Nutrient comparison of fresh and field-dried, green-seeded soybeans

Nutrient composition and biologic utilization of cooked, dried, and ground meals prepared from fresh and field-dried, green-seeded edible soybeans were evaluated. On a dry-weight basis, nutrient content of the fresh and field-dried meals were comparable for protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, and iron; fresh beans tended to have higher zinc content than the field-dried beans. Nutrient values for the green-seeded soybean meals were comparable to published values for full-fat soybean flour. Bioassay results indicated that protein efficiency ratios (PER) for rats fed casein were significantly better than those for the soybean-fed animals. Fresh, green-seeded soybean meal supported significantly better growth than did the field-dried, green-seeded soybean meal. Though significantly lower than that for the reference casein diet, the mean PER for fresh, green-seeded soybean meal was 90 per cent of that obtained with the reference casein. The nutrient analysis and protein bioassay data both indicate that green-seeded soybeans used as a vegetable item in the diet are a potentially significant food source of several important nutrients.