Determination of total protein and amino acid contents in some legumes

In this study, it was aimed to determine the total protein amounts and essential and non-essential amino acidprofiles in widely consumed legume varieties such as glycine max (soybean), vigna unguiculata (cowpea),vigna radiate (mung bean), cranberry beans (kidney bean), phaseolus vulgaris l. (ıspir dry bean), phaseolus vulgaris l. (Gezin dry bean), lens culinaris (red lentil), lens culinaris (green lentils), pisum sativum (pea) and cicer arietinum (chickpeas) and to compare these values with each other. By revealing the nutritional values of these legumes, the study aims to contribute both to making more informed choices for individuals' protein needs and to the more effective evaluation of legumes in the food industry. In the research, seed samples were taken from different growing regions and laboratory analyses were performed. Protein contents were analyzed by spectrophotometer and the amounts of amino acid were analyzed by using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The total protein content in legumes varied between 337.75 mg and 154.15 mg. As a result of the analyses performed, it has soybean (337.75±15.42) determined that glycine max are the most protein-rich legumes. It was found that the legumes that are the richest in protein after glycine max are faba bean, mung bean and kidney bean, respectively, while the legume with the least protein content is chickpea (154.15±7.95). Of the non-essential amino acids, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, asparagine, glycine, glutamine, alanine and pyrroline are found in soybeans the most; while serine and tyrosine are mostly found in kidney beans; cysteine is found mostly in ispir beans. Of the essential amino acids, histidine, leucine are found most often in soybeans; while valine, thronin, ısoleucine, phenylalalin are found most often in kidney beans; arginine, tryptophan, lysine and methionine are found most often in cowpeas. In this case, it can be said that non-essential amino acids are mostly found in soybeans, kidney beans and ispir beans; while essential amino acids are found in soy beans, kidney beans and cowpeas. It has been found that the highest amount of total essential amino acids is found in the soybeans, cowpeas and kidney beans, while the least is found in chickpeas. It has been determined that the legume that is the richest in terms of total non-essential amino acids, total amino acids and total protein is soybeans, and the lowest is chickpeas. Keywords: Legume, Amino acid, Protein.