Nutrional Information on Glycine Max (Soy Bean)

Other Common Names: Chiang, Chiang Yu, Hei Tou, Huang Tou, Jen Shu, Jung Shu, Pai Tou, Shih Tou, Shih Yu, Shu, Soy Bean, Soya, Soya Fasulyasi, Soybean, Ta Tou, Ta Tou Huang Chuen, Ta Tou Shih, Tou Fu, Tou Huang, Tou Yu, Wild Soybean, Glycine max

Range: Asia; China; India; Japan; USA

Habitat: Lowland thickets. A subtropical plant, but its cultivation extends from the tropics to 52�N. In the US it has its greatest development in the corn belt. Grows best on fertile, well-drained soils, but does tolerate a wide range of soil conditions.

Composition: Raw seeds of Glycine max have been reported to contain per 100 g, 139 calories, 68.2% moisture, 13.0 g protein, 5.7 g fat, 11.4 g carbohydrate, 1.9 g fiber, 1.7 g ash, 78 mg Ca, 158 mg P, 3.8 mg Fe, 0.40 mg thiamine, 0.17 mg riboflavin, 1.5 mg niacin, and 27 mg ascorbic acid.

Sprouts contain per 100 g (edible portion): 62 calories, 81.5% moisture, 7.7 g protein, 1.8 g fat, 8.0 g total carbohydrate, 0.7 g fiber, 1.0 g ash, 52 mg Ca, 58 mg P, 1.1 mg Fe, 30 mg Na, 279mg K, 25 mg b-carotene equivalent, 180 IU vitamin A, 0.19 mg thiamine, 0.15 mg riboflavin, 0.8 mg niacin, and 10 mg ascorbic acid.

Dried yellow seeds are reported to contain 400 calories, 10.2% moisture, 35.1 g protein, 17.7 g fat, 32.0 g carbohydrate, 4.2 g fiber, 5.0 g ash, 226 mg Ca, 546 mg P, 8.5 mg riboflavin, and 2.2 mg niacin.

Soybean lecithin contains 11.7% palmitic acid, 4.0 stearic, 8.6 palmitic, 9.8% oleic, 55.0 linoleic, 4.0 linolenic, and 5.5% C20 to C22 acids (including arachidonic). Aglobulin, glycinine, accounts for 80�90% of the total nitrogen protein of the seed. Glycinine contains 1.1% cystine, 1.8 methionine, 5.4 lysine, 1.7 tryptopbane, 2.1 threonine, 9.2 leucine, 2.4 isoleucine, 4.3 phenylalanine, 3.9 tyrosine, 2.2 histidine, 1.6 valine, 8.3 arginine, 0.7 glycine, 1.7 alanine, 5.7 aspartic acid, 19.0 glutamic acid, and 4.3% proline. Glycine has also been reported to contain betaine, choline, guanidine, hydrocyanic acid, isovaleraldehyde, maltose, oxalic acid, saponin, trigonelline, and tryptophane.

Linguistic, geographical and historical evidence suggest that the soybean emerged as a domesticate around the eleventh century BC in the eastern half of north China. Domestication is a process of trial and error and not an event. In the case of the soybean, this process probably took place during the Shang dynasty (ca. 1700 - 1100 BC) or perhaps earlier. By the first century AD the soybean probably reached central and south China, as well as peninsular Korea. The movement of the soybean within the primary gene center is associated with the development, consolidation of territories, and degeneration of Chinese dynasties.

From about the first century AD to the Age of Discovery (15-16th century), soybeans were introduced into several countries and land races developed in Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Burma, Nepal and north India. These regions comprise the secondary gene center. The movement of the soybean throughout this period was due to the establishment of sea and land trade routes, for example, the silk road; the migrations of certain tribes from China, for example, the Thais; and the rapid acceptance of the plant as a staple food by other cultures, for example, the Indonesians. The earliest Japanese reference to the soybean is in the classic Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters) which was completed in 712 AD.



