Improving the nutritional values of yellow mealworm Tenebrio molitor(Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) larvae as an animal feed ingredient: a review

Yellow mealworm larvae(YML;Tenebrio molitor) are considered as a valuable insect species for animal feed due to their high nutritional values and ability to grow under different substrates and rearing conditions. Advances in the understanding of entomophagy and animal nutrition over the past decades have propelled research areas toward testing multiple aspects of YML to exploit them better as animal feed sources. This review aims to summarize various approaches that could be exploited to maximize the nutritional values of YML as an animal feed ingredient. In addition, YML has the potential to be used as an antimicrobial or bioactive agent to improve animal health and immune function in production animals. The dynamics of the nutritional profile of YML can be influenced by multiple factors and should be taken into account when attempting to optimize the nutrient contents of YML as an animal feed ingredient. Specifically, the use of novel land-based and aquatic feeding resources, probiotics, and the exploitation of larval gut microbiomes as novel strategies can assist to maximize the nutritional potential of YML. Selection of relevant feed supplies, optimization of ambient conditions, the introduction of novel genetic selection procedures, and implementation of effective post-harvest processing may be required in the future to commercialize mealworm production. Furthermore, the use of appropriate agricultural practices and technological improvements within the mealworm production sector should be aimed at achieving both economic and environmental sustainability. The issues highlighted in this review could pave the way for future approaches to improve the nutritional value of YML.

Effect of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) on Growth, Mineral Composition, and Nutritional Value of Wheat & Lentil Sprouts

Sprouts are ready-to-eat and are recognized worldwide as functional components of the human diet.Recent advances in innovative agricultural techniques could enable an increase in the production of healthy food.The use of light-emitting diode(LED)in indoor agricultural production could alter the biological feedback loop,increasing the functional benefits of plant foods such as wheat and lentil sprouts and promoting the bioavailability of nutrients.The effects of white(W),red(R),and blue(B)light were investigated on the growth parameters and nutritional value of wheat and lentil sprouts.In the laboratory,seeds were sown under three different LED treat-ments:white,red,and blue light,while normal incandescent light served as a control.Percentage seed germina-tion improved by 18.34%and 12.67%for wheat and 18.34%and 12.67%for lentil sprouts under LED treatments R and B,respectively.An increase in total soluble protein and sugar by 33.4%and 9.23%in wheat and by 31.5%and 5.87%in lentils was observed under the R LED treatment.Vitamin C concentrations in wheat and lentils were significantly increased by R LED compared to all other treatments.Other parameters,including potassium and sodium concentrations,were significantly increased under red and blue light compared to the control;white light,on the other hand,significantly decreased all these parameters.According to the experimental data,red and blue LED light could be beneficial in the production of functional wheat and lentil sprouts with high nutrient concentrations.

Effect of Biostimulants Based on Natural Products on the Growth and Nutritional Value of Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) are widely grown in Cameroon and play a key role in the fight against food insecurity, malnutrition and poverty. However, its cultivation encounters problems due to abiotic and biotic stresses, which leads to the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, which cause significant damage to the environment and human health due to the presence of synthetics residues in the seeds, pods and in the leaves that are eaten. Promoting the use of natural products is becoming a necessity for organic and eco-responsible agriculture that limits contamination problems and improves people’s purchasing power. This study aims to assess the effect of biostimulants based on natural products on the growth and nutritional value of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Bean seedlings from white variety (MEX-142) and red variety (DOR-701) were treated every seven days in the field from their pre-emergence, emergence and growth to their maturation under a randomized block experimental design. Six treatments and three repetitions with the biostimulants based on natural products and controls were thus performed and the agromorphological parameters were measured. After 120 days, the contents of growth biomarkers and defense-related enzymes were evaluated in leaves, while the contents of macromolecules, minerals and antinutrients were evaluated in seeds. These biostimulants significantly increased (P P < 0.0001) of antinutrients including oxalates, phytates, tannins and saponins in seeds compared to controls (T+ and T−). Treatment with biostimulants, in particular BS4, improves the performance of bean plants in the field as well as the biofortification of seeds regardless of the variety.

