Glycine max (L.) Merr. (= G. hispida (Moench) Maxim.; G. soja Sieb. & Zucc.)

DeFilipps, Robert A. & Krupnick, Gary A., 2018, The medicinal plants of Myanmar, PhytoKeys 102, pp. 1-341 : 84-85

Glycine max (L.) Merr. (= G. hispida (Moench) Maxim.; G. soja Sieb. & Zucc.)

Names.

Myanmar: ber-hrum, hsan-to-nouk, ngasee, pe-bok, pe-ngapi. English: soja bean, soy bean, soya bean.

Range.

Southeast Asia. Now widely cultivated in the Orient and elsewhere. Cultivated in Myanmar.

Uses.

Seed: used as a tonic and carminative.

Notes.

The seeds are regarded as a tonic, diuretic, febrifuge, and antidote. Also, the seeds in combination with other drugs are used to treat a large number of ailments. "It was observed many years ago that natives in the Orient ate infested meat products without ill effects, if soy sauce was a part of the meal" ( Perry 1980).

The species is said to assist the flow of digestive juices, increase the assimilation of high protein foods, and to be a source of riboflavin, thiamin, niacin, panthotheic acid, and choline. An antibiotic, canavalin, has been found in the plant, which is useful in treating certain pneumococci. Results of research by the Soya Corporation of America have lead to the production of an "edible antibiotic that counteracts various types of harmful bacteria through implantation of beneficial intestinal flora". Raw soybeans contain a toxic principle with hemolytic activity which is destroyed by heat ( Perry 1980).

Reference.

Nordal (1963).