The Relative Values of the Proteins of Linseed Meal and Cottonseed Meal in the Nutrition of Growing Rats

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
In paired-feeding experiments on white rats, a ration containing approximately 8 per cent of linseed meal proteins proved definitely superior in growth-promoting value to a ration similar in every respect except for the substitution of linseed meal protein for cottonseed meal protein. The former ration induced more rapid gains in body weight on the same amounts of food and more rapid growth in length of body. Eight pairs of rats were used in this test. In nitrogen balance studies on five rats, the biological values of the nitrogen in the two experimental rations were found to be the same, averaging 78 in each case. However, the digestibility of the cottonseed meal nitrogen was 9 per cent less than that of the linseed meal nitrogen. The gross energy of the two rations was shown to be equally digestible, so that the superior growth-promoting value of the linseed meal ration must have been due solely to its greater content of digestible protein. It may be concluded that the biological values of linseed meal proteins and cottonseed meal proteins are the same for rats, but that their digestibilities may differ markedly, depending probably upon a variable inclusion of hulls in cottonseed meal.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: