The Nutritive Value of Marine Products: XVI. The Biological Value of Fish Flesh Proteins

Abstract

The biological values of the crude flesh proteins of lingcod, halibut, lemon sole, and white spring salmon have been determined by growth and nitrogen retention methods using young Wistar rats as experimental animals. Additional values obtained by the growth method are reported for herring and red snapper. For comparative purposes, values were also secured on crude beef flesh proteins, egg albumin, and casein. The figures obtained for the flesh proteins from the four types of fish were of the same order of magnitude, and they were higher than those procured for the other protein foods tested. An examination of the gains in weight was carried out by the co-variance method in which the variance of the actual gains, freed from the effects of varying food consumption by regression, was subjected to analysis. This test indicated that the differences in the average weight gains between the rats fed fish flesh and those fed the other protein foods were highly significant. Data on the effect of sex on the determination of biological values are, submitted along with an explanation which helps to resolve conflicting reports on this point.