24 BULLETIN 717, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Summary of digestion experiments with flour made from peanuts in a simple mixed diet^ 



Experi- 

 ment 

 No. 



Kind of peanut flour. 



Subject. 



Protein. 



Fat. 



Carbo- 

 hydrates. 



Ash. 



Esti- 

 mated 

 dieesti- 

 biUty of 

 peanut 

 protein 

 alone. 



618 



Flour from roasted nuts 



. .do 



p. K 



Per cent. 

 93.7 

 86.5 

 80.2 

 93.5 

 90.9 

 93.4 

 91.4 



Per cent. 

 97.4 

 95.1 

 95.2 

 95.0 

 91.0 

 98.1 

 96.5 



Per cent. 

 99.1 

 98.0 

 97.3 

 98.3 

 98.3 

 98.8 

 98.4 



Per cent. 

 93.6 

 84.4 

 80.7 

 91.5 

 87.2 

 90.9 

 90.3 



Per cent. 

 93 5 



619 



J. CM 



C. J. W 



A.A.F 



P.K 



75.0 



620 



.do 



60.7 



633 



.do 



92.9 



634 



do 



86.9 



635 



.do 



J.C. M 



C. J. W 



92.6 



630 



do 



87.9 





Average 







89.9 



95.5 



98.3 



88.4 



84.2 







P. K 





696 



91.0 

 89.7 

 89.6 

 91.4 



97.0 

 97.9 

 96.2 

 95.0 



97.3 

 96.4 

 96.9 

 98.1 



86.4 

 91.7 

 84.6 

 85.9 



89.4 



697 



.do 



J.C. M 



A. A.R 



W. E.T 



87.6 



698 



....do 



87.3 



699 



do 



Average 



90.5 





90.4 



96.5 



97.2 



87.2 



88.7 





Average of all tests . 









90.1 



95.9 



97.9 



87.9 



85.8 











Considering tlie experiments with peanut flour as a whole it would 

 seem fair to assume that the average data obtained for the digesti- 

 bihty of peanut protein should be sufficient for quite general appli- 

 cation, since a total of eleven different tests was made with six dif- 

 ferent subjects and two different types of peanut flours. Considering 

 the ration as a whole or considering the peanut protein alone, the 

 coefficients of digestibiUty obtained with the two types of peanut 

 flour are in close agreement. The average coefficients of digesti- 

 bility for the diet as a whole — 90.1 per cent for protein, 95.9 per cent 

 for fat, and 97.9 per cent for carbohydrates — vindicate that the experi- 

 mental diet was, for all practical purposes, as well utihzed as the 

 ordinary mixed diet, the coefficients of digestibiUty ^ of which have 

 beenfound to be 92 per cent for protein, 95 per cent for fats, and 97 per 

 cent for carbohydrates. These figures would seem to indicate that 

 peanut flour is itself well assimilated and that it did not exert any 

 unfavorable effects upon the digestibility of the other foods included 

 in the diet. 



Comparing the average values obtained for the digestibility of 

 peanut protein alone in the individual experiments it is found that 

 peanut protein is 85.8 per cent digested, a figure lower than that of 

 milk, meat, or egg proteins, about equal to those of cereal proteins, 

 and somewhat higher than that of the common legumes. From the 

 previously published data summarized above and the results of these 

 experiments it appears that the peanut supplies a protein which 

 yields essential amino acids, is well tolerated by the human body, 

 and is very well digested. In view of these facts it seems that peanut 

 flour prepared from high-grade press cake may well assume an im- 

 portant role in the human dietary. 



« U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 142 (1902), p. 26. 



