The protein quality of cassava leaves

Abstract

1. A chemical and biological evaluation of the protein content of some leaves and leaf extracts from the eastern region of Nigeria (Biafra) has been made: most were from cassava (Munihot utilissima).2. The protein content of the leaves was from 3 0 to 40% (expressed as percentage of leaf dry matter). The concentrations of essential amino acids were adequate, except for methionine. The biological criteria, true digestibility (TD) and biological value (BV), showed that the digestibility was from 70 to 80%, whereas BV varied from 44 to 57%, depending on the methionine content.3. Adding methionine to a diet of cassava leaves raised BV from 49 for the leaves alone to 80 for the mixture. This relationship clearly shows that cassava leaves contain too little available methionine. An investigation into the true availability of the amino acids showed that this is somewhat variable, and only 60% of the methionine is available.4. The BV of cassava leaves combined with Norwegian dried cod showed a mutual supplementation effect.