun., 2026 Accepted: 02 Jul., 2026 Published: 10 Jul., 2026 Copyright © 2026 Chen, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Chen M.L., 2026, Advances in research on the bioactive components and health effects of mung bean as a medicinal and edible plant, Bioscience Evidence, 16(4): 202-220 (doi: 10.5376/be.2026.16.0016) Abstract Mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) is an important medicinal and edible legume crop. It is rich in various functional components, including polyphenols, flavonoids, polysaccharides, bioactive peptides, and phytosterols, which contribute to its high nutritional value and wide range of health-promoting effects. This paper systematically reviews recent advances in the composition, metabolic changes, and health benefits of bioactive compounds in mung bean. The results show that vitexin, isovitexin, polysaccharides, and bioactive peptides are the major substances responsible for its biological activities. These compounds can exert antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, antihypertensive, hepatoprotective, and immunoregulatory effects by regulating signaling pathways such as Nrf2, PI3K/Akt, NF-κB, and TLR4. A large number of in vitro studies, animal experiments, and limited human clinical studies have demonstrated that mung bean and mung bean sprout products have good potential for improving metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, gut microbiota imbalance, and oxidative stress-related damage. At the same time, processing technologies such as germination, fermentation, thermal treatment, and ultrasound-assisted treatment can significantly alter the composition of bioactive compounds in mung bean, improve their bioavailability and functional activity, and provide technical support for the development of functional foods and nutraceutical products. Although the medicinal and edible value of mung bean has attracted considerable attention, there are still gaps in understanding the structure-activity relationships of its bioactive compounds, their mechanisms of action, clinical evidence, and the development of standardized products. Future studies should focus on multi-omics analysis, human clinical validation, and precision processing technologies to promote the industrial development and high-value utilization of mung bean-based functional products. Keywords Mungbean (Vigna radiataL.); Medicinal and edible homology; Bioactive compounds; Health effects; Functional foods 1 Introduction Mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) is an important legume crop worldwide, especially in Asia. It is not only a common food in the daily diet but also a traditional medicinal resource with a long history of use. Mung bean is rich in high-quality protein, dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, and various bioactive compounds, including polyphenols, polysaccharides, and peptides. Because of these nutritional and functional components, it is increasingly recognized as a functional food with both nutritional and health-promoting properties (Singh and Kaur, 2021). In traditional Chinese medical classics such as Compendium of Materia Medica (Ben Cao Gang Mu), mung bean was recorded as a food and medicine used to clear heat, remove toxins, relieve summer heat, and improve gastrointestinal function, reflecting its long-standing role as a medicinal and edible resource. With the development of modern nutrition and functional food science, the potential applications of mung bean and its sprouts in foods, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics have received increasing attention. From the perspective of medicinal and edible resources, mung bean seeds and sprouts provide high levels of easily digestible protein, carbohydrates, and dietary fiber. They also contain a wide range of phytochemicals, including flavonoids, phenolic acids, polysaccharides, bioactive peptides, and phytosterols. Flavonoids represented by vitexin and isovitexin are the major polyphenols in mung bean seeds, while small peptides containing hydrophobic amino acids exhibit high biological activity. Together, these compounds provide the material basis for the pharmacological effects of mung bean (Mehta et al., 2021). Germination and other processing methods can also significantly change the metabolite profile of mung bean, generally leading to increased polyphenol content and antioxidant capacity, thereby further improving its health-promoting properties.
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