Mung bean

Studies in people

• Benefit

  Muscle strength in vegetarians³

  In a small trial, vegetarians taking mung bean protein daily gained a little strength, but this may not hold for everyone.

Animal and lab studies only

• Benefit

  Gut inflammation in mice⁹

  In animal studies, mung bean coat fiber with its bound polyphenols eased colitis symptoms in mice, but fiber without them did not.

• Benefit

  Gut and immune health¹⁰

  In animal studies, mung bean extract helped protect the gut and immune system from a chemotherapy drug.

• Benefit

  Alcohol-related liver damage¹¹

  In animal studies, mung bean extract eased alcohol-related liver damage, partly by boosting a gut germ and spermidine.

Study type not stated

• Open question

  Cancer prevention⁷

  Scientists do not yet know whether mung bean can help prevent cancer in people.

• Benefit

  Blood sugar and heart health⁸

  Mung bean is rich in protein and fiber, and studies suggest it may help with blood sugar and cholesterol.

Found in some samples or products

These come from where it was grown, how it was processed or cooked, or what it was made into. They are not about the ingredient itself, so the signal does not count them.

• Food poisoning from sprouts⁴

  In 2011, mung bean sprouts contaminated with Salmonella made 106 people in Germany and 20 in the Netherlands ill.

• Foodborne parasites in sprouts⁶

  Mung bean sprouts were more often contaminated with Cryptosporidium and Giardia than other produce in a Norwegian survey.

Allergies and intolerances

These are about people with an allergy, an intolerance or coeliac disease. The signal is about the ingredient itself, and these are about the person eating it, so the signal does not count them.

• Pollen food cross-reaction⁵

  Some people allergic to birch pollen also react to mung bean sprouts, because mung bean proteins resemble the birch pollen allergen.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.