7S globulins were extracted from common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) seeds and characterized. SDS-PAGE showed major bands corresponding to the phaseolin subunits (43-53 kDa). An amino acid analysis indicated that, in spite of the limited amounts of sulphur amino acids and tryptophan, the globulins contained very high levels of essential amino acids. The protein solubility profiles of native and denatured (120 C for 20 min) 7S globulins in water and in 0.5 M NaCl showed that NaCl had a limited

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... fect on increasing the solubility of either the native or denatured proteins. The in vivo small intestinal digestibility of the 7S globulins was 90%, this being decreased to 86% after a thermal treatment. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed a high content of -sheet and -turn structures, together with a contribution at 1687 cm À1 that was assigned to intramolecular -sheets. These features are diagnostic of a high propensity to irreversible aggregation that may be related to an adverse effect on the protein quality.