Abstract
The fate of cyanogenic compounds in butter beans and baby lima beans (Phaseolus lunatus L.) during the manufacturing process of bean paste on a laboratory scale was investigated. Linamarin, the main cyanogenic glycoside in the beans, was analyzed by FID-GC after trimethylsilylation and free cyanide was analyzed by ECD-GC using the head-space method.
The changes of linamarin and free cyanide contents showed similar decreasing tendencies in both beans though there was a six-fold difference of cyanogen content between butter beans and baby lima beans. Linamarin and free cyanide decreased greatly during the soaking and refining processes, but they decreased little during the boiling process. The percentage of residual cyanogen in the final bean paste was 0.3% in both kinds of beans. Linamarin was the main cyanogenic component in the original beans and at each step.
