| Abstract: | A survey on the chemical constituents (protein, fat, carbohydrates, ash, fibre, calcium, phosphorus, iron) of 4 seeds and their cakes was done. These seeds are safflower seed (Carthamus tinctorius variety Giza 1), sunflower seeds (Helianthus annuus variety Giza 1), linseeds (Linum usitatissimum variety Giza 4) and imported rape seeds (Brassica napus Erglue). Caloric value of these seeds and seed cakes was calculated, PER, NPR and NPU were determined. No great variation was found with respect to the moisture content. The 4 seeds are rich in protein and fat. The ash content varies from (5.11 ± 0.26)% to (3.17 ± 0.13)%. The fiber content was low in both safflower and sunflower seeds and higher in both linseeds and rape seeds. The caloric values of the different seeds were very close. The seeds were found to be rich in phosphorus and low in calcium and contain considerable amounts of iron. The average PER values were 1.51, 1.61, 1.59, 1.84 and 2.50 for safflower seed cake, sunflower seed cake, linseed cake, rape seed cake and casein diet respectively. The average NPR was 3.11, 2.84, 2.84, 3.05 and 3.53 for safflower seed cake, sunflower seed cake, linseed cake, rape seed cake and casein respectively. The NPU values of the seed meals were 48.5, 49.3, 47.4 and 93.6 compared with 67.8 for casein. Using the different criteria (PER, NPR and NPU), it was clear that the protein quality of sunflower seed is very close to that of the linseed. Comparing the protein quality of safflower seed with those of both sunflower and linseed, NPU was in the same range, while PER was somewhat lower and NPR was higher than those of safflower and sunflower seed. |
