Recent identification of domestication genes indicate that the domestication traits of azuki bean and soybean were established by different mechanisms. Analyses of domestication related genes using DNA extracted from the seed remains would …

Azuki bean was one of the first crops subjected to scientific plant breeding in Japan but landraces of azuki bean are still grown in Japan and are predominantly large, red-seeded genotypes. Azuki bean is grown throughout Japan but most production is in Hokkaido prefecture.

While the previous leading theory states that both azuki bean and soybean were domesticated in China, recent findings suggest that wild soybean and wild azuki bean have been domesticated and cultivated in Japan for over 10,000 years.

Genes found related to germination and flowering time in cultivated azuki bean may confer a selective advantage to the hybrid derivatives under some ecological conditions and may explain why azuki bean has evolved as a crop complex in Japan.

Morphology of azuki bean inflorescence (A) and flower parts (B) of cultivar ‘Syumari’ cultivated in a greenhouse. The azuki bean is a quantitative short-day plant with a critical photoperiod of 12–13 h (Kim et al. 2014), and the number of days to flowering varies greatly depending on the cultivar and/or environment.Approximately half of the flowers develop into pods, and earlier flowers ...

Cultivated azuki beans from China, Korea, and Japan were the most diverse and were genetically distinct from each other, suggesting a long and relatively isolated history of cultivation in each country.

Suspension-cultured cells of azuki bean (Vigna angularis) as well as the original root tissues were hypersensitive to Cd (<10 μ m). Repeated subculturings with a sublethal level of Cd (1–10 μ m) did not affect the subsequent response of cells to inhibitory levels of Cd (10–100 μ m).

The azuki bean, also known as adzuki or aduki, is an annual vine, Vigna angularis, widely grown throughout East Asia and the Himalayas for its small (approximately 5 mm) bean. The cultivars most familiar in Northeast Asia have a uniform red color.

In this study, the lipase inhibitory activities of azuki bean juice were confirmed, and the effects of azuki bean juice supplementation on serum lipid concentrations and oxidative stress marker were investigated in young Japanese women.

This review compiles information on the morphology, historical taxonomic treatments, species origin, gene pool concept, geographical and ecological habitats, and stress tolerance of the azuki bean (Vigna angularis) and related species.