[Nutritional-physiological studies on acetylated fractions of protein from Vicia faba]

The nutritional-physiological value of an easily soluble and of a difficulty soluble fraction of protein from Vicia faba (showing a degree of acetylation of 0%, 43% and 94%, respectively) was characterized by determining the amino-acid content, the enzymatic amino-acid availability and the nitrogen balance in the rat. The results from both the amino-acid analysis and the animal experiments on the biological value evidenced that the nutritional-physiological value of the easily soluble fraction of protein from Vicia faba is significantly lower, which is in particular attributable to its lower content of sulphur-containing amino acids. Acetylation did not reduce the nutritional-physiological value of the easily soluble fraction of protein from Vicia faba, and impaired that of the difficulty soluble fraction but slightly. From the viewpoint of nutritional physiology, there are no objections against the use of these protein fractions as food additives.