Mung beans help to clear body heat, reduce skin inflammation and detox the body
In China, mung beans (Vigna radiata) are a very popular food, especially in the hot summer months. They are grown in almost all the provinces of China.
Mung beans are a legume that contain balanced nutrients, including protein, dietary fibre, minerals, vitamins, and significant amounts of bioactive compounds.
Most families in China eat mung beans in their diet and use them widely in different recipes, such as mung bean noodles, mung bean cake, mung bean rice, mung bean soup, mung bean desserts and even mung bean wine.
They are also commonly sprouted to make mung bean sprouts. Mung bean soup is an extremely popular family dish in China during summer.
The nutritional properties of mung beans
Mung beans are recognised for their high nutritive value, composed of about 20%–25% protein of total dry weight. The protein in the mung beans contains a greater quantity of essential amino acids, including phenylalanine, leucine, isoleucine, valine, tryptophan, arginine, methionine, and lysine.
Mung bean carbohydrates are easily digestible, which causes less flatulence in humans compared to other forms of legumes. Mung beans and sprouts produce lower calories compared to other cereals which are advantageous for obesity and diabetic individuals. Owing to its palatable taste and nutritional quality, mung bean has been consumed as an iron-rich dietary source for infants and children (Ganesan & Xu, 2018).
The health benefits of mung beans
In addition to the nutritional properties of mung beans, the Chinese medicine Compendium of Materia Medica “(Bencao Gangmu)” has recorded that it can be used as Chinese traditional medicine for its detoxification activities, recuperation of mentality, ability to alleviate heat stroke, and regulation of gastrointestinal upset (Hou et al., 2019).
Recent studies have identified many other potential health benefits of mung beans, such as its hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects and its antihypertensive, anticancer, anti-melanogenesis, hepatoprotective, and immunomodulatory properties (Hou et al., 2019).
Clear heat and prevent summer heat-stroke
Chinese medicine understands that the external environment has a strong influence on the body.
For example, in a hot climate, the body will absorb more heat from its external environment, and if the body cannot release this heat by itself, physical symptoms may occur including: feeling hot and sweaty, red face, thirst, dry skin, constipation, lack of energy, headache and/or dizziness.
Mung beans have been shown to regulate body temperature and prevent heat stroke. Cooked mung bean drink is best kept refrigerated which helps to keep it fresh and increase its health effects.
Mung beans have been consumed in several cuisines and in traditional medicine to treat heat stroke connected with thirst, irritation, and high body temperature, detoxification, and these health promoting effects of mung bean seeds and sprouts are believed to be associated with the inflammatory response in Asian countries (Luo et al. 2016).
Drinking two or three cups a day of this drink will help to release the summer heat and rebalance the body’s yin and yang.
During the hot seasons, traditional Chinese medicine recommends foods that are cooling in nature which can assist the body to release excess heat and cool down. Ideally, these types of foods should be part of the daily diet during summer.
Reduce skin inflammation
Traditional Chinese medicine texts categorise mung beans as sweet in taste and cooling in nature. Mung beans affect the Heart channel and clear heat and toxins from the skin, and cool heat in the blood.
Therefore, mung beans may help to reduce inflammatory skin symptoms, such as the common skin rash, cold sores, mouth ulcers, pimples and boils.
Scientific research has found that mung beans have strong anti-inflammatory properties and even antiviral effects against herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) that causes cold sores.
To benefit skin conditions, mung bean soup should be thick in consistency and consumed at room temperature (see the recipe below).
Clear toxins from the body
The proteins, tannins and flavonoids in mung beans are also considered effective for binding to and clearing pesticides and heavy metals like mercury and lead from the body.
Mung bean soup recipes
Here are two versions of mung bean soup recipes. The first is a popular home-made drink cooked by many Chinese families to keep cool in hot and humid summer weather. The latter is suitable for certain damp and heat syndrome skin conditions.
Mung bean drink recipe for summer heat and hot weather
This recipe is suitable to clear body heat and prevent heat stroke during a hot summer.
2 handfuls of mung beans 7 cups of water
Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes on low heat. Set the soup aside to cool (once cooled it can also be refrigerated).
Drink this thin soup as required. The beans can also be eaten if soft enough.
Mung bean soup recipe for skin conditions
This recipe can help to clear skin heat and reduce acne and other skin complaints as mentioned above.
2 handfuls of mung beans 4 cups of water
Bring to the boil for 3 minutes in a saucepan, then remove from heat and cover with a lid. Allow the beans to soak in the boiled water for 30 minutes then strain and drink the thick liquid soup.
This process can be repeated once more using the same batch of mung beans.
