Old ancient soybean,Soy and the dissemination,cultivation.

Article Content:

Cultivation and plant history of Soy:Soy and the dissemination.

Soy Bean Extract INCI Name Glycine Soja Extract CAS 84776-91-0 Soy isoflavones Genistein CAS 446-72-0 Daidzein CAS 486-66-8 Glycine max L extract photo picture image Soy cultivation is believed to have begun in China; Domesticated in northeastern China from the wild Glycine soja, the earliest evidence of cultivation dating to 3000 years ago. The emperor Shen-nong, who compiled the Medical Bible of the Yellow Emperor (Huang-di nei jing) sometime between 2967 and 2597 B.C.E., counted soybean among the five sacred crops. Since then, both ancient Chinese and contemporary Chinese medical literature have claimed health benefits from soy. During the Ming Dynasty (1368~644 B.C.E.), in his 52-volume Chinese Materia Medica, Li-Shi Zhen recommended soybeans for the treatment of kidney disease, edema, and poisoning. Today soy may be recommended for skin diseases, gastrointestinal disorders, leg ulcer, vitamin deficiency, and pregnancy toxemia (Holt, 1996).
Soy Bean Extract INCI Name Glycine Soja Extract CAS 84776-91-0 Soy isoflavones Genistein CAS 446-72-0 Daidzein CAS 486-66-8 Glycine max L extract photo picture image

The cultigen species Glycine max, known as Soybean, was domesticated in northeastern China from the wild Glycine soja, the earliest evidence of cultivation dating back to 1000 BC. In the third century BC, Soybean and Millet were regarded as the most important food crops in northeastern China. Soybean remains an important source of high protein to people in the Far East and Southeast Asia. From the 1700's, European visitors to the Far East started bringing back Soybean seed to Europe and introducing it to the colonies. Soybean started being grown in the USA from 1765 onwards but it was only in World War II with butter shortages and the need for substitutes that the soybean crops really took off and by 1973, the USA was producing three-quarters of the world crop. Maize farmers found that rotating maize with soybeans reduced the need for nitrogen fertilizers because, being legumes, Soybean have Rhizobium bacteria in their roots that convert gaseous nitrogen to nitrogenous compounds.
Soy Bean Extract INCI Name Glycine Soja Extract CAS 84776-91-0 Soy isoflavones Genistein CAS 446-72-0 Daidzein CAS 486-66-8 Glycine max L extract photo picture image

Like most plants that have been domesticated, Soybean is mainly self-pollinating which means that people have been able to easily keep separate breeding lines. This has resulted in a large number of different cultivars, differing for instance in seed colour. Domesticated Soybean differs from wild forms in the following chacteristics:

Plants are taller and more erect; pods do not shatter their seeds early so seeds are not lost before harvest;

Seeds are larger; seeds have a higher oil content; seeds are more flavoursome; seeds are quicker cooking; and

Digestibility is greater although there are still problems with digestibility because seeds contain tryptophan inhibitors that lower the availability of amino acids in the seed. These inhibitors can be deactivated through cooking, although overcooking reduces protein quality.