BIOCHEMICAL AND NUTRITIONAL CHARACTERIZATION OF DIFFERENT SOYBEAN VARIETIES CULTIVATED IN PAKISTAN

Soybean (Glycine max L.), is preeminent global agricultural crop due to its alluring application in the manufacturing of a vast variety of foods along with its economic significance on national and international markets (Mcclain et al., 2018). Soybased products have become novel and attractive source of high-quality proteins with uniqueness of free from lactose and cholesterol (Ahsan et al., 2015). That’s why it is a plenteous and economical cradle of nourishment for vegetarians, lactose-intolerant persons, and patients who are milk-allergic and hypercholestrolemics (Jeske et al., 2017). Considering the compositional profile, soybean is a crucial source of edible protein and oil comprises about 36-40% protein that varies in different varieties, 20% oil contents, 15% soluble carbohydrates (raffinose, succrose and stachyose) and 15% insoluble carbohydrates (Leamy et al., 2017). It contains phenolics including phenolic acids, flavonoids and isoflavonoids with putative health benefits making it a momentous functional food (Zaheer and Akhtar, 2017). Soybean also comprises many micronutrients and phytochemical i.e. isoflavones, phytate, saponins , phytosterol, vitamins and minerals. The six isoflavone in soybean are daidzin, genistin, glycitin, daidzein, genistein, and glycitein and three major groups of isoflavones found in soybeans were genistein, daidzein, and glycitein (Li et al., 2018). Given the enormous agricultural importance of seed composition in soybean, it is not surprising that nutritional profile of soybean is also significant to control the prevalence of malnutrition among the individuals belong to developing and developed countries. Pakistan is among those developing countries which has highest prevalence rate of child malnutrition. According to the national nutrition survey, 33% children were underweight, nearly 44% were stunted, 15% wasted and 33% were suffering from iron deficiency (Asim and Nawaz, 2018). Keeping in view this alarming situation, it is essential to meet the mandate of nutritional status in these suffered communities and provide alternative supplies of protein. In this regard, legume seeds are of great interest for researchers and scientific community. All these strategies are appealing to the consumers because people are more concerned about the nutritional attributes of product to reduce the prevalence of life style related ailments (Schmidt, 2016). Health claims of soybean seed and oil are based on physicochemical characteristicsbut they are not taken into deliberation in present era. Based on therapeutic significance of soybean, food industries are mainly focusing to attain products with exceptional functional, nutritional and sensory potential along with significant market value. These significant reasons have increased consumer demand for nutritious and wholesome food which can help to improve their health and protect them from various diseases (Singh et al., 2018). Nature has blessed Pakistan with different seasons and has excellent growing conditions including soil, water, Pak. J. Agri. Sci., Vol. 56(1), 131-139; 2019 ISSN (Print) 0552-9034, ISSN (Online) 2076-0906 DOI:10.21162/PAKJAS/19.7319 http://www.pakjas. com.pk