ic of mma , research 
Von. XXV Washington, D, C., July 28, 1923 No. 4 
GROWTH-PROMOTING VALUE OF THE PROTEINS OF 
THE PALM KERNEL, AND THE VITAMIN CONTENT 
OF PALM-KERNEL MEAL 1 
By A. J. Finks, Assistant Chemist , and D. Brbksb Jones, Chemist in Charge , 
Protein Investigation Laboratory , Bureau of Chemistry , United States Department of 
Agriculture 
INTRODUCTION 
The oil palm, Elaeis guineensis, grows naturally along the West 
Coast of Africa, but it is also being introduced into other localities. 
The fruit consists of a kernel or nut inclosed by a hard shell of varying 
thickness. This hard shell is surrounded by an outer fleshy, oily peri¬ 
carp from which the commercial palm oil is produced. Palm kernels 
contain from 45 to 50 per cent of oil, which is removed by expression 
or by solvent extraction. The resulting oil cake or meal is used as 
cattle feed. Until comparatively recently, the separation of the oily 
pericarp from the kernels was made by the natives by means of crude 
methods, whereby the kernels were subjected to conditions which would 
tend to denature the proteins, thus rendering them unsuitable for isola¬ 
tion and chemical study. 
During the war large quantities of palm kernels were shipped into 
this country, and it seemed, for a time at least, that they would offer a 
cheap and nutritious article in such quantity as to become a significant 
factor in our feedstuff industry. Although there is little or no importa¬ 
tion of palm kernels into this country at present, the enormous supply 
l of this source of important feedstuff makes it very desirable to secure 
as much knowledge as possible regarding its nutritive value. 
Palm-kernel meal as a feed for cattle has been given a high rating. 
Crowther 2 has reported that in digestion experiments with sheep it was 
found that palm-kernel cake ranks among the most digestible of the 
stock feeds, and is more valuable than cottonseed meal. Hooper and 
Nutter, 3 in feeding experiments with milch cows, found that palm- 
kernel meal could be used with advantage as a supplement to corn for 
the production of milk. 
So far as we are aware, no previous work has been done to ascertain 
the nutritive value of the proteins of the palm kernel when fed to ani¬ 
mals as the sole source of protein in a diet adequate with respect to the 
other essential dietary factors. 
The palm-kernel meal used for the feeding experiments described in 
this paper was a commercial product which had been prepared by the 
solvent process. It contained 19.44 P er cent of protein (N X6.25). 
1 Accepted for publication May a, 1933. 
* Crowther, Charles, palm kernel cake. In Jour. Bd. Agr. [London], v. 23, p. 734-749. 1916. 
* Hooper, J. J., and Nutter, J. W. feeding trials of velvet-bean feed, palm-kernel meal and 
various grain mixtures, for dairy cows. Ky. Agr. Exp. Sta. Circ. 23, p. 31-38, illus. 1918. 
Journal of Agricultural Research, 
Washington, D. C. 
afr 
48110—23-1 
065) 
Vol. XXV. No. 4 
July 28, 1923 
Key No. E-22 
