Velvet bean (Mucuna pruriens): A sustainable protein source for tomorrow

Protein is one of the essential major nutrients required for the cell functioning in human body. Complete proteins, which are usually found in animal-based proteins, despite of having high biovailability also cause adverse effect on the environment and increased the risk of diet-related chronic diseases. Recent years have witnessed enhanced awareness about the health benefits of substituting animal-based proteins with plant-based proteins, especially in developed countries. Nitrogen-fixing grain legumes are considered important sources of protein in many developing countries as they are generally cheaper than meat or cereals. Extensive research has been conducted on several underutilized legumes with similar nutritional properties to soybean; one of these legumes is velvet beans (Mucuna pruriens). Though it is rich in protein (27%), complementary amino acid pattern to that of cereal grains exerts health beneficial properties, including antiparkinson, antidiabetic, and anticancer properties, it is limited for human consumption due to the presence of antinutrients. This review provides insight into the potential use of this underutilized legume in resolving the global protein crisis and address food insecurity issues. Additionally, the review focuses on various processing conditions necessary to utilize velvet bean for the development of food products and by-products like protein isolate, concentrate, flour and their functional properties, and toxicological viewpoint. This current might help in driving future research and applications in velvet bean as a sustainable, plant-based protein source for human foods along with the critical research areas for their improvement.