It is recommended to drink one cup of this soup twice a day in conjunction with regular treatment. Give yourself two days break from the soup after every five days.
3. Precautions and diet advice
Mung beans are generally not suitable for people who have a cold body constitution. Avoid eating mung beans if you have diarrhoea or often experience cold symptoms such as cold hands and feet.
If you are unsure of whether or not mung beans are suitable for you, or if your symptoms persist, please consult with your experienced traditional Chinese medicine practitioner.
Food as medicine (A disclaimer)
Our “food as medicine” articles share knowledge about health foods in the context of traditional Chinese medicine diet therapy and practices often dating back thousands of years. We also support this knowledge with references to published scientific research. Please keep in mind that scientific research into the health benefits of foods is still emerging and human research is limited.
Consuming a wide variety of natural foods as part of a balanced diet is most beneficial for health, however, we don’t advise using food alone to treat diseases. Please consult with your doctor or health professional about which foods are suitable for your body or health issues.
What Does The Research Say?
The following insights are obtained from scientific studies, systematic reviews and analysis of clinical trials investigating the efficacy of Mung Beans.
2019 Nutrients
The mung bean has been documented to ameliorate hyperglycemia, hyperlipemia, and hypertension, and prevent cancer and melanogenesis, as well as possess hepatoprotective and immunomodulatory activities.
The mung bean has been documented to ameliorate hyperglycemia, hyperlipemia, and hypertension, and prevent cancer and melanogenesis, as well as possess hepatoprotective and immunomodulatory activities. These health benefits derive primarily from the concentration and properties of those active compounds present in the mung bean. Vitexin and isovitexin are identified as the major polyphenols, and peptides containing hydrophobic amino acid residues with small molecular weight show higher bioactivity in the mung bean.
Mung Bean (Vigna radiata L.): Bioactive Polyphenols, Polysaccharides, Peptides, and Health Benefits Hou, D., Yousaf, L., Xue, Y., Hu, J., Wu, J., Hu, X., Feng, N., & Shen, Q. (2019).
2018 Food Science and Human Wellness
The consumption of mung beans and sprouts in regular basis are not only providing nutrients, but also maintains the microbial flora in the gut, reduces the absorption of toxic compounds, decreases the menace of obesity, hypercholesterolemia, and cardiovascular diseases, and also prevents cancer and diabetes.
Based on the high constituents and efficacy of the bioactive compounds, mung beans are playing a greater role in radical scavenging activities, detoxification, and also exhibits chemo-preventive effects. These compounds have the potential health benefit as a complementary and alternative medicine which is exerted for its antioxidant, hepatoprotective, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, cardioprotective, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, anticancer, anti-obesity, hypolipidemic, and potent chemopreventive properties.
A critical review on phytochemical profile and health promoting effects of mung bean (Vigna radiata) Kumar Ganesan, Bao junXu
2016 Food Chemistry
In 2004, polyphenols were isolated from mung bean sprouts, which exert antibacterial activity against Helicobacter pylori, one of the most common causative organisms in gastrointestinal disorders.
The utility of bioactive compounds from food legumes as natural antimicrobial agents are commonly known as biocides. Mung bean sprouts have potent antiviral and prophylactic activities against respiratory syncytial virus and Herpes Simplex virus −1, and these activities were comparable with Acyclovir. The underlying mechanism was attributed to active components of mung bean sprouts potentially induce antiviral cytokines in human cells and thereby nullify the actions on viral proliferation. Similarly, antifungal and antiviral potency of two beans proteins, designated alpha (28 kDa) and beta (28 kDa) proteins were isolated and were capable of inhibiting human immunodeficiency virus reverse transcriptase and glycohydrolases associated with HIV infection. Further, antifungal peptides (7.3 kDa, 9.03 kDa) were isolated from beans, which exerted an antifungal effects and inhibited mycelial growth in Fusarium oxysporum, F. solani, Pythium aphanidermatum, Sclerotium rolfsii, Mycosphaerella arachidicola, and antibacterial effects on Staphylococcus aureus. In addition, two proteins, Mungin (18-kDa) and chitinase (30.8 kDa) isolated from mung bean seeds possess antifungal activity against Rhizoctonia solani, Coprinus comatus, Mycosphaerella arachidicola, Botrytis cinerea, and Fusarium oxysporum. Mungin and chitinase exert an inhibitory activity against α- and β-glucosidases, suppressing [3H] thymidine in the corporation by mouse splenocytes. In 2004, polyphenols were isolated from mung bean sprouts, which exert antibacterial activity against Helicobacter pylori, one of the most common causative organisms in gastrointestinal disorders. Furthermore, several in vitro and in vivo studies have also been reported that mung bean seeds are protective against sepsis.
