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In the backdrop of declining per capita availability of pulses, soybean is the alternate source to address protein deficiency in India. The study aims to assess the efficiency of soy products available in the market for meeting the daily requirement of essential amino acids (EAAs).

Extruded soy products, namely, soy nuggets, granules, soy flour manufactured from sprouts, spray-dried soy milk variants, ready-to-drink (RTD) soy beverage and silken tofu, were analysed for EAAs by high-performance liquid chromatography. In addition, efficiency of these products in terms of meeting the daily requirement of EAAs for an adult weighing 70 kg through a single serving (equivalent to 6 g protein) was also computed.

Leucine was the most concentrated EAA in all the soy products, except in variants of soy milk. Total essential amino acids’ (TEAAs) content in soy flour was significantly higher compared to soy nuggets and granules. Spray-dried plain soymilk exhibited a significantly higher level of TEAAs content compared to flavoured variant and RTD soy beverage. Among all the products, silken tofu exhibited the highest concentration of TEAAs. RTD soy beverage was the most efficient product for meeting the daily requirement of isoleucine and valine, soy flour for aromatic amino acids and silken tofu for lysine and leucine.

This work pertains to the determination of EAAs of commercial soy products and assesses their efficiency in terms of meeting the daily requirement of EAAs. This type of technical evaluation of soy products has not been conducted earlier.

To investigate the potential food, feed and industrial values of some tropical underutilized medicinal plant materials.

Dry‐milled plants, namely: Gongronema latifolium and Vernonia amygdalina were subjected to chemical analysis to determine their proximate, mineral, elemental, fatty acid and amino acid compositions using standard procedures.

Results show that the lipid extract, ash, crude fibre and nitrogen free extractives, oxalate, phytate and tannin of the plants are within expected ranges. They however had unexpectedly high crude protein content: 27.20 and 21.69 per cent, respectively. Potassium, phosphorus, calcium and cobalt were the most abundant mineral elements. G. latifolium and V. amygdalina leaf oils are 50.22 and 24.54 per cent saturated; 39.38 and 65.45 per cent polyunsaturated, respectively. Palmitic and oleic acids were the major monounsaturated fatty acids. Degrees of unsaturation are 0.46 and 0.41, respectively. Major essential amino acids are leucine, valine and phenylalanine. Proportions of essential to non‐essential amino acid are 43.37 and 49.84 per cent, respectively.

The nutritional composition of the plant materials suggests that they may find use in food/feed formulation operations and as industrial raw materials.

The purpose of this study was to isolate Whitemouth croaker protein by alkaline solubilization process and evaluate their nutritional quality to evaluate the bioavailability of essential amino acids.

The proximate composition, essential amino acid composition, in vitro digestibility, apparent bioavailability, chemical score of amino acids and SDS-PAGE were determined for the isolated croaker proteins.

The isolated protein showed a high level of protein 92.21 percent and low amount of lipids 0.57 percent. The protein is rich in lysine and leucine, 108.73 and 96.75 mg/g protein, respectively. The protein isolate had high digestibility, 94.32 percent, which indicates proper utilization of this protein source, while the tryptophan had lower bioavailability (12.58 mg amino acid/mg protein). The high chemical scores were found for the amino acids lysine, methionine+cysteine (6.79 and 5.14). SDS-PAGE of proteins extracted showed appearance of the heavy chain of myosin (220 kDa), actin (50 kDa) and other fractions, with molecular weight between 20 and 50 kDa, such as troponin I, C and T.

The products obtained from croaker muscle can be incorporated as a high value supplements in human diets. The isolated protein exhibited a high content of essential amino acids and digestibility, indicating that the protein has a high nutritional quality.

The purpose of this study is to compare the effect of olive or salmon oil on the hepatic storage and transport of fatty acids by very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDL).

In all, 24 male Wistar rats (80 ± 5 g) were fed a 0.5 per cent cholesterol-enriched diet with either 20 per cent casein (C) or chickpea (CP) proteins with 10 per cent olive (O) or salmon (S) oil for 28 days.

In VLDL-triacyglycerols fatty acids, oleic acid content was higher in CPS as compared to that in CS or CPO and lower in CS and CPO than that in CO; linoleic acid content was higher in all groups; arachidonic acid content was higher in CS and CPO as compared to that in CO. In the liver, TG fatty acids content was lower in CPO or CPS as compared to that in CO or CS; oleic and arachidonic acid contents were lower in CPS than that in CPO; linoleic acid content was lower in CS, CPS and CPO than that in CO, CPO and CO. In liver, phospholipid fatty acid, oleic and arachidonic acid contents were lower in CPS than that in CS; oleic, linoleic and arachidonic acid contents were lower in CPO compared to that in CO. In liver, cholesteryl esters fatty acids, oleic, linoleic and arachidonic acids contents were higher in CPS as compared to that in CS; oleic, linoleic and arachidonic acid contents were lower in CS as compared to that in CO; linoleic and arachidonic acid contents were lower in CPS than that in CPO.

A cholesterol-enriched diet containing casein or chickpea proteins combined with olive or salmon oil affects the hepatic storage and transport of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids by VLDL.

The purpose of this paper is to compare food utilization of quality protein maize (QPM) to other maize varieties.

Pap (ogi) – a maize starch porridge was prepared from QPM, tropical Zea mays early (TZE) and local maize (LM) using the traditional method. Physicochemical, microbiological and sensory analyses were carried out on the pap samples as indices of quality following standard methods.

