Lipid Composition Analysis and Characterization of Acyl Sterol Glycosides in Adzuki and Soybean Cultivars by Non-Targeted LC-MS

Beans, a globally significant economic and nutritional food crop, are rich in polyphenolic chemicals with potential health advantages, providing high protein, fiber, minerals, and vitamins. However, studies on the global profiling of lipids in beans are limited. We applied a non-targeted lipidomic approach based on high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with linear ion trap–Orbitrap mass spectrometry (HPLC/LTQ-Orbitrap-MS) to comprehensively profile and compare the lipids in six distinct bean cultivars, namely, adzuki red beans—adzuki cultivar (ARB-AC), adzuki red beans—Benidainagon cultivar (ARB-BC), adzuki red beans—Erimoshouzu cultivar (ARB-EC), soybean—Fukuyutaka cultivar 2021 (SB-FC21), soybean—Fukuyutaka cultivar 2022 (SB-FC22), and soybean—Oosuzu cultivar (SB-OC). MS/MS analysis defined 144 molecular species from four main lipid groups. Multivariate principal component analysis indicated unique lipid compositions in the cultivars except for ARB-BC and ARB-EC. Evaluation of the concentrations of polyunsaturated fatty acid to saturated fatty acid ratio among all the cultivars showed that SB-FC21 and SB-FC22 had the highest value, suggesting they are the most beneficial for health. Furthermore, lipids such as acyl sterol glycosides were detected and characterized for the first time in these bean cultivars. Hierarchical cluster correlations revealed the predominance of ceramides in ARB-EC, lysophospholipids in SB-FC21, and glycerophospholipids in SB-OC. This study comprehensively investigated lipids and their compositions in beans, indicating their potential utility in the nutritional evaluation of beans as functional foods.