Effect of selected fungi on the reduction of gossypol levels and nutritional value during solid substrate fermentation of cottonseed meal

The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of six individual strains of fungi on the reduction of gossypol levels and nutritional value during solid substrate fen＇aentation of cottonseed meal （CSM）. Six groups of disinfected CSM substrate were incubated for 48 h after inoculation with either of the fungi C. capsuligena ZD- 1, C. tropicalis ZD-3, S. cerevisae ZD-5, A. terricola ZD-6, A. oryzae ZD-7, or A. niger ZD-8. One not inoculated group （substrate） was used as a control. Levels of initial and final free gossypol （FG）, crude protein （CP）, amino acids （AA） and in vitro digestibility were assayed. The experiment was done in triplicate. The experimental results indicated that microbial fermentation could greatly decrease （P〈0.05） FG levels in CSM. The detoxification efficiency differed between the species of microorganisms applied. From the perspective of reducing CSM potential toxicity, C. tropicalis ZD-3 was most successful followed by S. cerevisae ZD-5 and A. niger ZD-8. They could reduce FG levels of CSM to 29.8, 63.07 and 81.50 mg/kg based on DM （dry matter）, respectively, and their detoxification rates were 94.57%, 88.51% and 85.16%, respectively. If crude protein, amino acids content and their in vitro digestibility were also taken into account, Aniger ZD-8 may be the best choice. The CP content of CSM substrate fermented by C. tropicalis ZD-3 and A. niger ZD-8 were improved by 10.76% and 22.24%; the TAA （total amino acids） contents were increased by 7.06% and 11.46%, and the EAA （essential amino acids） were raised by 7.77% and 12.64%, respectively. Especially, the levels of methionine, lysine and threonine were improved greatly （P〈0.05）. The in vitro CP digestibility of CSM fermented by C. tropicalis ZD-3 and A. niger ZD-8 was improved by 13.42% and 18.22%, the TAA were increased by 17.75% and 22.88%, and the EAA by 16.61% and 21.01%, respectively. In addition, the in vitro digestibility of methionine, lysine and threonine was also improved greatly （P〈0.05）.

Solid state fermentation of rapeseed cake with Aspergillus niger for degrading glucosinolates and upgrading nutritional value

Background： Rapeseed cake is a good source of protein for animal feed but its utilization is limited due to the presence of anti-nutritional substances, such as glucosinolates （GIs）, phytic acid, tannins etc. In the present study, a solid state fermentation （SSF） using Aspergillus niger was carried out with the purpose of degrading glucosinolates and improving the nutritional quality of rapeseed cake （RSC）. The effects of medium composition and incubation conditions on the GIs content in fermented rapeseed cake （FRSC） were investigated, and chemical composition and amino acid in vitro digestibility of RSC substrate fermented under optimal conditions were determined. Results： After 72 h of incubation at 34℃, a 76.89% decrease in GIs of RSC was obtained in solid medium containing 70% RSC, 30% wheat bran at optimal moisture content 60% （w/w）. Compared to unfermented RSC, trichloroacetic acid soluble protein （TCA-SP）, crude protein and ether extract contents of the FRSC were increased （P〈 0.05） 103.71, 23.02 and 23.54%, respectively. As expected, the contents of NDF and phytic acid declined （P〈 0.05） by 9.12 and 44.60%, respectively. Total amino acids （TAA） and essential amino acids （EAA） contents as well as AA in vitro digestibility of FRSC were improved significantly （P 〈 0.05）. Moreover, the enzyme activity of endoglucanase, xylanase, acid protease and phytase were increased （P 〈 0.05） during SSF. Conclusions： Our results indicate that the solid state fermentation offers an effective approach to improving the quality of proteins sources such as rapeseed cake.

Low Light During Grain Filling Stage Deteriorates Rice Cooking Quality, but not Nutritional Value

To investigate the effect of low light （LL, 50% natural light） during grain filling （GF） stage on rice transamination, amino acid （AA） accumulation, nutritional value, and cooking quality in three different rice genotypes, transaminase activities and AA levels in grains during GF stage and the traits that significantly affected rice quality （physical appearance, cooking quality, and nutritional value） were analyzed. LL did not disturb transamination in rice grains during GF stage, as minimal impact was found on alanine and aspartate transaminase activities. Nevertheless, most AAs in caryopses, including lysine and threonine, increased in response to LL, except for sulfur-containing AAs. These results suggest that AA metabolism and accumulation in rice grains were rarely suppressed by LL during GF stage. Rice nutritional ingredients at harvest, such as major protein components including glutelin and most important essential amino acids （EAAs） including lysine and threonine, increased significantly in response to LL, whereas most protein and EAA ratios were rarely affected. However, LL markedly affected physical appearance of rice grains by reducing brown rice rate, milled rice rate, and 1000-grain weight and increasing the chalkiness rate. In addition, cooking qualities decreased in response to LL, while breakdown values and amylose levels decreased and setback values increased. We concluded that LL during GF stage decreased the cooking quality of rice, but could potentially improve the nutritional value of rice.

Implications of vitamin D for flesh quality of grass carp(Ctenopharyngodon idella):antioxidant ability,nutritional value,sensory quality,and myofiber characteristics

Background Muscle represents a unique and complex system with many components and comprises the major edible part of animals.Vitamin D is a critical nutrient for animals and is known to enhance calcium absorption and immune response.In recent years,dietary vitamin D supplementation in livestock has received increased attention due to biological responses including improving shear force in mammalian meat.However,the vitamin D acquisition and myofiber development processes in fish differ from those in mammals,and the effect of vitamin D on fish flesh quality is poorly understood.Here,the influence of dietary vitamin D on fillet quality,antioxidant ability,and myofiber development was examined in grass carp(Ctenopharyngodon idella).Methods A total of 540 healthy grass carp,with an initial average body weight of 257.24±0.63 g,were allotted in 6 experimental groups with 3 replicates each,and respectively fed corresponding diets with 15.2,364.3,782.5,1,167.9,1,573.8,and 1,980.1 IU/kg vitamin D for 70 d.Results Supplementation with 1,167.9 IU/kg vitamin D significantly improved nutritional value and sensory quality of fillets,enhancing crude protein,free amino acid,lipid,and collagen contents;maintaining an ideal pH;and reduc-ing lactate content,shear force,and cooking loss relative to respective values in the control(15.2 IU/kg)group.Average myofiber diameter and the frequency of myofibers>50μm in diameter increased under supplementation with 782.5–1,167.9 IU/kg vitamin D.Levels of oxidative damage biomarkers decreased,and the expression of antioxi-dant enzymes and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 signaling molecules was upregulated in the 1,167.9 IU/kg vitamin D treatment compared to respective values in the control group.Furthermore,vitamin D supplementation activated cell differentiation by enhancing the expression of myogenic regulatory factors and myocyte enhancer factors compared to that in the control group.In addition,supplementation with 1,167.9 IU/kg vitamin D improved protein deposition associated with protein synthesis molecule(target of rapamycin)signaling and vitamin D receptor paralogs,along with inhibition of protein degradation(forkhead box protein 1)signaling.Conclusions Overall,the results demonstrated that vitamin D strengthened antioxidant ability and myofiber devel-opment,thereby enhancing nutritional value and sensory quality of fish flesh.These findings suggest that dietary vitamin D supplementation is conducive to the production of nutrient-rich,high quality aquaculture products.

Nutritional Value of Lippia nodiflora( L. ) Greene as Feed

To analyze the nutritional value as feed,the aerial stem and leaves of Lippia nodiflora( L.) Greene and Phyla nodiflora( L.) Greene were sampled to measure the nutritional indices. The nutritional indices were also compared with common forage grass,and the development value of L. nodiflora as feed was analyzed. Compared with P. nodiflora,L. nodiflora had obvious fast-growing and high-yield abilities. The contents of crude fat,crude fiber,crude ash,lysine,vitamin C,Ca,and Fe in L. nodiflora were obviously higher than that in P. nodiflora,but the content of crude protein and total P in L. nodiflora were significantly lower than that in P. nodiflora. Compared with common forage feed ryegrass,alfalfa,millet straw and corn straw,L. nodiflora had higher contents of crude fat and crude ash and lower contents of crude fiber and crude protein. Therefore,L. nodiflora had higher development value as feed.

Nutritional Value of Date Fruits and Potential Use in Nutritional Bars for Athletes

The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is one of the oldest primary staple crops in Southwest Asia and North Africa. Date palms are also grown in Australia, Mexico, South America, Southern Africa, and the United States, especially in Southern California, Arizona, and Texas. Date fruit is a high nutritional value food that is rich in carbohydrates, dietary fibers, proteins, minerals and vitamin B complex such as thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pantothenic (B5), pyridoxine (B6), and folate (B9). Carbohydrates comprise 70% of date fruit mainly as fructose and glucose. Minerals in date fruits are calcium, iron, magnesium, selenium, copper, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, sulfur, cobalt, fluorine, and manganese. Date fruits are highly nourishing and may thus confer numerous potential health benefits. In recent years, a huge interest in the abundant health promoting properties of date fruits has led to the need to develop new food products using dates as a source of nutrients. Thus, the aim of this paper is to review the nutritional value of date fruits in the context of the potential use of dates in nutrition bars for athletes.

