Preface

As food science in general has continued to evolve, and as the scientific evidence on the health benefits of particular food attributes has become more familiar to consumer expecta‐ tions and needs, the transfer of new research findings into applications has become more challenging for food producers. Taking into consideration physiological functions of some food constituents, as well as their nutritional implications, it is necessary to point towards better utilization of health-promoting ingredients. Soybean (*Glycine max* (L.) Merr.) is the main oilseed crop worldwide, a staple crop for protein-rich food and feed as well as a signif‐ icant source of nutraceutical compounds with many different medical benefits. *Soybean for Human Consumption and Animal Feed* provides an overview of the present state of the re‐ search of soybean nutritional attributes as well as science-based approaches defining the fu‐ ture of soybean for human consumption and animal feed.

The introductory chapter of this book presents a comprehensive picture of the potential of soybean for food, feed, and the pharmaceutical industry with an emphasis on the impor‐ tance of genetic improvement of soybean germplasm in enhancing healthy and safe proper‐ ties of final soy products.

Soybean is an important source of protein and amino acids for humans and livestock be‐ cause of its well-balanced amino acid profile. Breeding efforts, genetic engineering efforts, agronomic properties, and processing methods to improve the nutritional quality of soy‐ bean in regard to amino acid levels as well as evaluation methods for amino acid quantifica‐ tion are discussed in Chapter 2 – "Soybean Amino Acids in Health, Genetics and Evaluation", written by W.S. Singer et al.

Chapter 3, written by A. Sudarić et al., examines the most important traits of soybean seed quality: protein content and amino acid composition, oil content and fatty acid composition, soluble sugars, and isoflavones. , written by A. Sudarić et al. this chapter gives an overview of European soybean seed quality research with an emphasis on the importance of genetic enhancement of soybean seed quality in improving the added-value properties of final soy‐ bean products.

The scientific and technological developments in areas of soybean utilization have increased exponentially. With numerous benefits, soya is recognized as a dietary allergen, containing a number of identified allergenic proteins. Chapter 4 by H. J. Mason refers the current knowledge of the respiratory health risks from exposure to dust from soybean and its prod‐ ucts. The chapter also highlights other potential health hazards associated with soybean, such as endotoxin and fungal contamination.

Soybean protein is the major source of protein as fishmeal replacement in fish feed because of its worldwide availability and low price. Chapter 5, written by V. Kumar et al., focuses on the current knowledge about the potential impacts of different soybean protein inclusion in aqua feed on gut health condition of fish with special emphasis on gut morphology, soybean meal-induced enteritis, gut-associated immunity, and gut microbiota.

Chapter 6 reviews newer technologies in the realm of soybean monitoring in order to in‐ crease soybean tolerance to abiotic stress, primarily drought. W. Kong et al. examine possi‐ bilities for determining and selecting genotypes tolerant to abiotic stress. The interdisciplinary topic of the chapter introduces modern soybean breeding strategies, a cru‐ cial part in increasing soya food production and enhancing food security and sustainability.

Chapter 7 shows socioeconomic aspects of soybean production in the African rural areas (Sudano-Sahelian region). E.J. Fofiri Nzossié and C. Bring analyze the sustainability chal‐ lenges of the product and market dynamics built around soybeans, speculation subject to strong requirements of international competitiveness and presenting at the same time a strong potential for improving farmers' incomes.

The references at the end of each chapter provide a starting point to acquire a deeper knowl‐ edge of the state of the art of the topic. This book is an interesting and helpful resource for specialists and students in the field of food production, primarily soya foods.

The book is a result of efforts by many scientists from different countries. I would like to acknowledge each of the authors who devoted much time and effort in delivering their chapters. We hope that this book will contribute to improving information about the high nutritional value of soybean and its potential in human and animal diets and health and as quality stock for pharmaceutical and functional food industries.

> **Dr. Aleksandra Sudarić** Agricultural Institute Osijek Osijek, Croatia

**Chapter 1**

**Provisional chapter**

**Introductory Chapter: Soybean - Quality and Utilization**

Customer requirements regarding safe product of high quality and nutritional value are increasing every day. These requirements are the results of today's life style, market globalization, food born outbreaks, etc. In order to fulfill those requirements, institutions in food chain (from field to table) are reaching for tools to enhance food quality as well as to ensure the safety of nutritious, functional, healthy and quality foods. As the food science in general has continued to evolve and as the scientific evidence on the health benefits of particular food attributes has become more familiar to consumer expectations and needs, the transfer of new research findings into applications has become more challenging for food producers. Taking into consideration physiological functions of some food constituents, as well as their nutritional implications, it is necessary to point towards better utilization of health promoting ingredients (natural antioxidants, phytochemicals, vitamins, fortification ingredients) The final aim of food scientist's activity in the future, is to connect further food product and process development with consumer physiological needs, based on research results obtained in respective funda-

Soybean (*Glycine max* (L.) Merr.) is a species of legume native of the Eastern Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. For many centuries, it was the main source of food for the people of the Far East (China, Japan, India). The ability of soybean for the food and non-food uses has been recognized for many years. Among available protein sources of plant origin, soybean protein is the closest to the optimum dietary essential amino profiles for human and animal nutrition. Therefore, soybean production, consumer acceptance and consumption in non-traditional regions of the world are on the rise. Increasing world population, constant need for animal feed and numerous different soybean products

**Introductory Chapter: Soybean - Quality and** 

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2020 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,

distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.93942

Aleksandra Sudarić

Aleksandra Sudarić

**1. Introduction**

mental disciplines [1].

**Utilization**

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93942

Centre of Excellence for Biodiversity and Molecular Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb Zagreb, Croatia

**Chapter 1 Provisional chapter**

#### **Introductory Chapter: Soybean - Quality and Utilization Introductory Chapter: Soybean - Quality and Utilization**

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.93942

Aleksandra Sudarić Aleksandra Sudarić

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93942
