Biological Value of Proteins as influenced by Dietary Vitamin B₁₂

Abstract

IT has been shown by Frölich¹ that chicks, fed underheated, low-quality soy bean oil meal, were depleted of their vitamin B₁₂ reserves and consequently required the supply of dietary vitamin B₁₂, probably due to the antiproteolytic activity² or soyin content³ of the underheated meal. Baliga and Rajagopalan⁴ have reported that vitamin B₁₂ at 50 µgm. per kilo of the diet containing 10 per cent raw soy bean protein (without any heat treatment) enhanced the biological value of the protein (the biological values for the raw and vitamin B₁₂ supplemented soy bean protein being 48.6 ± 0.9 and 77.6 ± 1.8 respectively). This would suggest that vitamin B₁₂ has overcome the adverse effect of the proteolytic inhibitor and soyin. These studies were extended to determine the effect of vitamin B₁₂ on the biological value of autoclaved soy bean meal. These observations are presented here.