Chemical composition and antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties of ten commercial mung bean samples

•The anti-inflammatory activities of the ten commercial mung beans were investigated.•Contributions of vitexin and isovitexin in the overall anti-inflammatory activities of mung beans were examined.•The phytochemical composition and anti-oxidant activities of the ten commercial mung beans were determined and compared.•Phenolic acids have been identified using Q-TOF-MS.

Ten commercial mung bean samples (MB1-10) were investigated and compared for their chemical composition, and anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Mung beans had a low oil content of 0.32-0.75 g/100 g, and differed in their total phenolic, total flavonoid, and vitexin and isovitexin contents. The acetone-water (1:1, v/v) extract of MB6 exhibited the highest total phenolic content of 5.07 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g, and the greatest total flavonoid concentration of 5.97 mg rutin equivalents (RE)/g. The acetone-water extracts differed in their RDSC, FRAP, HOSC and ORAC values, and showed significant anti-inflammatory effects in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 mouse macrophage cells at 100 μg/mL concentration. Furthermore, the results indicated that compounds other than vitexin and isovitexin might also significantly contribute to the overall anti-inflammatory effect of mung beans. This study indicated the potential utilization of mung beans in health promoting functional food or supplemental products.