A COMPARISON OF THE NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF CRAMBE AND CAMELINA SEED MEALS WITH EGG AND CASEIN

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Abstract
The nutritional values of Camelina sativa Crantz and Crambe abyssinica Hochst, two potential dietary protein sources, were compared to egg and casein by feeding the ether-extracted autoclaved meal of each cultivar as the sole source of protein in semipurified diets to young mice for 14 days. The dietary protein levels chosen were 8, 11, 14 and 17%. The crambe meals contained less crude fibre than the camelina meals. Only trace quantities of glucosinolates were found in camelina meal. Substantially higher levels of glucosinolates were found in the crambe meals and there was evidence of a small proportion of the glucosinolates having been hydrolyzed prior to assay. Weight gains, food intakes and protein efficiency ratios of mice fed camelina or crambe meal diets were consistantly lower than the responses of mice fed corresponding levels of egg or casein diets. Food intake increased as the level of camelina meal in the diet increased. It appears that growth depressing factors in both the camelina and crambe meals were significant. Effective removal or counteraction of the deleterious factors is necessary before the potential of the protein in these two meals can be exploited.