Low-processing soybean
Low-processing soybeans require less processing prior to utilization to remove anti-nutritional factors. The labor and energy requirements needed to process conventional soybean varieties at the household level present a barrier to adoption in developing country environments.
Introduction
Soybean Innovation Lab researchers at the University of Missouri have identified methods for removing trypsin inhibitors and lectin (KTI and Le), the two factors that require heat processing for utilization.
Approach
The Soybean Innovation Lab is developing low-processing soybean varieties and releasing these adapted cultivars in 2017. The low KTI and Le null traits are being selected and developed from naturally occurring mutations and combined with conventional breeding. Therefore, no genetic transformation or recombinant DNA technology is being used in the effort.
Research Focus
Human nutrition at the household level is of critical importance to improving the health and well-being of families living in the developing world. SIL researchers are evaluating the low processing soybeans within nutrition adoption research to determine if difficulty of processing is a bottleneck for sustained household soy consumption.
