In this study, faba bean (Vicia faba) seedlings were used as bioindicator to determine genotoxic effect of synthetic dyes currently used as food color additives in many countries. Novel short-term assays are required to substantiate the battery of assessment methods for evaluating the genotoxicity of candidate substances. Therefore, an attempt has been made to evaluate randomly amplified polymo...

Vicia faba L, is a globally important grain legume whose main centers of diversity are the Fertile Crescent and Mediterranean basin. Because of its small number (six) of exceptionally large and easily observed chromosomes it became a model species for plant cytogenetics the 70s and 80s. It is somewhat ironic therefore, that the emergence of more genomically tractable model plant species such as...

We tested the effects of several processing methods on the nutritional value of faba beans. Nutritional assessment was based on chemical analyses of legume protein content and on the digestive and metabolic utilization in rats. Protein content in Vicia faba (V. faba) was 28%, and the supply of essential amino acids, except for sulfur-containing acids, was sufficient to cover the rat’s nutrition...

Background Soil moisture deficiency causes yield reduction and instability in faba bean (Vicia faba L.) production. The extent of sensitivity to drought stress varies across accessions originating from diverse moisture regimes of the world. Hence, we conducted successive greenhouse experiments in pots and rhizotrons to explore diversity in root responses to soil water deficit. Methods A set o...

Five faba bean genotypes (Vicia faba L.) were selfed for two cycles to produce S1 and S2 generations. A half-diallel cross was carried out among them in each level of inbreeding (S0, S1 and S2) to obtain 10 F1 hybrids. Parental materials as well as their respective F1s were evaluated during the winter season of 2012. All studied traits except total dry seed yield showed significant inbreeding d...

Until now, neither phenotypic nor molecular approaches have been used to characterize the landraces of Palestine faba beans (Vicia faba). We used PCR-based RAPD markers to determine the genetic diversity and relatedness among 26 Palestinian faba bean landraces (traditional farmers' varieties) from 8 localities in the West Bank, Palestine. In tests with 37 primers, 14 generated no polymorphic ba...