Adzuki and mung beans have long been staples in Asian cuisine, commonly featured in desserts and pastries as paste fillings and soup ingredients. Now, these versatile legumes are being reimagined as the next generation of plant-based milk alternatives (PBMAs), with the potential to join popular options such as almond, oat and soybean milk on supermarket shelves.
Senior Research Officer Dayna Ong and Senior Scientist Jie Hong Chiang are leading efforts at the A*STAR Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (A*STAR SIFBI) to turn these underutilised Asian crops into nutritious and flavourful PBMAs.
“We chose adzuki and mung beans for their cultural familiarity and versatility,” Ong and Chiang explained , emphasising their appeal to consumers seeking variety beyond traditional dairy and soy-based beverages.
In a recent investigation, Ong, Chiang and A*STAR SIFBI colleagues did a thorough chemical analysis of the nutritional qualities of a prototype adzuki bean milk (ABM) and mung bean milk (MBM), comparing them to store-brand soybean and cows’ milk. They then tested the sensory experience of both prospective PBMAs with a panel of 60 adult volunteers, who rated their look, smell, taste, texture and overall likeability.
Compared to soybean milk, ABM and MBM offer distinct dietary advantages, the team found. “These PBMAs contain lower levels of antinutrients such as phytic acid and purines,” Ong and Chiang noted. As phytic acid can reduce the body’s ability to absorb essential minerals, and excessive purine is linked to conditions like gout, lower levels of both could make ABM and MBM more attractive choices for those with specific dietary concerns.
Health- and sugar-conscious consumers may also appreciate ABM and MBM’s lower carbohydrate content versus commercial soybean milk, as well as their sensory appeal: both PBMAs were found to contain lower concentrations of volatile compounds such as 2-pentyl-furan, hexanal, 2-hexenal and 1-octen-3-ol, which create soybean milk’s ‘beany’ or ‘grassy’ flavour notes.
“Their milder flavour profile makes them more palatable for a wider range of consumers,” Ong and Chiang added, noting that the team’s ABM performed particularly well among panel participants.
However, consumer acceptance of ABM and MBM in markets like Singapore may prove challenging, where soybean milk is already deeply ingrained in local diets and often introduced at a young age. Furthermore, more work remains to optimise protein content and essential amino acid composition of both PBMAs to match the nutritional standards of soybean and bovine counterparts, the researchers noted.
Ong and Chiang highlighted high-pressure processing, a manufacturing technique which breaks down plant cells, as a promising way to boost ABM and MBM’s protein content. Their fortification with vitamin D is another potential avenue to address a common nutritional deficiency among Singaporeans and other populations with limited sun exposure.
The team concluded that ABM and MBM represent a promising addition to the PBMA market, combining cultural relevance with nutritional potential to offer consumers more diverse options in future dairy-free aisles.
The A*STAR-affiliated researchers contributing to this research are from the A*STAR Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (A*STAR SIFBI).