Starting in the late 16th century and throughout the 17th century European visitors to China and Japan noted in their diaries the use of a peculiar bean from which various food products were produced. The Florentine, Francesco Carletti who visited Nagasaki, Japan in 1597 wrote in his memoirs that the Japanese flavor fish dishes with a certain sauce called misol and that it is made from a bean that is grown in various localities. He also noted that the Japanese make a product called shiro (soy sauce), what Europeans would call gravy. In 1665, Friar Domingo Navarrete described tofu as a common and cheap food of China. "They drew the milk out of the Kidney-Beans and fuming it, make great Cakes of it like Cheeses ... All the Mass is as white as the very Snow ... Alone it is insipid, but very good dress'd as I say and excellent fry'd in Butter." Occasionally a European was fooled by soybean products. For example, in 1613, Captain John Saris visited Japan. In his log he wrote the following about the food habits of the Japanese. "Of cheese they have plenty. Butter they make none, neither will they eat any milk..." Most probably he mistook tofu for cheese.

The soybean reached Europe quite late. It must have reached the Netherlands before 1737 as Linnaeus described the soybean in the Hortus Cliffortianus which was based on plants cultivated in the garden at Hartecamp. In 1739, soybean seeds sent by missionaries in China were planted in the jardin des Plantes, Paris, France. In 1790, soybeans were planted at the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew, England and in 1804 they were planted near Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia. In the Netherlands, France and England the soybeans were grown for taxonomic or display purposes. However, the soybeans grown in Yugoslavia were harvested, cooked, mixed with cereal grain and then fed to chickens for increased egg production.

Henry Yonge, the Surveyor General of the Colony of Georgia, planted soybeans on his farm at the request of Samuel Bowen in 1765. Mr. Bowen, a former seaman employed by the East India Company, brought soybeans to Savannah from China via London. From 1766, Mr. Bowen planted soybeans on his plantation "Greenwich" located at Thunderbolt, a few miles east of Savannah. Today the property is used as a city cemetery. The soybeans grown by Bowen were used to manufacture soy sauce and vermicelli (soybean noodles). In addition, he manufactured a sago powder substitute from sweet potatoes. The three products were exported to England. Samuel Bowen received a patent (No. 878) for his manufacturing inventions for producing these products. He was awarded a gold medal from the Society of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce and received a present of 200 guineas from King George III. In addition, Bowen sent soy sauce and beans to the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia and was elected to membership of the society. Unfortunately, when Bowen died in London on 30 December 1777 his soybean enterprise in Georgia ended.

Another early introduction of soybeans to North America was by Benjamin Franklin. In 1770, he sent seeds from London to the botanist John Bertram who most probably planted them in his garden which was situated on the west bank of the Schuykill River below Philadelphia.

Old Chinese herbals suggest that the soybean was a specific remedy for the proper functioning of the bowels, heart, kidney, liver, and stomach. A decoction of the root is said to be astringent. The meal and flour are used to prepare diabetic foods due to the small amount of starch contained therein. Soybean diets are valued for acidosis. Since soybean oil has a high proportion of unsaturated fatty acid, it is recommended, like safflower, poppyseed, etc. to combat hypercholesteremia. Commercial grades of natural lecithin, often derived from soybean, are reported to contain a potent vasodepressor. Medicinally lecithin is indicated as a lipotropic agent. Soybean is listed as a major starting material for stigmasterol, once known as an antistiffness factor. Sitosterol, also a soy byproduct, has been used to replace diosgenin in some antihypertensive drugs.

Nonsteroidal plant estrogens were first identified in the early 1930s, with the discovery that soybeans, willows, dates, and pomegranates contain compounds with structural similarity to estrogens.

Phytoestrogens are plant chemicals that may act as fungicides, deter herbivores, regulate plant hormones, and protect plants against ultraviolet radiation. Structurally, some phytoestrogens resemble endogenous estrogens of humans and animals, and recent research suggests they may also function as estrogen agonists or antagonists when eaten by humans. Although humans have used phytoestrogens medicinally for thousands of years, only in the last 15 years or so have researchers begun to look beyond the folk remedies to investigate phytoestrogens' possible roles in modern health care. Although the popular media has at times heralded phytoestrogens as panaceas, medical data remain inconclusive. Still, recent epidemiological studies and experiments with animals suggest many varied benefits of phytoestrogens.

Isoflavones are chemically similar to the drug tamoxiphen. They reduce the risk of breast cancer by binding to the estrogen receptor sites on the chromosomal material in mammary gland cells and preventing the dangerous C-16 form of estrogen from binding. Soy products (soybeans or tofu) are particularly abundant in isoflavones, and they have been observed to reduce the incidence of experimental tumors in experimental mammals. Asian women usually consume more than 35 grams of soybeans or soy-derived food per day as opposed to the American woman who may only get 1-2 grams per day. One particular isoflavone is called genistein. This substance not only inhibits two enzymes necessary for tumor growth, but there is recently discovered evidence that it will reduce the blood supply to tumors.

