INVITRO PROTEIN AND SULFUR AMINO-ACID AVAILABILITY AS A MEASURE OF BEAN PROTEIN-QUALITY

The total and 'available' cystine and methionine, and the in-vitro and in-vivo protein digestibilities were determined in six varieties of Phaseolus vulgaris with different seed coat colours. Reactive cystine and methionine, evaluated by chemical methods after in-vitro enzymic digestion, were taken as a measure of the availability of sulphur amino acids. Cystine 'availability' ranged from 43 to 51% and from 31 to 58% in raw and cooked samples, respectively, while methionine 'availability' was over 90%, except for the two red varieties (55% and 74%). No correlation was found between cystine and methionine 'availability' and in-vitro protein digestibility. In-vitro protein digestibility (76.6-80.7%) showed a good correlation (r = 0.857; P < 0.05) with in-vivo values (72.0-80.9%). Amino acid score corrected for protein digestibility and for sulphur amino acids availability, as suggested by the Codex Committee on Vegetable Proteins, seems to predict accurately the biological quality of bean protein, as was shown when in-vitro indices were compared with net protein utilisation and relative protein value.