Phytochemical distribution in hull and cotyledon of adzuki bean (Vigna angularis L.) and mung bean (Vigna radiate L.), and their contribution to antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic activities Jiaqiang Luo, Weixi Cai, Tong Wu, Baojun Xu
2015 BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies
Mung bean sprout extract has potent antiviral and to a lesser extent, prophylactic activities against both RSV and HSV-1, and in case of HSV-1, these activities were comparable to Acyclovir.
MBS extract has potent antiviral and to a lesser extent, prophylactic activities against both RSV and HSV-1, and in case of HSV-1, these activities were comparable to Acyclovir. Part of the underlying mechanism(s) of these activities is attributed to MBS potential to remarkably induce antiviral cytokines in human cells. Hence, we infer that MBS methanol extract could be used as such or as purified active component in protecting and treating RSV and HSV-1 infections. More studies are needed to pinpoint the exact active components responsible for the MBS antiviral activities.
Novel antiviral activity of mung bean sprouts against respiratory syncytial virus and herpes simplex virus −1: an in vitro study on virally infected Vero and MRC-5 cell lines Hafidh, R.R., Abdulamir, A.S., Abu Bakar, F. et al.
2014 BMC Chemistry
Mung bean protein, tannin, and other polyphenols are thought to combine with organophosphorus pesticides, mercury, arsenic, and other heavy metals, promoting the excretion of sediments from the body.
In ancient books, mung beans were well known for their detoxification activities. Mung bean protein, tannin, and other polyphenols are thought to combine with organophosphorus pesticides, mercury, arsenic, and other heavy metals, promoting the excretion of sediments from the body. Mung beans have been shown to possess antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory activities. Moreover, mung beans have antidiabetic, antihypertensive, lipid metabolism accommodation, antihypertensive, and antitumor effects, among others.
A review of phytochemistry, metabolite changes, and medicinal uses of the common food mung bean and its sprouts (Vigna radiata) Tang, D., Dong, Y., Ren, H. et al.
2014 BMC Chemistry
A study demonstrated that all pro-inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-12β, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and inducible NO synthase (iNOS), were dramatically down regulated in cells treated with 3.7 mg/mL polyphenols.
In Asia, mung beans have been used in various cuisines and in folk remedies to treat toxic poisoning, heat stroke associated with thirst, irritability, and fever; these beneficial effects of mung beans are thought to be related to the inflammatory response.
Researchers have analyzed the anti-inflammatory effects of mung bean ethanol extracts on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophages. The extract mainly included polyphenols, gallic acid, vitexin, and isovitexin and markedly reduced the activity of murine macrophages through the prevention of pro-inflammatory gene expression without cytotoxicity. Moreover, a study demonstrated that all pro-inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-12β, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and inducible NO synthase (iNOS), were dramatically down regulated in cells treated with 3.7 mg/mL polyphenols. These results suggested that the ethanol extract had great potential to improve the clinical symptoms of inflammation-associated diseases, such as allergies and diabetes.
The immune modulatory activities of mung bean water extracts and monomers on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) have also been evaluated by BrdU immunoassay, secretion of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and IL-10, and elucidation of the responding cells by flow cytometry. The results demonstrated that 20 μg/mL genistein, phytic acid, and syringic acid induce a Th1-predominant immune response through significant suppression of IL-10 secretion and promotion of IFN-γ secretion. The study concluded that several non-nutritional ingredients of mung beans, such as flavonoids, acids, and plant hormones, are most likely to be important in the modulation of human immunity.
A review of phytochemistry, metabolite changes, and medicinal uses of the common food mung bean and its sprouts (Vigna radiata) Tang, D., Dong, Y., Ren, H. et al.
2014 BMC Chemistry
Germination is thought to improve the nutritional and medicinal qualities of mung beans.
In recent years, studies have shown that the sprouts of mung beans after germination have more obvious biological activities and more plentiful secondary metabolites since relevant biosynthetic enzymes are activated during the initial stages of germination.
During the germination process of the mung bean, its chemical constituents undergo a series of biochemical reactions. One such reaction is the synthesis of small active compounds from macromolecular substances, promoting absorption and utilization. Another change observed during germination is the formation and accumulation of many types of active substances, such as polyphenols, saponins, vitamin C, etc. Therefore, we believes that these changes in the chemical composition of mung beans during germination will lead to substantial and important changes in the pharmacological activities of mung beans as well.
A review of phytochemistry, metabolite changes, and medicinal uses of the common food mung bean and its sprouts (Vigna radiata) Tang, D., Dong, Y., Ren, H. et al.
Scientific References
Browse our collection of scientific research on Mung Beans. It includes recent and reputable papers published by peer-reviewed journals within the last 10 years.
