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The electrophoretic pattern of the untreated common bean globulin cv. Flor de Mayo had 7 protein fractions ranging from 620 to 120 kilodaltons (kd). The last molecular weight corresponds to the monomeric form. One of the objectives of the present work was to establish a comparison among denaturation by heat, sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and dithiothreitol (DTT). At pH 6.0, two bands were resistant to heat treatment, after SDS treatment of the untreated globulin several bands disappeared and two new bands with 26 and 15 kd appeared. DTT did not change the electrophoretic pattern, due to the small quantity of free SH groups in the globulin. At pH 6.0, phaseolin is partly resistant to heat denaturation due to aggregation in an acidic environment. Isoelectrofocusing (IEF) and SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) separated phaseolin into 10 protein fractions. The hypothesis is that phaseolin or globulin aggregation is due to the charge difference of fractions.

Four varieties of common bean seeds stored at 4 degrees C, 80% relative humidity, for one to eight years showed no differences in proximal chemical composition, Seeds 5-6 years old absorbed more water than 1 to 4 year-old seeds. The cooking time required for five year-old seeds was 6 hours, while the fresh seeds needed 3/4-to-one hour cooking time. The most remarkable difference was in phytic acid content, which decreased 94% to 98% during long storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]