i66 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. XXV. No. 4 
The results obtained in these studies show that palm-kernel meal, when 
fed at a protein intake level of 15.5 per cent of the diet, furnishes protein 
adequate for the normal growth of albino rats, and that when the meal 
constitutes as much as 40 per cent of the diet it does not furnish suffi¬ 
cient vitamin A to prevent xerophthalmia, or of vitamin B to provide 
for normal growth. However, since the meal used for these experiments 
was a commercial product from which the oil had been removed by the 
solvent process, and since the history of the kernels prior to the extrac¬ 
tion of the oil, involving the treatment they were subjected to in remov¬ 
ing the oily pericarp, is unknown, the vitamin deficiencies of the com¬ 
mercial meal used in these experiments may not be characteristic of the 
fresh, untreated palm kernels. 
GROWTH-PROMOTING VALUE OF PALM-KERNEL PROTEINS 
Albino rats weighing from 40 to 70 gm. were fed on a diet containing 
80 parts of palm-kernel meal, equivalent to 15.5 per cent of protein. 
The diet was satisfactory with respect to the constituents other than 
protein. Vitamin B was supplied by a daily allowance of 80 mgm. of 
a yeast vitamin preparation made according to the method described 
by Osborne and Wakeman, 4 * and 0.3 gm. of cod liver oil furnished vita¬ 
min A. In all the experiments the yeast preparation and cod liver oil 
were given separately from the rest of the diet. The composition of the 
diet 6 and curves representing the rates of growth are given in chart 1, 
Chart i.—C urves showing growth-promoting value of palm-kernel proteins. 
These curves show that the proteins of the palm kernel are adequate for 
normal growth when they constitute the sole source of protein at a 15.5 
per cent level intake in a diet otherwise nutritionally satisfactory. 
EXPERIMENTS SHOWING VITAMIN B DEFICIENCY IN PALM-KER¬ 
NEL MEAL 
Chart 2 shows the results obtained when the rats received no vitamin 
B other than that which may have been supplied by the palm-kernel meal 
when this constituted 25 per cent of the diet. In order to insure a 
sufficient quantity of adequate protein, 15 parts of purified casein 6 were 
« Osborns, Thomas B., and Wakeman, Alfred J. extraction and concentration of the water- 
soluble vitamins from brewbrs' yeast. In Jour. Biol. Chem., v. 40, p. 383-394. 4 charts. 1919. 
6 For the composition of the salt mixture see: Osborne, T. B., and Mendel, L. B. the use of soy 
bean as food. In Jour. Biol. Chem., v. 32, p. ^74. 1917. . 
« The casein and “crisco” used in the experiments for the study of the vitamin content of the meal 
i-ad been treated and found to be devoid of both vitamin A and vitamin B. The casein was purified 
^y extraction with 1 per cent acetic acid, followed by several extractions with 50 per cent alcohol, and 
-nally by extraction with ether. The crisco was treated by passing air through it at ioo° C. for 6 to 7 
-ours. 
