A comprehensive review on the nutritional, medicinal, and functional potential of Dolichos lablab

Abstract Dolichos lablab ( Lablab purpureus ) is a multipurpose crop with uses in agriculture, nutrition, medicine, and traditional cooking. It is rich in protein, with up to 28% content, as well as iron (150–157 mg) and zinc (25–35 mg) per 100 g of dried leaves. It has shown promising medicinal properties like antioxidant, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic, hypolipidemic, antimicrobial, insecticidal, hepatoprotective, antilithiatic, antispasmodic, and analgesic effects, thus can combat oxidative stress and enzyme-related disorders. It is identified as an efficient cover crop that can improve soil fertility by supplying organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and calcium. This is its contribution to sustainable agriculture. In nutrition and health Dolichos beans have the potential to address bone disorders and are found to inhibit bone density loss and promote bone union thus can be used in osteoporosis management. The Lectin content of Dolichos lablab has been investigated with the identification and characterization of specific lectins like Gal/GalNAc lectin (DLL) from seeds of this plant. These lectins have shown sugar specificity and are relevant in various fields such as stem cell preservation. The genetic diversity and breeding of Dolichos lablab have been explored and characterized the morphology of improved genotypes. It belongs to the family Fabaceae with 2n = 22 chromosomes. It has high genotypic as well as phenotypic coefficient of variations viz., 32.10–32.71% of pod width, 25.10–29.45% of primary branches per plant, 21.94–24.76% of fresh pod yield per plant, and average weight of pod is 20.94–24.04%. Also, Dolichos lablab has been tested for proteolytic enzymes such as trypsin inhibitors, cysteine proteases, and aspartic proteases and found useful in enzyme technology and bioprocessing. This review looked into the micronutrient diversity of Dolichos lablab germplasm like Iron, Magnesium, Calcium, Zinc, Potassium, and Phosphorus, and its significance in agriculture, nutrition, and medicine. Its uses from soil improvement to medicinal properties make it a versatile crop that can be further explored and used in different fields.