Protein quality of West African foods

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Abstract
The amino acid composition of regional West African diets were examined. Four amino acids tended to limit the quality of West African diets. These were methionine and cystine, lysine and isoleucine. The difference in availability of these amino acids were shown on maps. In the humid parts of West Africa most of the dietary regimens were severely limited in protein quality by the sulfur amino acids, and the intake of all amino acids and total protein tended to be low. In some regions, isoleucine was found to be as equally limiting as the sulfur amino acids. The relative lysine content of most West African diets was found to be marginal, but never as severely limiting as the sulfur amino acids in certain regions.