7 Biochemistry

Learning about the history and medical uses of food you’ve known for a while is important, but so is understanding their context and how things really work, for all the amazing benefits peanuts possess, there is scientific evidence of it. Here you can take a closer look at the biochemistry behind the peanut.

Nutritional benefits:

Peanuts are low in carbohydrates and contain healthy fats, which over more than half are attributed to be unsaturated fat like oleic acid, these healthy fats are important as they play a role in cardiovascular health as well as providing antioxidant benefits. Another important macro found in peanuts is protein. Peanuts are a rich source of complete protein (contains all 20 amino acids used to build proteins) that provides the body with essential amino acids like arginine, attributing peanuts to help lower cholesterol given its function in cardiovascular health.

Peanuts and Amino Acids:

Lectins is a type of glycoprotein that is found in peanuts, this compound is believed to have a role as it acts on the immune system by binding to lymphocytes and enhancing the immune response, enhancing the immune system when fighting pathogens.

Source of Vitamins and Minerals:

Peanuts contain a high amount of minerals such as magnesium and zinc, which are essential for a complete diet. Peanuts are also rich in other vitamins such as vitamin E, which gives peanuts antioxidants property, but it also contains other compounds such as niacin and thiamin which have a role in our metabolism.

Bioactive compounds:

In addition to arginine and its role in the immune and endocrine systems, liver function, and movement (muscles and joints), peanuts contain various bioactive compounds. These include the polyphenols (antioxidants) resveratrol, phenolic acids and flavonoids along with phytosterols (compounds found in plant cell membranes).

Resveratrol molecule. Fvasconcellos 23:21, 9 December 2007 (UTC), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons