Leaf protein concentrate as food supplement from arid zone plants

In arid and semi-arid areas where prevalence of droughts and famines is a recurring feature, forest cover can in general make valuable contributions to food security and provide income to the rural poor. Protein and calorie malnutrition is widespread in these areas leading to high child mortality rate. Plant species can play an important role in overcoming this by being used as a source of leaf protein concentrate (LPC), a highly nutritious food. LPC should be considered seriously as it can serve as an additional protein source in the case of non-ruminants and man, especially in drought prone areas. The use of LPC in developing countries as an alternative protein source to fishmeal in broiler diet holds tremendous promise as it can substantially lower high cost of fishmeal and eventually the acute shortage of animal protein supply. Potential tropical plants for LPC production have been evaluated and selected for further research by United States Department of Agriculture. The present study was aimed to determine the potential of arid zone plants for preparation of LPC. Extraction characteristics of the several plant species have been studied and the quality of LPC prepared from them was investigated. Different fractions, chloroplastic and cytoplasmic proteins, were analyzed for their crude protein contents. Analysis of LPC shows considerable differences in their protein contents, which was found to range from 13.7 to 88.9%. Based on this, Achyranthes aspera and Tephrosia purpurea were found to be the best suited plants for LPC preparation.