Dietary Fiber and Oligosaccharide Content in a Diverse Collection of Dry Edible Beans.

Dietary fiber consumption is associated with improved health benefits and reduced risk of chronic diseases such as obesity, type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.  However, the dietary fiber intake in the U.S. is currently well below recommended levels.  Dry edible beans have high levels of dietary fiber; however, the oligosaccharide portion of the fiber contributes to digestive problems in some individuals.  Therefore, an important goal is to improve the dietary fiber content of dry edible beans while lowering the oligosaccharide fraction.  This will result in more digestible beans with increased consumer acceptance.  To enhance fiber content and reduce oligosaccharides, approximately three-hundred diverse dry edible bean cultivars from the USDA Common Bean Coordinated Agricultural Project (BeanCAP) were evaluated for insoluble, soluble, and total dietary fiber, and the oligosaccharides stachyose and raffinose using the Integrated Total Dietary Fiber Assay (AOAC method 2009.01).  These results will be utilized for association mapping and to develop molecular markers for use in a breeding program to improve dietary fiber content and reduce oligosaccharides in dry edible beans.