The sensory evaluation preference rating for pap (ogi) prepared from QPM, TZE and LM varieties showed no significant difference (p < 0.05) in flavour, taste, colour and overall acceptability. Significant difference was however observed in the pH of the three products.

The findings suggested that QPM have the potential to replace other maize varieties as a staple diet and cheap source of quality protein.

This paper contributes knowledge to the fight against malnutrition and hunger, especially in the sub‐Saharan Africa.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the effects of different dietary protein and lipid origins on serum HDL₂ and HDL₃ compositions and lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) activity in growing rats fed a 0.5 per cent cholesterol‐enriched diet with either 20 per cent casein (C), chick pea (CP) or lentil (L) proteins combined to 10 per cent olive (O) or salmon (S) oil for 28 days.

HDL₂ and HDL₃ separation according to Sjöblom and Eklund and LCAT activity according to Glomset and Wright.

Serum total cholesterol was 1.3‐fold lower in CPS than in CPO group. HDL₃ amounts were 2‐ and 1.5‐fold higher in CPO and LO groups, respectively, compared to CO group. HDL₃‐unesterified cholesterol values were, respectively, 2‐ and 5‐fold lower in CPO and LO groups than in CO group, and were threefold decreased in CPS and LS groups vs CS group. HDL₃‐phospholipids in LO group represented 12 and 51 per cent of the CO and CPO group values, respectively. HDL₂‐triacylglycerol amounts were decreased in LO group vs CO group (−67 per cent) and in CPS and LS groups (−62 per cent) compared to CS group. HDL₃‐apolipoprotein A‐I values were lower in LO group vs CO and CPO groups, and in CPS group vs CS group. However, LCAT activity was similar in all the studied groups.

The paper shows that when diets containing casein, chick pea or lentil proteins combined with olive or salmon oil are supplemented with cholesterol, HDL₂ and HDL₃ compositions are impaired despite unchanged LCAT activity. Moreover, if oils modify HDL compositions, dietary proteins play a critical role in these modifications.

The first published report that hydrocarbons were subject to microbial degradation appears to be that of the Japanese botanist Miyoshi in 1895. He observed that certain alkanes were attacked by the fungus Botrytis Cinerea. The first reports of microbial oxidation of methane, the simplest alkane, were made about 10 years later by Kaserer (1905), and Sohngen (1905). According to the recent review of Quayle (1967), the ability to utilise hydrocarbons is widespread amongst micro‐organisms. The ability to grow on methane appears to be a more restricted property although Whittenbury, Phillips and Wilkinson (1970) have recently isolated more than 100 strains of methane utilising bacteria.

World shortages of certain raw materials leading to appreciable price increases is currently a regular feature of our daily lives— and is likely to be so, unfortunately, for the next few years. Meat has been increasing in price owing to various shortages in animal feeding stuffs. The fact that the populations of developing countries rightly demand that home produced meat is made available for their home consumption rather than for export is also adding to the problem as far as developed nations are concerned. The obtaining of sufficient protein for everyone's dietary needs is as basic and important as the need to have sufficient supplies of energy to meet world requirements. The amount of protein to be found on this earth is in excess of our projected needs, but there could well be severe shortages of protein foods for humans in an acceptable or usable state, especially if we continue to rely so heavily upon animal protein. There is, therefore, a real and urgent need for scientists to develop ways and means of transforming basic protein raw materials into acceptable products.

In Brazil there is a lack of food composition data and the nutrition professionals frequently need to consult compiled tables of international reference. It is known that the extrapolation of international food data to the regional level is not accurate and requires caution because it may result in nutritional problems. Thus, the purpose of this work was to determine and compare the organic‐mineral content of the main Brazilian cereals and legumes with those of the available reference in this country.

The chemical composition of the samples was examined according to AOAC methods. The energy value for each sample was calculated using the specific Atwater energy factors.

The moisture as well as lipids and ash content were found to accord with the consulted bibliography for most of the samples. The protein values were the same as those found by some authors and different from others.

The results obtained showed the need for elaborating a Brazilian food composition table able to better reproduce the real nutritive value of food produced in this country.

This study was aimed to estimate and compare the contents of protein and amino acids in raw, boiled and fried fishes of Indian mackerel “kembong” (Rastrelliger kanagurta), sardine (Sardina pilchardus), red tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicusx) and black tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus). Protein contents of raw mackerel, sardine, red and black tilapia were 8.1±0.0, 8.4±0.1, 9.6±0.4 and 9.0±0.0 percent, respectively. In a boiled fish, the protein contents were 7.9±0.1, 7.7±0.0, 7.5±0.1 and 8.9±0.1 percent, respectively, and for a fried fish the values were 8.6±0.5, 8.9±0.1, 9.1±0.2 and 8.4±0.0 percent, respectively. It was found that there was a significant difference (p<0.01) in the protein content of the raw fish compared to the heat‐treated ones for all the fishes. The study detected 17 components of essential amino acids (lysine, histidine, threonine, valine, methionine, leucine, isoleucine and phenylalanine) and non‐essential amino acids (arginine, aspartic acid, serine, glutamic acid, proline, glycine, alanine, cystein and tyrosine) in all the fishes. There was no significant difference in amino acids content among the boiled and fried fishes. In conclusion, heat treatment for five minutes in boiling water (100°C) and frying for three minutes in palm oil (160°C) did not alter the quality of protein in all the fishes studied.