Evaluation of the Nutritional Value and Acute Toxicity of the Seeds of the Fruit of Annona muricata L. (Sursop) Consumed in Kinshasa

In this paper, the author aimed to determine the nutritional value of soursop (Annona muricata L. fruit) consumed in Kinshasa as well as the study of the acute toxicity of its seeds. The fruit of Annona muricata L. was sampled according to the ISO 7002 standard for agricultural and food products. The selected fruits were ripe, without physical damage. The usual analytical methods allowed the determination of the nutritional value of the fruit pulp of Annona muricata L. The water content was measured by the method of loss of mass on drying. The total amount of ash was determined by incineration in the oven at 550°C. The mineral elements were determined by inductively coupled plasma spectrometry (ICP0). The determination of acute toxicity was carried out on 25 female mice of the NMRI SUISSE species according to OECD 425 guidelines. For 100 grams of fresh material from the fruit pulp, we noted a very high water content of 84% ± 6%. We also note a particularly high amount of carbohydrates with a rate of 12.2% ± 2%. Protein and lipid content were relatively low at 1% ± 0.01% and 0.7% ± 0.3% respectively. The dietary fiber content was 0.8% ± 0.2%. An energy value of 49.3 Kcal per 100 grams of pulp was determined. The LD 50 obtained was 3320 mg/kg, indicating slight toxicity of soursop seeds. The results of this study show that the white pulp of the fruit of Annona muricata L. consumed in Kinshasa is rich in carbohydrates when we compare it to others biomolecules. It also contains dietary fiber and mineral salts making soursop an excellent constituent of a weight loss diet with a low energy intake.

Influence of Sorbent Type on Drying Efficiency, Production Costs and Nutritional Values of Mango By-Products Feeds for Livestock

The aim of the study was to determine the best food absorbents between wheat, rice and maize bran and palm kernel cake, from a technical and economic point of view, in order to make a better recommandation for their use in the production process of food based on mango by-products (peels, peels + pulp). To this end, series of 18 kg of fresh feed were prepared and spread out in a stall for sun-drying using a randomized Fisher system. Preparations were made using either mango peels (75%) + absorbent (25%) or pulp + mango peels (67%) + sorbent (33%). The results show that mango Peel feed loses more water (WL) with lover production yields (PY), higher mango incorporation rates into dry feed (MRI), longer drying times (UDT) and lower production costs (CPkgPD) than mango peel + pulp. The average DM, MAT, ADF and NDF fiber contents were almost equal to those of mango peels + pulp feed. The average Crude Fiber (CF) (25.13%) and DEp (2839 kcal/kgDM) contents were higher for mango skin feed than for mango skin + pulp feed, at 8.59% and 2536 for MAT and DEp respectively. Mango peels + wheat bran (PSB25) and whole mango (MESB33) feeds recorded the highest and almost equal levels of TCP, NDF and MM. Production costs per kg of feed dry mater (CPkgDM) for feed produced at 25% were on average 33% higher than for whole mango (WM) feed. Excluding mango raw material, palm kernel meal (PK), rice bran (RB), maize bran (MB) and wheat bran (WB) can be ranked 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th in terms of cumulative performance of production parameters. Producers can then choose the type of sorbent they wish to use according to this ranking and the local availability of the sorbent. These feeds can be used for both ruminants and monogastrics, but are better suited to ruminant feeding due to their high fiber content.

Evaluation of Nutritional Value and Acceptability of Chicken Nuggets Produced by Chicken Wings and Dehydrated Shellfish

Our study investigated the effect of utilizing chicken wings and dehydrated shellfish to produce chicken nuggets rich in protein, minerals and vitamins. The proximate composition, nutritional value, physical and sensorial properties were evaluated. The differently prepared chicken nuggets were supplemented with dehydrated shellfish CN 0%, CN 2%, CN 4% and CN 6%. There was a significantly reduction in moisture and an increasing in protein content (P < 0.05) in all Chicken Nuggets (CN) in comparison to the control. Fat content was significantly higher in CN 0% than CN 2%, CN 4% and CN 6%. Ash content was increasing with added dehydrated shellfish, while the reduction in carbohydrates and total calories of the different chicken nuggets were noticed with the significant gradual rise in pH values, TBA values showed no significant difference (P < 0.05) between chicken nuggets. Results showed that using dehydrated shellfish in preparing chicken nuggets caused a marked rise in its content of Ca, Fe, Na, K, Zn, Mg and Mn levels, CN 0% had the lowest concentration of all minerals, and had lower values of vitamins A, E and D but CN 6% had higher values of vitamins A, E and D. Control Nuggets (CN 0%) had the lowest value of yellowness and highest value of lightness but CN 6% had the highest value of yellowness and, the lowest value of lightness. The redness had a slightly reduction. All samples showed slight changes in hardness, cohesiveness, springiness, gumminess and chewiness were noticed. An increase in WHC, pick-up, and cooking loss of chicken nuggets with dehydrated shellfish was noticed. Panelists accepted all prepared chicken nuggets and the chicken nuggets CN 4% had the highest score compared with other chicken nuggets prepared.

