RESUMO
The objective of this work was to obtain the raw seed powder from Amaranthus mantegazzianus, the evaluation of its chemical and protein amino acid composition using certain biological indexes such as: net protein utilization (NPU), true digestibility (TD), biological value (BV), net protein ratio (NPR) and relative net protein ratio (RNPR). A protein content (N x 5.85) of 12.54 g/100g, and a chemical score (CS) (FAO/OMS/UNU 1985) of 74, represented by leucine as the first limiting amino acid were found. The biological test results obtained were: NPU = 54 +/- 6.4; TD = 81 +/- 7.4; BV = 67; NPR = 2.7 +/- 0.3 and RNPR = 60. No significant concentrations of the anti-nutrients studied were found. The high value of available lysine found is remarkable (48 mg/g protein). Therefore, it is concluded that this species could constitute an interesting potential source to supplement proteins which are deficient in this amino acid.
Assuntos
Farinha/análise , Magnoliopsida/química , Proteínas de Plantas/análise , Sementes/química , Valor NutritivoRESUMO
An account is given of some considerations concerning the chemical recognition and evaluation by biological methods of the quality of the flour obtained from Amaranthus quitensis seeds, submitted to grinding and sifting. The protein content of the flour (21.70g/100g) can be considered as very important, as well as that of the available lysine (5.20g/16gN). The calcium content was also remarkable (500mg/100g), and the starch ratio reached 45.00g/100g. The amount of nitrates found was 20.00mg/100g, which is an acceptable limit. The research for organic nitro compounds was negative. As for the biologic quality of the protein, the experiments revealed that it has quite an acceptable availability, as demonstrated by the following values: NPU = 42.50 +/- 6.10, D = 68.50 +/- 5.30, VB = 62, NPR = 2.10 +/- 1.80 and RNPR = 42.