STUDY ON THE COMPLEMENTARY EFFECT BETWEEN THE PROTEINS OF WHEAT AND AMARANTH

Wheat flour (W), 'Walnutacres' amaranth seeds (A) and three mixtures o f them (W:A, 0.87:0.13, 0.75:0.25 and 0.64:0.36 on a protein basis) we re assayed for amino acid score (AAS) and protein value (PV) on rats. Lysine and leucine were the limiting amino acids for wheat and amarant h proteins with an AAS of 50 and 61%, respectively. AAS of the combina tions W:A, 0.87:0.13,0.75:0.25 and 0.64:0.36 were 12, 24 and 34%, resp ectively, and are higher than that of wheat proteins. The PV of amaran th seeds (4.09) was two times higher than that of wheat (1.94). The co mbinations W:A, 0.75:0.25 and 0.64:0.36 showed a PV 45% higher than th at of the 0.87:0.13 one, which in turn was similar to that of the whea t proteins. It is concluded that the supplementation of wheat flour wi th 'Walnutacres' amaranth up to 20% could improve the protein quality up to 45%.