NRCS in MP to come up with eight new varieties of soya

Indore-based National Research Center for Soyabean (NRCS) will soon introduce eight new varieties of soya. These varieties would not only improve the yield but some of them would be digestive and could be consumed directly.

Though soya being an economic source of basic high protein and nutrition due to components like isoflavones, tocopherols and lecithin, use of soybean in daily diet is yet less since it contains presence of anti-nutritional factor like trypsin inhibitor, flatulence-inducing components which deter its use for food purpose.

"New varieties will come up next year and we will be able to promote soya as food in a better way. For example, we have developed a variety which will be trypsin free," S K Srivastava, director of the NRCS said.

Scientific studies say that soybean, if taken as food, can fight breast cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and osteoporosis. "Despite these health-benefits, only five percent is consumed as food," says another expert.

The NRCS is also developing new varieties that can be consumed whole and will not require boiling. Also, other verities which NRCS is developing will enhance the shelf life of soya oil.

"Soyabean is consumed after fortifying wheat flour but it requires boiling of soybean to inactivate kunitz trypsin inhibitor followed by drying before mixing with wheat for grinding. However, most people avoid boiling since it is time consuming. We have developed kunitz trypsin inhibitor free genotypes which do not require boiling to prepare soya fortified wheat flour," Srivatava said adding, "Lipoxygenases free soybean varieties have also been developed."

The NRCS has also developed tender sweet green seeds of special type of soybean. "They will be known as green or vegetable soybean. This variety of soybean can be consumed as green pea or chickpea," he said.

To enhance shelf life of soya oil the industry has a long pending demand for which high oleic acid and low linoleic acid.

"The oil extracted from this new high oleic acid is oxidative stable compared to oil obtained from conventional soybean," said Srivastava. It also reduces hydrogenation to a greater limit. "The new variety oil will require partial hydrogenation. It will have less trans fats," said Srivastava.

Madhya Pradesh is known as soya bowl of India has contribution to 70 per cent of total soya production. It grows varieties like JS 95-60, JS 93-05 NRC 7, JS 335, NRC 37 and JS 93-52.