Green moong, also known as mung beans (Vigna radiata L.), is a nutrient-rich legume that has been cultivated in Asia for thousands of years. When sprouted, these tiny beans transform into crunchy, delicate sprouts bursting with health benefits. The sprouting process not only enhances their nutritional value but also makes them easier to digest.
Packed with essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, green moong sprouts offer a range of benefits—from improving digestion and boosting immunity to promoting heart health and supporting weight management.
In this blog, we’ll explore the top benefits of mung bean sprouts, their nutritional profile, and why they deserve a regular spot on your plate.
Nutritional Value
Here is the nutritional value of green moong sprouts per 100 grams:
- Energy: 30 kcal
- Protein: 3.04 g
- Total Fat: 0.18 g
- Ash: 0.44 g
- Carbohydrate: 5.94 g
- Fiber: 1.8 g
- Total Sugars: 4.13 g
- Iron: 0.91 mg (5% Daily Value (DV))
- Magnesium: 21 mg (5% DV
- Copper: 0.164 mg (18% DV)
- Manganese: 0.188 mg (8% DV)
- Vitamin C: 13.2 mg (15% DV)
- Thiamin (B1): 0.084 mg (7% DV)
- Riboflavin (B2): 0.124 mg (10% DV)
- Niacin (B3): 0.749 mg (5% DV)
- Pantothenic Acid (B5): 0.38 mg (8% DV)
- Vitamin B6: 0.088 mg (5% DV)
- Folate: 61 mcg (15% DV)
- Vitamin K: 33 mcg (28% DV)
You might have wondered that Green mung beans contain over 20 grams of protein when dry, but sprouted mung beans have only 3 grams.
This is because sprouting increases water content, diluting the protein concentration. The actual protein amount remains similar, but it’s spread over a larger volume.
After sprouting, water content in mung beans grow from 9% to whopping 90.4%.
Health Benefits
Following are the benefits of green mung sprouts.
1. Rich in Antioxidants
Green mung sprouts are rich in antioxidants, which are responsible for their health promoting properties. These sprouts are a powerhouse of nutrients, particularly known for their high content of antioxidants such as flavonoids, phenolic acids, organic acids, and vitamin C.
Antioxidants help neutralize free radicals in the body, reducing oxidative stress and lowering the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
The sprouting process enhances the concentration of these beneficial compounds, making green mung sprouts an excellent addition to a healthy diet.
Studies suggest that the content of antioxidants like melatonin, gallic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, protocatechuic acid, vanillic acid, p-coumaric acid, and quercetin and their antioxidant activity increased during germination in mung beans.
The levels of melatonin, polyphenols, and total phenolic content (TPC) in green moong sprouts increase as the germination time extends, boosting their antioxidant activity. Sprouts grown in the dark have significantly higher amounts of melatonin and TPC compared to those exposed to 12 hours of light—with melatonin being 3.6 times higher and TPC 1.5 times higher.
What’s more?, sprouting mung beans increases their antioxidant content, boosting your nutritional intake, which can reduce the risk of various types of chronic diseases.
2. Enhanced Digestion and Nutrient Absorption
Sprouting mung beans enhances their digestion and nutrient bioavailability by breaking down complex compounds and activating enzymes.
During sprouting, starches are converted into simpler sugars, making them easier to digest.
The process also reduces anti-nutrients like phytic acid, which can inhibit the absorption of minerals such as iron, zinc, and calcium.
In fact, phytic acid levels decline by 76% during germination, which increases the bioavailability of zinc and iron by 3 and 2.4 times.
The improved bioavailability ensures that the body can better absorb these nutrients. Overall, sprouted mung beans are a nutrient-rich, easily digestible option for a healthy diet.
3. Supports Gastrointestinal Health
One of the standout green moong sprouts benefits is their ability to promote digestive health.
Usually legumes, including mung beans contain antinutrients, which are naturally occurring compounds that can interfere with the absorption of essential nutrients by binding to them, reducing their bioavailability.
Fortunately, sprouting can decrease these antinutrients and increase the nutritional components such as glucose, amino acids, fatty acids and polyphenols, promoting better absorption of nutrients in the body.
