CANAVALIA BRASILIENSIS SEEDS - PROTEIN-QUALITY AND NUTRITIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF DIETARY LECTIN

This study reports on the performance of rats fed with diets based on Canavalia brasiliensis seed proteins. The raw seeds are not a good reg ime, causing the animals to lose weight, exhibiting low net protein ut ilization (NPU) values, high nitrogen excretion and macroscopic altera tions of key internal organs. Heat treatment, but not dialysis of the seed meal, had a beneficial effect on the nutritional parameters. Feed ing rats with a diet containing pure lectin showed a lower digestibili ty and NPU, a much higher dry matter and nitrogen excretion, impaired growth rate and small-intestine enlargement in comparison with rats pa ir-fed on egg-white protein. In addition, lectin was detected fully ac tive against rabbit erythrocytes in the faeces of rats fed lectin-cont aining diets. It was suggested that the seed lectin acts as an antinut ritive dietary component.