Methionine Deficiency of Alaska Field Peas for Chick Growth

Abstract

PARALLEL rat and chick studies by Hayward and Hafner (1941) to determine the effect of cystine and methionine supplements on the protein of raw soybeans showed that the raw soybean protein was effectively supplemented by 0.3 percent cystine but even more so by 0.3 percent methionine. When they used cooked soybeans, the nutritive value of the protein increased much in the same manner as with the addition of cystine and methionine supplements to raw soybeans. The addition of either cystine or methionine, or both, to cooked soybeans resulted in even greater growth response.Almquist, Mecchi, Kratzer, and Grau (1942), using a synthetic diet in the study of the protein of raw and heated soybean meal, found the principle growth-limiting deficiency of raw soybean protein to be that of methionine. Heated soybean protein was found to be slightly deficient in methionine for chicks at a 20 percent protein level, but complete .