Oil and Fatty Acid Composition of Tepary Bean Seed

Information about oil and fatty acids in tepary bean ( Phaseolus acutifolius A. Gray) seed, a promising alternative crop for the mid-Atlantic region of U.S., is largely unknown. Such information is needed to assess the food and feed potentials of tepary bean seed. We determined the concentrations of oil and fatty acids in seed produced by eight tepary bean genotypes planted at three different dates each during 1997 and 1998 at Ettrick, Va. Tepary bean seeds contained 1.8% oil as compared to literature values of 1.3%, 1.1%, and 1.1% for navy, kidney, and pinto beans, respectively. Tepary bean seed oil contained 33% saturated, 67% unsaturated, 24% monounsaturated, and 42% polyunsaturated fatty acids. Planting dates and genotypes did not affect oil concentration. Neb-T-14 was identified to be a desirable genotype based on a low concentration of saturated and a high concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Based on concentrations of oil and fatty acids, tepary bean seeds compared well with those of navy, kidney, and pinto beans.