The Protein Quality, Digestibility, and Composition of Algae, Chlorella 71105 a

SUMMARY Freeze‐dried Chlorella 71105 was found to contain 55.5% crude protein; 7.5% crude fat; 8.25% ash; 7.0% moisture; 17.8% total carbohydrate; 3.1% crude fiber; 2.68% chlorophyll; and .08% urea. The digestibility of the protein was 86%; of crude fat, 93%; of total carbohydrate, 72%; and of crude fiber, 15%. The protein efficiency ratio (PER) was 2.19, which compares favorably with soy protein. The PER of Chlorella with 0.2% L‐methionine was 2.90, which compares favorably with casein values in the literature. The PER of casein was 3.30; that of defatted egg protein, 4.01, in these studies. The rats were fed at 10% protein levels. In addition, Chlorella 71105 contained all essential amino acids as well as having a high carotene content. Available energy value was 3.3 kcal/g.