Metabolic regulation of vitexin-like compound accumulation during mung bean (Vigna radiata) seed development

Mung bean has a long history as a legume used for both food and medicine, and contains biologically active substances such as vitexin, so it is critical to study the molecular mechanism of vitexin synthesis and metabolism in mung bean for biofortification. In this study, four mung bean varieties (LL655, SH-1, ZL-5, and ZL-13) with different seed coat colors were chosen to study the dynamic change patterns of the content of vitexin-like compounds and the key genes of their anabolic pathways during mung bean seed development, and the antioxidant activity was evaluated to reveal the nutritious profiles of mung bean seeds during development.

Results showed that the contents of both vitexin and isovitexin gradually increased with seed maturation, with vitexin being the most abundant characteristic phenolics. I2'H and IF7MAT positively regulated the accumulation of vitexin-like compounds. The antioxidant capacity of mung bean seeds generally increased during maturation. Transcription factors belonging to AP2/ERF, MYB, and bHLH families may have the ability to regulate phenolic accumulation during seed development.

These findings elucidated the expression patterns of genes involved in the metabolic pathway for the synthesis of vitexin-like compounds in mung bean, laid the groundwork for the biofortification of mung bean crops via molecular breeding, and provided a reference for the cultivation of high-quality mung bean varieties. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.