Chemical Evaluation of Protein Quality of Sprouted Maize and Cowpea

This study was carried out to evaluate protein quality of maize and cowpea grains and the effect of sprouting on this quality. Both grains were germinated for up to 5 days and the protein qualities were evaluated chemically. The use of chemical evaluation is to circumvent the use of animal studies to monitor protein qualities in biological systems which are not perfect measures. The chemical parameters employed were chemical score, essential amino acid index (EAAI), biological value and protein requirement index. The result showed no appreciable change in the parameters tested after germination except for consistent amino acid lysine being limiting as the germination time progresses.This study had shown that contrary to expectations of improvement in protein quality during germination, there was no significant changes even at 5% probability level.