The fiber content in sprouts may aid in regulating bowel movements, preventing constipation, and promoting a healthy gut bacteria.
Green mung sprouts have also been shown to have antibacterial activity against Helicobacter Pylori, one of the most common bacterial infections that cause gastroduodenal disease, which involve inflammation, ulcers, or other forms of irritation in the lining of the stomach and duodenum.
Moreover, mung bean sprouts contain enzymes like amylase and protease that aid in the breakdown of carbohydrates and proteins, improving nutrient absorption and reducing the risk of digestive disorders.
Eating green mung sprouts regularly can keep your stomach healthy, while providing you essential nutrients with enhanced absorption in the body.
4. May Boost Immunity
Green moong sprouts are packed with immune-boosting nutrients like antioxidants, fiber, and vitamin C.
Fiber in mung bean sprouts is mainly made up of special plant-based carbohydrates called non-starch polysaccharides. These polysaccharides can activate macrophages, which are crucial cells in the immune response.
In cellular and animal studies, researchers found that a specific compound from mung beans, called verbascose, helped macrophages absorb harmful substances and increased the production of immune-supporting molecules.
Chronic inflammation is linked to diseases like autoimmune disorders, atherosclerosis, and even cancer. Fortunately, mung beans are rich in bioactive compounds, including polysaccharides, vitexin, isovitexin, and saponins. These natural agents help reduce inflammatory cytokines and prevent immune cells from becoming overactive, lowering the risk of disease progression.
Additionally, its vitamin C plays a key role in enhancing immune function by acting as a powerful antioxidant and supporting the activity of lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. It also helps regulate immune responses and promotes antibody production, which strengthens the body’s defense against infections.
Regular consumption of mung bean sprouts may help improve your body’s defense mechanism and reduce the risk of colds, flu, and other common ailments.
5. May Reduce the Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases
Maintaining a healthy heart is essential for overall well-being, and green moong sprouts can play a vital role in keeping your heart healthy.
Rich in antioxidants, mung bean sprouts may help reduce high cholesterol levels, which is one of the major risk factors of heart disease.
Animal studies indicate that mung bean sprouts may help lower total cholesterol and beta-lipoprotein levels, potentially reducing the risk of heart disease. Researchers attribute this effect to the phytosterols in mung beans, which resemble blood cholesterol. These plant compounds may interfere with cholesterol production and absorption, thereby promoting heart health.
High blood pressure is another major risk factor of cardiovascular diseases, which can break the walls of blood vessels throughout the body, particularly in the organs with smaller veins like eyes, kidney, brain and heart, leading adverse complications on your health.
Animal studies suggest that mung bean sprouts can significantly lower systolic blood pressure. The extracts also lowered the activity of the angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE), which plays a role in blood pressure regulation.
While promising, these effects are observed in animal studies only, more research on humans is necessary to confirm these results.
6. May Regulate Blood Sugar Levels
For individuals with diabetes or those at risk of developing the condition, green moong sprouts offer a natural way to help regulate their blood sugar levels.
Animal studies suggest that mung bean sprouts may help lower blood sugar, improve glucose tolerance, and boost insulin levels. They were also found to inhibit alpha-amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starch during digestion, helping control post-meal blood sugar levels.
Interestingly, while alpha-amylase inhibition was moderate in the early stages (days 0–2), it became stronger between days 4 and 10.
If you’re eating mung bean sprouts to manage blood sugar, consider cooking and storing them at lower temperatures. This process forms resistant starch, which can help reduce cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
A study found that germinated-steamed mung beans stored at 4°C for 24 hours had significantly higher levels of resistant starch and a lower glycemic index and amylose content compared to other cooking methods like boiling, pressure cooking, and roasting. Feeding these beans to rats resulted in a 96% drop in blood sugar levels compared to the control group.
While promising, more human studies are needed to confirm these effects.
7. Liver-Protecting Properties
The liver plays a vital role in metabolism, storage, and waste removal, but it can be damaged by alcohol, viruses, and autoimmune diseases.
