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Variation of the amino acid scores and of the nitrogen-to-protein conversion factors in barley grain as a function of nitrogen content as compared with wheat and rye

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition volume 38, pages 175–188 (1988)Cite this article

Abstract

Barley grains (9 samples from 7 cultivars) with nitrogen contents (N) ranging from 1.45 to 4.01% of dry matter were analysed for their amino acid (AA) composition with high accuracy from six different hydrolysates per sample. AA levels in grain increased as linear functions ofN with correlation coefficients close to unity. A comparison with literature data confirmed that the AA composition of any grain sample of normal barley can be predicted from itsN for all phenotypes and genotypes. AAs in grain protein changed as hyperbolic functions ofN which increased for Phe, Pro and Glx but more or less strongly decreased for the other AAs. By plotting AA scores againstN, barley proteins were shown to be always richer than wheat and rye in Val and Phe + Tyr; sometimes richer than both other species forN<2 (Lys); 2.2 (Leu and Ile); 3.4 (Thr); sometimes intermediate to wheat and rye above the latterN values. They were also intermediate in sulphur AAs forN<1.9 and drastically poorer forN>1.9. However, they were richer than both other species in Trp forN>1.6. The hyperbolic variations of non-protein nitrogen and nitrogen-to-protein conversion factors were determined as a function ofN and also compared with those of wheat and rye.

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Author notes

  1. Ben Kaab

    Present address: INRST, CPRG, BP 95, 2050, Hammam-Lif, Tunisie

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire d'Etude des Protéines, Département de Physiologie et Biochimie végétales, INRA, 78000, Versailles, France

    Jean-Claude Huet, Jacques Baudet, Leila Bettaieb, Ben Kaab & Jacques Mossé

Authors
  1. Jean-Claude Huet
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  2. Jacques Baudet
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  3. Leila Bettaieb
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  4. Ben Kaab
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  5. Jacques Mossé
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Huet, JC., Baudet, J., Bettaieb, L. et al. Variation of the amino acid scores and of the nitrogen-to-protein conversion factors in barley grain as a function of nitrogen content as compared with wheat and rye. Plant Food Hum Nutr 38, 175–188 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01091722

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01091722

Key words

  • barley
  • Triticeae
  • grain
  • amino acid composition
  • nitrogen
  • chemical score