The nutritive value of protein blends similar to FAO reference protein pattern in amino acid composition.

Naturally occurring proteins vary widely in their nutritive value, due primarily, to
variations in their essential amino acid composition in relation to the requirements of
animals or humans" 2. Almost all vegetable proteins are partially deficient in one or
more essential amino acids' 3. Even though the proteins of legumes and oilseeds supplement
those of cereals to a significant extent, they are, nevertheless, less effective than the
proteins of milk and other animal foods' 5. One way of improving the nutritive value
of vegetable proteins as suggested by some workers is by supplementation of the proteins
with the deficient essential amino acids'.
The need for utilising oilseed meals and pulses for making up the protein deficiency
in the diets of children in several economically underdeveloped countries, where protein
malnutrition is widely prevalent, has been engaging the attention of nutritionists and also
of international organisations'' 1°. Subrahmanyan et al9. reported that a blend of low fat
groundnut flour (60 parts), Bengal gram (20 parts) and skim milk powder (20 parts) fortified
with certain vitamins and calcium salts was very effective in the treatment of kwashiorkor.
Scrimshaw et a1.1° r ecently reported that a protein food known as INCAP mixture 9B consisting
of a mixture of corn, 29 parts, sorghum, 29 parts, cottonseed meal, 38 parts, dry
torula yeast, 3 parts, calcium carbonate, 1 part and vitamin A, 10,000 I.U., was highly effective
in the treatment of protein malnutrition in children. The recent report of the FAO
Committee on protein requirements has emphasised the need for taking into consideration
the amino acid content and nutritive value of the proteins present in the dietary for estimating
human protein requirementsu. Based on the available information on the amino
acid requirements of children and adults, the FAO Committee recommended a 'reference
protein pattern' which could serve as a standard of comparison in assessing the quality
of dietary proteins. In the present investigation, the protein efficiency ratios of certain
protein blends (with and without fortification with amino acids) having amino acid compositions
similar to that of FAO 'reference protein pattern' have been studied. At the
same time, it was considered to be of interest to determine the PER of protein blends
which would prove useful in the treatment and prevention of protein malnutrition in
children in different parts of the world.