The intake, as well as serum and urinary concentrations, of phytoestrogens is high in countries where incidence of prostate cancer is low, suggesting a chemopreventive role for phytoestrogens. Their significance could be explained by the ability to antagonize the action of more potent endogenous estrogens in initiation or promotion of tumor formation.



Scientists have begun to piece together the full picture of phytoestrogens by looking at populations who consume them the most. Asian populations consume a diet that is very rich in the phytoestrogens genistein and daidzein, which are found in soybeans and soy products. These phytoestrogens occur at levels of 50-300 milligrams per 100 grams in soy beans, and in lower levels in soy products such as miso, soy milk, and tofu.

Asian populations also suffer a significantly lower rate of hormone-dependent cancers compared to westerners. They also have a much lower incidence of other hormonally-associated problems such as osteoporosis and menopausal symptoms. The presence of phytoestrogens in Asian diets and the comparatively low rates of diseases prevalent in western populations--including breast, endometrial, prostate, an colon cancers, as well as coronary heart disease--suggests that phytoestrogens may have protective effects.

The fermented seed is weakly diaphoretic and stomachic. It is used in the treatment of colds, fevers and headaches, insomnia, irritability and a stuffy sensation in the chest.

The bruised leaves are applied to snakebite.

The flowers are used in the treatment of blindness and opacity of the cornea.

The ashes of the stems are applied to granular hemorrhoids or fungus growths on the anus.

The immature seedpods are chewed to a pulp and applied to corneal and smallpox ulcers. The seed is antidote. It is considered to be specific for the healthy functioning of bowels, heart, kidney, liver and stomach. The seed sprouts are constructive, laxative and resolvent. They are used in the treatment of oedema, dysuria, chest fullness, decreased perspiration, the initial stages of flu and arthralgia.

A decoction of the bark is astringent.

Mature seed. Seeds furnish one of the world's most important sources of oil and protein. Unripe seeds are eaten as vegetable and dried seeds eaten whole, split or sprouted. Processed they give soy milk, a valuable protein supplement in infant feeding which also provides curds and cheese. Soy sauce made from the mature fermented beans, and soy is an ingredient in other sauces. The seeds can be eaten as they are in soups, stews etc, though they are very commonly used in the preparation of various meat substitutes. The dried seed can be ground into a flour and added to cereal flours or used for making noodles etc. The Japanese make a powder from the roasted and ground seed, it is called 'Kinako' and has a nutty flavor and fragrance - it is used in many popular confections.



The sprouted seed is eaten raw or added to cooked dishes. The toasted seeds can be eaten as a peanut-like snack. The seed is also made into numerous fermented foods such as miso and tempeh and is also used to make soya milk, used in place of cow's milk. The seed contains 20% oil and 30 - 45% protein. The immature seed is cooked and used like peas or eaten raw in salads. The strongly roasted and ground seeds are used as a coffee substitute. The young seedpods are cooked and used like french beans.

An edible oil is obtained from the seed. It is cooked or used as a dressing in salads etc.

Known Hazards: The raw mature seed is toxic and must be thoroughly soaked and cooked before being eaten. Although, the sprouted raw seed is sometimes eaten and is considered to be a wholesome food.

Milk and soy allergies are particularly common in infants and young children. These allergies sometimes do not involve hives and asthma, but rather lead to colic, and perhaps blood in the stool or poor growth. Infants and children are thought to be particularly susceptible to this allergic syndrome because of the immaturity of their immune and digestive systems. Milk or soy allergies in infants can develop within days to months of birth. Sometimes there is a family history of allergies or feeding problems. The clinical picture is one of a very unhappy colicky child who may not sleep well at night. The doctor diagnoses food allergy partly by changing the child's diet. Rarely, food challenge is used.

  • James A. Duke. 1983. Glycine max (L.) Merr. Handbook of Energy Crops. unpublished.
  • Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
  • Hymowitz, T. 1990. Soybeans: The success story. p. 159-163. In: J. Janick and J.E. Simon (eds.), Advances in new crops. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  • Focus, Volume 104, Number 5, May 1996 - Environmental Health Perspectives. Phytoestrogens: friends or foes?