Genetic Resources in the USDA, ARS, Pgrcu Legume Crop Germplasm Collections with Phyto-Pharmaceutical Uses.

Seventeen health functional legumes including butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea L.), Indigofera cassioides Rottler ex DC., I. linnaei Ali, I. suffruticosa Mill., hyacinth bean [Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet], velvetbean [Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC], jicama [Pachyrhizus erosus (L.) Urb.], winged bean [Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC.], Sesbania bispinosa (Jacq.) W. Wight, Teramnus labialis (L.f.) Spreng, moth bean [Vigna aconitifolia (Jacq.) Marechal], V. angularis (Willd.) Ohwi & H. Ohashi, V. mungo (L.) Hepper, celera bean [V. radiata (L.) R. Wilczek], cowpea [V. unguiculata (L.) Walp] and [V. unguiculata (L.) Walp g. unguiculata ], and wild cowpea [V. vexillata (L.) A. Rich.] have several phytochemicals and extracts which have been reported to have potential for use as medicinal food, nutraceutical, or functional vegetables in the United States and other countries worldwide. The objective of this study was to present a review of several legume species in the USDA, ARS, Plant Genetic Resources Conservation Unit’s (PGRCU) collection for potential use as non-traditional human medicinal plants. Specific phytochemicals or other trait attributes will be identified and discussed from these legumes. Potential phyto-pharmaceuticals including flavonoids, glycosides, phenolics, cliotides, steroids, and saponin, from butterfly pea flowers, seed coats, and roots; saponin, steroids, anthro-quinones, terpinoids, flavonoids, and phlabotanin from I. cassioides leaves; deguelin, dehydrodeguelin, rotenol, rotenone, tephrosin, and sumatrol from hyacinth bean seeds and roots; L-dopa from velvetbean and S. bispinosa seeds; pachyerosin from jicama seeds; vitexin from T. labialis aerial parts and flavonol glycoside from stems; caffeic, ferulic, cinnamic acids and kaempferol from moth bean sprouts; 7S globulins from celera bean seeds; defensin, unguilin, trypsin/chymotrypsin inhibitor, 7S globulins from cowpea seeds, and plant extracts with reported uses ranging from antifungal, antibacterial, antiasthmatic, anti-tuberculosis, anti-malaria, parkinson’s disease management, anti-cancer, antioxidant, oxidative stress reduction, cholesterol reduction, anti-Leishmania amazonensi, anti-breast cancer, anti-inflammatory, skin disease inhibition, reducing blood pressure, immunostimulation, and myocardial ischemia protection. These species could provide the medicinal, nutraceutical, and functional food industries with valuable health products and can be used by other scientist’s and breeders for the development of unique germplasm and/or advanced cultivars with one or more of these traits. Furthermore, plant species in the PGRCU collection need to be evaluated for the identification, quantification, and variability of potentially and very valuable health traits which are currently unknown.