This article aims to review recent research progress and update on faba bean seeds and plant in food and feed type, physiochemical, nutritional, and molecular structural characteristics with molecular spectroscopy with chemometrics (both univariate and multivariate techniques). The review focused on chemical and nutritional characterization of faba bean and faba forage and feeding strategies to improve its utilization. The molecular spectroscopic techniques for faba research and the association between molecular structure and nutrient availability and utilization in ruminant system were reviewed. The future research direction in faba research was also provided. The study provides an insight and a potential approach using molecular spectroscopy to study molecular chemistry and molecular structure and molecular nutrition interaction in faba bean seeds and plant.
Keywords: Physiochemical profiles; application of spectroscopy; food and feed type; molecular structure features; nutritional value; whole plant faba bean and forage.