Nutritional, Phytochemical, Mineral, and Morphological Variations in Hyacinth Bean (Lablab purpureus L.) Cultivars at Different Developmental Stages.

The hyacinth bean (Lablab purpureus L.), is a major winter legume in Bangladesh. However, there is very little information on how different cultivars and developmental stages of this legume affect its nutritional profile concerning pod composition. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to determine how both genotype and developmental stage (maturity) affect the morphological characteristics, proximate composition, phytochemical characteristics, and mineral composition of hyacinth bean pods grown in Bangladesh. We examined six commercially grown genotypes, which included four improved BARI cultivars collected at three stages (immature, premature, and mature) from four different BARI research stations throughout Bangladesh, as well as two local varieties bought from Chattogram markets. The morphological characteristics were measured using precision measuring devices and included total stem and leaf area, total pod and seed weight, and pod length; proximate analysis included moisture content, crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, and ash content; physicochemical analysis was accomplished using approved AOAC methods; for phytochemical analysis, we determined total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and total Vitamin C content (TVC); finally, for mineral analysis we determined the amounts of calcium (Ca), potassium (K), phosphorus (P), and iron (Fe) in each genotype using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. In all cases, statistical analysis was conducted using two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) at α = 0.05. Significant genotype- and stage-dependent differences were observed. Pod weight and dry matter increased with maturity, while moisture decreased. Potassium was the predominant mineral (780.3-2346.0 mg/kg DW). Immature pods exhibited relatively higher antioxidant-associated phytochemicals. The study highlights the large amount of compositional diversity available among hyacinth bean cultivars and developmental periods, which indicates that this may have the potential to be a useful tool for crop selection and diet diversification in Bangladesh.