Protein Digestibility and Trypsin Inhibitor Activity of Legume Seeds

Summary

Protein digestibility of raw and autoclaved legume seeds were determined in growing rats and the trypsin inhibitor content of the same seeds was measured in vitro. The proteins of kidney beans, soy beans, lima beans, and hyacinth beans were 12-25% more completely digested when autoclaved as compared with the raw seeds. These samples had also the highest trypsin inhibitor activities.