Barley and canola seeds were sprouted over a 5 day period, in laboratory conditions under room temperature (22 degrees C) and room lighting. Following initial hydration, seeds were kept moist by wetting the germination trays at 9 a.m., 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. daily. A parallel germination experiment using 200 g quantities of seeds in petri dishes was conducted. Starting from the second day of germination, and every day, dishes of germinating seeds were removed, oven-dried, weighed and milled for proximate and chemical analysis. Seeds from the main germination experiment were fed in a digestibility trial to Wistar rats. Results indicated that sprouting was associated with depletion of many nutrients in both barley and canola, the major losses being in respect of dry matter, gross energy and triglycerides. In barley (but not in canola) sprouting was associated with significant increases in crude fiber and diglyceride content. In canola, there were significant losses in lipid content and increases in phytosterol and phospholipid content. Digestibility data showed an enhancement in digestibility of nutrients in barley but not in canola, implying that sprouting improved nutritional quality of barley but not canola.

Two grain legumes Sphenostylis stenocarpa (Hochst ex A . Rich) Harms. and Voandzeia subterranea L. commonly grown in the tropics for human consumption, were evaluated nutritionally using broiler chick assays. Metabolisable energy content was high in both pulses, but true protein digestibility was low in S . stenocarpa (62.9%) and moderate in V . subterranea (77.0%). Both mineral content and availability were moderate. Amino acid content was similar to that of other pukes, cystine and methionine being low. Amino acid availability differed significantly between S. stenocarpa (62.6%) and V. subterranea (83.0%). Fatty acid composition was similar to that observed in most commonly eaten pulses.

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A B S T R A C TAnalytical data on fatty acid, amino acid and mineral content of defatted melon seed and fluted pumpkin seed are presented and discussed. Also discussed are experimental data on availability of amino acids and minerals in these meals. Defatted melon seed and fluted pumpkin seed have protein contents of 66.20% and 66.54%, respectively, with an excellent pattern of amino acids, containing higher levels of most essential amino acids (except lysine) than soya bean meal. Amino acid avaiiability is high (melon seed 95.60%, pumpkin seed 93.12%) and similar to the level in soya bean meal (94.31%). Mineral availability is significantly lower in melon seed (53.63%) and soya bean meal (54.94%) than in pumpkin seed (58.84%). The potential for increased dietary utilisation of melon and fluted pumpkin meals and flours to meet the dietary needs of monogastric animals as well as human subjects is discussed.