Hygienic Quality and Nutritional Value of Attiékéfrom Local and Imported Cassava Dough Produced with Different Traditional Starters in Burkina Faso

Attiéké is an essentially flavour starchy food produced from fermented cassava root. The product is widely consumed in Burkina Faso. The objective of the present study was to investigate the biochemical and the microbiological characteristics of attiéké from Burkina Faso. The samples (36) were collected from six (6) producers. Cassava dough which is used for attiéké production contains from 70.67% ± 0.25% to 86.02% ± 0.2% as starch. The undesirable organic elements rate is about 1.28% ± 0.14% to 26.46% ± 0.53%. The inorganic impurities rate is about 0 to 7 ± 0.1 mg/100g. Cassava dough acidity varies from 1.8 ± 0.2 to 12.4 ± 0.1;and its pH from 3.48 ± 0.01 to 4.20 ± 0.01. Lactic bacteria are the main microorganisms involved in cassava dough fermentation (5.17 to 9.30 log cfu/g). Yeasts and molds number is low (<6.53 log cfu/g). Attiéké moister is about 50.6% ± 0.00% to 55.12% ± 0.7% and its protein contents from 0.77 to 1.74 ± 0.13 g/100g. The content in lipid of attiéké shows an important variation and is about 0.15 to 3.28 ± 0.32 g/100g. Carbohydrates content varies from 36.6 ± 0.04 to 47.01 ± 0.1 g/100g and its ashes content is from 140 to 780 ± 20 mg/100g. Attiéké acidity and pH are less weak than cassava dough. They vary respectively from 0.92% ± 0.05% to 4.08% ± 0.57% and from 3.7 to 4.4 ± 0.01. As a main energizer food, attiéké energizing value is from 161.95 to 215.26 Kcal/100g. All the attiéké analyzed was exempt of aflatoxin (B1, B2, G1, G2) and ochratoxin A. The local attiéké has higher acidity, fermented bacteria load, protein and minerals salt than the imported one. The process mastery is the mainly factor that determines nutritional and sanitary quality of attiéké.

Nutritional Value Evaluation of Saccharum spontaneum L. Germplasm Resources

The contents of dry matter, crude fat, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, crude ash, Ca and P in 43 Saccharum spontaneum L.germplasms during the vegetative period were determined. Among them, the crude protein, crude fat, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, P and Ca contents were treated as the judging indicators. The nutritional value evaluation was carried out with the analytic hierarchy process(AHP). The results showed A49(Guangxi)had the highest nutritional value. Its dry matter, crude protein, crude fat, crude ash,neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, Ca and P contents were 32.35%,7.20%, 4.06%, 8.07%, 75.81%, 50.72%, 0.23% and 0.16% respectively. While A3(Guangdong) had the lowest nutritional value. Its dry matter, crude protein, crude fat, crude ash, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, Ca and P contents were32.24%, 4.62%, 0.51%, 6.38%, 46.40%, 40.02%, 0.15% and 0.09% respectively.The crude protein content differed significantly among different germplasms. A48 had the highest crude protein content(9.11%), and A14 had the lowest crude protein content(3.72%). Based on the evaluation results, the 43 Saccharum spontaneum L.germplasms were divided into 3 groups: high-nutritional value type, moderate-nutritional value type and low-nutritional value type. We hoped to provide a theoretical reference for the application of Saccharum spontaneum L. as a forage grass.

