Supplementary value of precooked roller‐dried protein foods based on full‐fat soya flour and low‐fat groundnut flour to a poor Indian rice diet

Abstract

The protein efficiency ratio (PER) and supplementary value to a poor Indian rice diet of precooked roller-dried protein foods based on full-fat soya flour and a I : I blend of full-fat soya flour and low-fat groundnut flour respectively and fortified with DL-methionine and certain vitamins and minerals, have been studied using weanling albino rats. The PER of the foods were 2 . 2 5 and 1.92 respectively as compared with 3.09 for skim milk powder. Fortification of the foods with DL-methionine (1.6 g. per 100 g. of protein) improved significantly the PER to 2.99 and 2.52 respectively. Supplementation of a poor rice diet with the above foods to provide about 2.5% extra protein in the diet resulted in a highly significant increase in the growth of rats. No significant differences were observed in the mean protein contents of the carcasses or livers of rats receiving the protein foods or skim milk powder. The livers of rats fed on diets containing the protein foods were quite normal, while those of rats fed on the rice diet showed mild parenchymal damage of protein deficiency type and mild fatty infiltration. Large-scale production and use of fortified protein foods based on soya and groundnut flours will help effectively in overcoming the incidence of protein malnutrition among young children in developing countries. IntroductionThe diets consumed by weaned infants and young children of the low-income groups of the population in the riceeating regions consist mostly of cooked rice, rice gruel and small quantities of pulses and vegetables.2> Such diets are deficient in proteins and certain vitamins and minerals and do not promote optimum growth in children.19 2, Consequently, protein malnutrition and other deficiency diseases of varying degrees are widely prevalent among weaned infants and young children in theseThe need for providing low-cost protein foods of high nutritive value and based on locally available protein-rich foods has been stressed by several workers and international agencies. In the preceding paper, studies on the preparation, chemical composition and shelf-life of precooked roller-dried protein foods based on full-fat soya flour and low-fat groundnut flour were reported. The results of studies on the protein efficiency ratio and on the supplementary value to a poor rice diet of the above foods are now presented.