Nutritional evaluations of clerodendrum volubile, a tropical non-conventional vegetable as sole dietary protein source in rats

Vegetables are good source of nutrients that are essential for metabolic activities in the human body. The nutritional evaluations of Clerodendrum volubile were studied in male albino rats, with the aim of utilizing the results obtained in improving the use of the leafy vegetable in meeting the nutritional needs of the world growing population. The rats were fed for 28 days with test diet prepared with Clerodendrum volubile and as well as standard diet prepared from soybean. The faecal and urinal Nitrogen content were recorded. The Nitrogen Balance (NB); True Protein Digestibility (TD); Biological value (BV); Net Protein Utilization (NPU); and Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER) were determined for the various diets used. There was a significant decrease (P>0.05) in the True Digestibility; Biological value; and Protein Efficiency Ratio of the Clerodendrum volubile-supplemented (test) diet relative to the soybean-supplemented (standard) diet. The Net Protein Utilization of the standard diet was significantly lower than the Clerodendrum volubile-supplemented (test) diet. Results from this study reveal that the digestibility of the leafy vegetable protein is relatively low compared to the standard diet. The addition of limiting amino acids to the standard diet is responsible for the increase in its Biological Value, True Protein Digestibility and Protein Efficiency Ratio.