Biological value of shrimp protein hydrolysate by-product produced by autolysis

Abstract

The current study aimed to determine the biological value of shrimp by-product protein hydrolysate (SPH) produced by enzymatic autolysis. The biological experiment was carried out using Wistar strain, male rats, recently weaned, divided into three groups of eight. The groups received protein-free, casein (control) and SPH (experimental) diets for 28 days. Body weight, food and water consumption, urine volume, protein efficiency ratio (PER), food efficiency ratio (FER), net protein ration (NPR), relative net protein ratio (RNPR), in vivo protein digestibility, apparent digestibility and biochemical parameters were analyzed. No significant differences were observed among groups regarding weight curves and weekly weight gain, except for during the fourth week, when the SPH group presented greater weight gain. The casein group presented statistically higher levels of consumption in the first weeks in comparison to the SPH group. Regarding PER, FER, NPR and RNPR, animals on the SPH diet obtained statistically higher values than those on the casein diet. SPH proved to be of high biological value, as the rats on this diet presented greater biological responses than those in the casein-controlled group. Thus, SPH should be further studied with respect to its potential for use as a supplement in the human diet.