Nutritive value of the proteins of groundnut flour and 4:1 blend of groundnut flour and skim milk powder.

Proteins of vegetable origin, in general, are
partially lacking in one or more of the essential
amino acids. Hence they possess a lower
nutritive value than animal proteins1. It is
now well recognised that proteins from different
sources mutually supplement each other and
blends of two or more proteins may possess a
higher biological value than the individual
components.2 One of the most abundantly
available protein rich foods in India and Africa
is low fat groundnut flour. The limiting amino
acids in groundnut flour are methionine, lysine
and threonine3. The availability of all the essential
amino acids from groundnut protein is uniformly
high in the case of albino rats4. Groundnut
proteins when incorporated at 20 per cent level
in the diet have been reported to promote good
growth in experimental animals5. At a lower
level (10 per cent), groundnut proteins have
been found to be inferior to milk proteins in
promoting growth6. In the present investigation,
the protein efficiency ratios of the proteins
of groundnut flour and a 4:1 blend of groundnut
flour and skim milk powder have been
determined at 10, 15 and 20 per cent levels of
protein intake.