Evaluation of Protein in Middle Eastern Diets: I. Almond (Prunus amygdalus)

Abstract

The nutritive value of sweet almond (Prunus amygdalus), which is used in feeding infants in Lebanon, was studied from the aspects of protein quality and the possible presence of toxic factors. Weanling rats fed diets containing 20% almond oil or almond protein did not show any effects which would indicate that either the oil or protein fraction contained toxic substances. The quality of almond protein as determined by net protein ratio (NPR) and protein efficiency ratio (PER) was very poor as compared with casein. The addition of 4 limiting amino acids to almond protein diets resulted in values comparable to those of casein diets. The most limiting amino acid was found to be methionine followed by lysine, threonine and tryptophan. The supplementation of wheat or rice with almond improved protein quality only to a limited degree. It was concluded that, if fed to children, almond should be properly supplemented with other protein-rich foods to help overcome the amino acid deficiencies.