The effect of supplementing a poor Indian ragi diet with L-lysine and DL-threonine on the digestibility coefficient, biological value and net utilization of the proteins and on nitrogen retention in children.

Ragi is consumed as a staple food by
the low income groups of the population
in certain parts of India, Ceylon and
Africa. l The nitrogen metabolism studies
on poor ragi diet carried out in children
have shown that the apparent digestibility
of the proteins was low (53%) and
the retention of nitrogen was only about
10% ofintake.2 The nitrogen retention was
not adequate to promote optimal growth
of children. Studies with albino rats have
shown that the PER of poor ragi diet
(2.05) increased to 237 when supplemented
with I-lysine and to 2.76 when supplemented
with I-lysine and dl·threonine."
It was therefore considered of interest and
importance to study the effect of supplementation
of ragi diet with I-lysine and
dl-threonine on the retention of nitrogen,
biological value and net utilization of the
proteins in children