In traditional medicine, mung bean sprouts are often used to treat liver-related conditions, highlighting their potential to promote overall liver health.
Legumes like mung beans contain bioactive compounds, fiber, and proteins with liver-protective effects. They may also neutralize free radicals and reduce oxidative stress, which can worsen non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
Animal studies suggest that mung beans and their proteins protect against liver injury by preventing fat buildup and inflammation, reducing oxidative stress, and suppressing fat-producing genes, helping prevent NAFLD.
NAFLD is a condition where excess fat accumulates in the liver of people who consume little to no alcohol.
Besides NAFLD, alcohol can also severely damage the liver through oxidative stress.
In alcohol-induced liver injury, mung bean extracts were shown to lower ALT, AST, total cholesterol, and triglycerides, while reducing oxidative stress markers and boosting antioxidant levels.
Interestingly, it was observed that germinated and fermented mung beans exhibited better liver-protecting properties compared to raw mung bean.
What’s more? Adding 2 or 3 servings of mung bean sprouts to your weekly diet may help protect your liver—whether from NAFLD or alcohol-induced damage. However, research on their effects in humans is still limited.
8. May Reduce the Risk of Cancer
Research suggests that the foods we eat can influence the risk of developing cancer at every stage of the disease, often in a protective way, despite other risk factors like genetics, smoking, obesity, and chronic inflammation.
Mung bean sprouts are a great source of dietary phenolics, which can prevent the growth and spread of tumors.
Cellular studies suggest that peptides, proteins, and phenolic acids from mung beans may slow the growth of cancer cells such as breast cancer, digestive system cancer, leukemia, skin cancer, and adenocarcinoma cells (cancer that starts in glandular tissue).
In another study, mung bean and adzuki bean sprouts enriched with probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum 299v showed strong antioxidant effects in human stomach cancer cells. However, adzuki bean sprouts were more effective, reducing cell growth and survival at lower doses than mung bean sprouts, showing both cancer-killing and growth-inhibiting effects.
However, these effects were observed in cellular studies, more research on animals humans is needed to find the efficacy of green mung sprouts on various types of cancer.
9. May Enhance Skin Health
Mung bean sprouts may offer impressive skin benefits due to their rich content of antioxidants, vitamins, and bioactive compounds.
Tyrosinase is a key enzyme involved in melanin production, and its abnormal activity can cause skin issues.
Mung beans showed the strongest tyrosinase-inhibiting effects when compared with mushroom and 15 other legumes. Researchers identified vitexin and isovitexin as the key compounds responsible. In fact, vitexin was found to be more effective than isovitexin.
Additionally, proanthocyanidins and condensed tannins from mung bean seed coats have also reduced tyrosinase activity and melanin production.
Selenium-enriched mung bean has shown skin-whitening, moisturizing, and anti-aging effects in cellular studies.
In a clinical trial with 31 Chinese women (25–60 years), a selenium-enriched mung bean face mask was found to significantly whiten skin, reduce wrinkles, and boost moisture after 4 weeks. Its antioxidant and tyrosinase-inhibiting effects lowered melanin production and improved skin hydration and elasticity.
While the study used mung beans, sprouts contain higher levels of bioactive compounds, which may offer even greater skin benefits.
Mung bean sprouts are also packed with vitamin C, a potent antioxidant that boosts collagen production, promotes wound healing, and protects against UV-induced damage. Vitamin C also brightens skin, reduces melanin production, and supports skin firmness and elasticity.
Simply mash a handful of mung bean sprouts and blend them with honey or aloe vera to create a mask that brightens your complexion.
Takeaways
Green moong sprouts are a nutritional powerhouse that offers an array of health benefits for both body and mind.
Whether you’re looking to improve digestion, boost immunity, protect liver, or enhance heart health, sprouts can be your go-to solution.
With their impressive nutrient profile and versatility in culinary applications, green moong sprouts deserve a prominent place on your plate.
So why wait? Embrace the goodness of green moong sprouts benefits for health and embark on a journey to a healthier, happier you!
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