2019, May 9
Mung Bean (Vigna radiata L.): Bioactive Polyphenols, Polysaccharides, Peptides, and Health Benefits
Nutrients
The study highlights that mung bean contains abundant nutrients and bioactive compounds. These are polyphenols, polysaccharides, and polypeptides, various other pharmacological properties. Therefore, it is favourable to our daily nutritional benefits as well as nutraceutical.
Hou, D., Yousaf, L., Xue, Y., Hu, J., Wu, J., Hu, X., Feng, N., & Shen, Q. (2019). Full Article
2018, Mar
A critical review on phytochemical profile and health promoting effects of mung bean (Vigna radiata)
Food Science and Human Wellness
This article found mung beans to have high nutritional benefits in particular antioxidant, anti-diabetic, antimicrobial, anti-hyperlipidemic and antihypertensive effect. Further studies conducted also found it to have anti-inflammatory, and anticancer, anti-tumor and anti-mutagenic properties.
Kumar Ganesan, Bao junXu Full Article
2018, Feb
Mung bean proteins and peptides: nutritional, functional and bioactive properties
Food & Nutrition Research
This scientific article has highlighted the health benefits of mung beans. In particularly the anti-fungal and antibacterial protein, which also has anti-mitogenic activities. Thus, it is a great source of bioactive nutritional protein in daily lives.
Zhu, Y.-S., Shuai, S., & FitzGerald, R. Full Article
2016, Jun 15
Phytochemical distribution in hull and cotyledon of adzuki bean (Vigna angularis L.) and mung bean (Vigna radiate L.), and their contribution to antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic activities
Food Chemistry
The results indicated that the bean hulls were the most abundant in phytochemicals and largely contributed antioxidant activities, anti-inflammatory effects and anti-diabetic effects of whole grains.
Jiaqiang Luo, Weixi Cai, Tong Wu, Baojun Xu Full Article
2015, Jun 11
Novel antiviral activity of mung bean sprouts against respiratory syncytial virus and herpes simplex virus −1: an in vitro study on virally infected Vero and MRC-5 cell lines
BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies
MBS extract has potent antiviral and to a lesser extent, prophylactic activities against both RSV and HSV-1, and in case of HSV-1, these activities were comparable to Acyclovir. Part of the underlying mechanism(s) of these activities is attributed to MBS potential to remarkably induce antiviral cytokines in human cells. Hence, we infer that MBS methanol extract could be used as such or as purified active component in protecting and treating RSV and HSV-1 infections. More studies are needed to pinpoint the exact active components responsible for the MBS antiviral activities.
Hafidh, R.R., Abdulamir, A.S., Abu Bakar, F. et al. Full Article
2014, Jan 17
A review of phytochemistry, metabolite changes, and medicinal uses of the common food mung bean and its sprouts (Vigna radiata)
BMC Chemistry
This article highlighted the importance of food as medicine with the findings of mung beans to have medicinal properties of antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, lipid metabolism accommodation, antihypertensive, and antitumor effects. Mung bean seeds and sprouts are excellent examples of functional foods that lower the risk of various diseases. Moreover, the seeds and sprouts have health-promoting effects in addition to their nutritive value.
Tang, D., Dong, Y., Ren, H. et al. Full Article
Dr. K
Thank you for this article! As a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine, I have found the benefits of mung beans undeniable. For patients with heat toxin tumors–cancerous and benign–mung beans are a key superfood in my patients’ nutritional plans.
AbdulRahman Ismail
This is an interest article and very beneficial. thank you
Klyne JEFFRESON
This is a great article! Thanks so much.
I noticed it warns not to eat if you have cold hands or feet, however I also suffer from heat related skin conditions/damp heat. Can I eat mung beans then?
Ping Ming Health
Dear Klyne, then we can suggest eating mung beans that are well cooked and at room temperature or warmer for the damp-heat. If you find that this worsens your digestion, then you may need to visit a Chinese medicine practitioner for a check up to rebalance your body.
Anna
Cooked 500 grams of mung beans today. Never know it has so many benefits. Afterall, it’s easy to find and not expensive at all!
Karin Kelly
Thanks sooo much for this article and recipe. I make the 2(i) recipe and I find it fantastic for my rosacea. Also it is good on my digestion because I find I can’t eat the whole bean without getting gas/abdominal bloating. I was thinking of letting the rosacea society know about this as I have found it fantastic for taking the redness from my complexion. Can I tell them of the benefits and suggest they provide a link in their website (if they are agreeable of course!!).
Fede
hi karin do ou onl take mung bean internall or applied to our skin? I got rosacea too thanks