AMINO ACID COMPOSITION ANALYSIS AND NUTRITION EVALUATION FOR GEGEN LEAF PROTEIN CONCENTRATION

摘要

The traditional Chinese medicine, Gegen, is the dried roots of leguminous plant Pueraria lobate (Willd) Ohwi, or Pueraria thomsonii Benth. As one of the first batch of plants approved by the Chinese Ministry of Health that could serve as Chinese medicine homologous food, the utilization of wild Gegen resource mainly falls in its roots and flowers, while its leaves are simply discarded as wastes. We want to provide scientific theory basis for comprehensive utilization of Gegen LPC (leaf protein concentration). We carried out analysis for abundance and composition of amino acids in Gegen leaf protein concentration (LPC), via the method of fuzzy recognition and ratio coefficient of amino acid (RCAA), employing whole egg protein as control as recommended by FAO of the United Nations, with the amino acid reference pattern by FAO/WHO as evaluation standard, and performed a comprehensive evaluation for Gegen LPC's nutritional value as well as comparisons with 4 types of food proteins. We found that, there was a variety of amino acids in Gegen LPC, including at least 17 types of amino acids, 33.7 of which was consisted of essential amino acids, and the first restricting amino acid was valine (Val). The SRCAA of Gegen LPC reached 65.00 m, which indicated Gegen LPC as a protein source of great nutritional values. Gegen LPC is a protein source with great nutritional values.