In an Italian bar (hopefully at affordable prices), between a sip of a spritz and a laugh, sooner or later you will all find yourself nibbling on them: lupins. These salty and nutritious legumes are both very ancient and very modern. Very ancient, because they have been consumed for millennia around the Mediterranean. Very modern, because they could become among the absolute protagonists of our food future, thanks to an epochal transformation.
The discovery of a "sweetness gene" in lupins could establish them as the main "super food" of the future. And now I'll tell you why.
The legume of the future
Lupines are more than just a bar snack. They are a nutritional treasure, rich in protein and fibre, low in carbohydrates and with a low glycemic index. There is only one small problem: some of them are “bitterly” unpleasant due to the alkaloids.
Today, an international team of researchers has identified for the first time the “sweetness gene” responsible for low alkaloid levels in lupins. This discovery, published in Science (I link it to you here) could make it easier to produce tastier and more palatable plants. Imagine a world where lupins are as sweet as honey… well, maybe not quite like honey, but definitely sweeter than before.
The eternal search for sweetness
About 100 years ago, German growers discovered some natural mutations that produced lupins with much lower levels of bitter alkaloids. They produced sweet varieties of white lupine (The white wolf), narrow-leaved lupine (Lupinus angustifolius), and the less common yellow lupine (lupinus luteus).
Intense efforts, which have "given us" lupins like the current ones, but not enough to make them a "universal" food. In the last 50 years, to be honest, lupins have become more common as food for farm animals. Now, however, things could change, and a lot.
Super lupins to the rescue
Researchers led by --Matthew Nelson have studied the biochemistry of alkaloids in bitter and sweet varieties. The team analyzed 227 varieties of white lupins, and tested their alkaloid levels. Then, with colleagues in France, they looked for markers in the lupine genome and associated high and low levels of alkaloids with genetics.
Ultimately, they found a very strong link between a single sequence change in their gene and a change in alkaloid levels. This means only one thing: the discovery of the long-awaited “sweetness gene”.
Lupini, In hoc signo vinces
With this discovery, growers now have a reliable genetic “sign” to know which strains they are working with. It will be much easier for them to consistently grow sweet white lupins, and companies are already on the lookout.
The opportunity, it must be said, is tempting: between insects, food alternatives grown in laboratories and foods put at risk by climate change, being able to count on such "simple" foods with such a high protein content for human consumption is a manna from heaven.
The future for lupins is bright and sweet. They will soon break out of the niche to be integrated into all sorts of foods, and will provide us with valuable proteins in a sustainable way. Do you understand, then? Next time you grab a beer, you know what to go with it :)
