Mutual Supplementary Effect of the Proteins of Soybean and Sesame Meals

Soybean meal, when used as the sole protein source of the diet, has been shown to be an adequate source of amino acids for the chick, except for a slight deficiency of methionine (Almquist, et al., 1942). The protein sources which contain an excess of methionine (e.g., dried milk, fish meal) are not available in adequate amounts under war conditions to meet the demand for soybean meal supplements, so a search has been made of vegetable protein concentrates which might fill this need. Sesame meal protein has been found by analysis to contain 3.4 percent methionine as compared with 1.8 to 2.0 percent for soybean meal protein (Almquist, et al., 1942). The methionine requirement for optimal growth of the chick is approximately 0.5 percent of the diet (Grau and Almquist, 1943). On this basis alone, a total dietary protein content of 20 percent could supply enough methionine if 7.1 percent . . .