Table 1: Anticancer peptides from legume sources and action mechanisms proposed.

Legume source Peptide name or sequence In vitro/in vivo models Doses tested/IC50 Anticancer action mechanism Reference
Soybean (Glycine max) IBB1 and IBB2 (Bowman-Birk isoinhibitors) HT-29 39.9 μM and 48.3 μM Inhibition of serine proteases and cells becoming blocked in the G0-G1 phase. [41]
Soybean Lunasin C3H10T1/2 2 μM Inhibits chemical carcinogen-induced transformation and selectively induces apoptosis in transfected cells but not in non-transformed cells. [32]
Soybean Lunasin SENCAR 250 μg/week Reduces skin tumor incidence by 70%, decreases tumor yield/mouse, and delays the appearance of tumors by 2 weeks relative to the positive control. [32]
Soybean

ASKWQHQQDS

CRKQLQGVNL

TPCEKHIMEK

IQGRGDDDDD

5 kDa Lunasin-like peptide

 Raw 264.7 10-50 μM Inhibition of pro-inflammatory markers (IL-6, IL-1β, NF-kB, COX-2, iNOs, etc.) and aberrant inflammation is associated with the development of chronic diseases such as cancer. [61]
Soybean X-Met-Leu-Pro-Ser-Tye-Ser-Pro-Tyr P388D1 0.16 mg/ml and 1 mg/ml Cytotoxicity and cell cycle arresting at G2/M phase. [62]
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) Legumi Secchi cultivar ANDISFNFVRFNETNLILGG MCF-7 0.2 μM Cell cycle arrest in G2/M phase, phosphatidylserine externalization and mitochondrial membrane depolarization. [63]
Common bean Azufrado Higuera and Bayo Madero cultivars GLTSK, LSGNK, GEGSGA, MPACGSS, MTEEY HCT-116 0.53 mg/ml and 0.51 mg/ml Both cultivars increased significantly the expression of p53 in HCT116 by 76% and 68%. [33]
Common beans Extra long Autumn Purple Bean cultivar ANEIYFSFQRFNETNLILQR CNE-1, CNE-2 and HNE-2 MCF-7 HepG2 725 μM, 735 μM, 396 μM, 741 μM and 83 μM Inhibit the proliferation of human tumor cells by inducing the production of apoptotic bodies and nitric oxide. [64]
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) ARQSHFANAQP MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 2.38 μM and 1.50 μM The peptide effectively inhibited the proliferation of breast cancer cells increasing the level of p53 trough binding prediction with molecular docking. [65]
Pea (Pisum sativum) TI1B (Bowman-Birk isoinhibitor) HT-29 31 μM Reduction in the viability assay on cancer cells. [41]
Fava Bean (Vicia faba) VFTI-G1 (Bowman-Birk type trypsin inhibitor) HepG2 30 μM Induce nuclear morphological changes of cells and the reduction of viable cells and increased chromatin condensation and 60% of cells underwent apoptosis. [43]
Lentil (Lens culinaris) (Bowman-Birk isoinhibitors) HT-29 19 μM Inhibit cell proliferation of colon cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner related to their intrinsic abilities to inhibit serine proteases. [46]