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Almond (Prunus dulcis L.) protein quality
Susan Ahrens1, Mahesh Venkatachalam, Anahita M Mistry
1Department of Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences, College of Human Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, 32306-1493, USA.
Plant Foods for Human Nutrition (Dordrecht, Netherlands)
|September 28, 2005
Summary
Almonds like Carmel, Mission, and Nonpareil have good protein content but limiting amino acids. Their protein quality is considered poor, especially for children, despite lacking anti-nutritional factors.
Area of Science:
- Nutritional Science
- Food Chemistry
Background:
- Almonds are a popular food source, valued for their nutritional profile.
- Understanding the protein quality of different almond varieties is crucial for dietary recommendations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the proximate composition and protein nutritive quality of three commercial almond varieties: Carmel, Mission, and Nonpareil.
- To identify limiting amino acids and assess protein digestibility.
Main Methods:
- Proximate analysis (moisture, lipids, protein, ash, sugars, tannins).
- Amino acid analysis.
- Determination of True Protein Digestibility (TPD) and Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Scoring (PDCAAS).
Main Results:
- Almonds contained 3.05-4.33% moisture, 43.37-47.50% lipids, and 20.68-23.30% protein.
- Sulfur amino acids, lysine, and threonine were identified as limiting amino acids compared to patterns for children and adults.
- TPD values ranged from 82.62% to 92.25%, but PDCAAS indicated poor protein nutritional quality.
Conclusions:
- Carmel, Mission, and Nonpareil almonds lack detectable hemagglutinating and trypsin inhibitory activities.
- Almond protein quality is limited by specific amino acids, impacting its overall nutritional value, particularly for young children.