Fruit Nutritional Value of Cornelian Cherry Genotypes （Comus mas L.） Selected in the Vojvodina Province

This paper reviews results of some morphometric properties and chemical analyses of natural populations of the Cornelian cherry collected in the Vojvodina Province in 2008. Purpose of this study was the selection of the best genotypes for future breeding program until the final goal and that is standardizing Cornelian cherry cultivars. Chemical content has been found to depend on the genotype. Total sugar content in fruits ranged from 11.77% （CPC16） to 41.62% （BPC7）, vitamin C from 17.15 mg/100 g （APC8） to 42.30 rag/100 g of fresh fruit （APC2）, Ca pectat from 0.17% （APC6） to 2.52% （KC 1 ） and anthocyanin from 22.65 mg/100 g （APC4）to 96.30 rag/100 g of fresh fruit （BPC1）. Cornelian cherry fruits have an especially high content of minerals compared with other fruit species： the potassium content （in ppm） ranges from 2330 （APC6） to 11487 （APC4）, the calcium content from 33.80 （APC6） to 1307.70 （BPC1）, the sodium content from 22.82 （BPC8） to 273.48 （APC8）, the magnesium content from 10.20 （APC6） to 372.80 （APC8） and the iron content from 2.38 （KC2） to 14.40 （APCS）. The balanced content of nutrients, a wide range of food products made from the Cornelian cherry and an extremely high nutritional value make this fruit species a highly recommendable food item, especially if it comes from organic production.

Yield and Nutritive Values of Semi- and Non-Fall Dormant Alfalfa Cultivars under Late-Cutting Schedule in California’s Central Valley

California is one of the major alfalfa (Medicago sativa L) forage-producing states in the U.S, but its production area has decreased significantly in the last couple of decades. Selection of cultivars with high yield and nutritive value under late-cutting schedule strategy may help identify cultivars that growers can use to maximize yield while maintaining area for sustainable alfalfa production, but there is little information on this strategy. A field study was conducted to determine cumulative dry matter (DM) and nutritive values of 20 semi- and non-fall dormant (FD) ratings (FD 7 and FD 8 - 10, respectively) cultivars under 35-day cut in California’s Central Valley in 2020-2022. Seasonal cumulative DM yields ranged from 6.8 in 2020 to 37.0 Mg·ha−1 in 2021. Four FD 8 - 9 cultivars were the highest yielding with 3-yrs avg. DM greater than the lowest yielding lines by 46%. FD 7 cultivar “715RR” produced the highest crude protein (CP: 240 g·Kg−1) while FD 8 cultivar “HVX840RR” resulted in the highest neutral detergent fiber digestibility (NDFD: 484 g·Kg−1, 7% greater than the top yielding cultivars) but with DM yield intermediate. Yields and NDFD correlated positively but weakly indicating some semi- and non-FD cultivars performing similarly. These results suggest that selecting high yielding cultivars under 35-day cutting schedule strategy can be used as a tool to help growers to maximize yield while achieving good quality forages for sustainable alfalfa production in California’s Central Valley.

Sweet potato and potato residual flours as potential nutritional and healthy food material

In this study, the proximate composition, mineral content and amino acid composition of starch processing residues from 10 cultivars of sweet potato and 10 cultivars of potato were determined, and the nutritional and health-related values of these residues were investigated. The residual flours contained 20.63-31.48 g and 17.14-28.57 g rich dietary fiber per 100 g dry weight for sweet potato and potato, respectively, as well as mineral elements, including potassium, ferrum, zinc and copper. The highest limiting amino acid score （AAS） of the almost balanced amino acid composition were observed to be 71.07 and 57.96 for sweet potato and potato residues, respectively. A grey relational analysis showed that the nutritional values of Jishu 4 at 0.7519 and LT-5 at 0.7281 were the highest among the sweet potato and potato residues, respectively. The evaluation of the sweet potato/potato residues, the by-products of the starch industry, based on recommended daily intake （RDI） standards, indicated that the residues have potential nutritional and health-related food values.

Chemical Composition and Nutritive Value of Ramie Plant [Boehmeria nivea （L.） Gaud] and Its By-Products from the Textile Industry as Feed for Ruminants

In order to verify the possible use of ramie as feed for ruminants, a study was undertaken on the chemical and nutritional evaluation of different parts of this plant. Four stocks of samples picked up in two different periods （summer and autumn） were analyzed. The standard chemical composition was determined on the whole plant and on its parts, the study was particularly focused on leaves and tops, not used in fibre production and available as livestock feed. Organic matter enzymic digestibility （OMD） was determined on all the samples by a double step method based on cellnlolytic andproteolytic enzymes. The chemical analysis showed good crude proteins content in leaves, tops and whole plant： 17.00 ~ 1.52%, 15.25 ~ 0.77% and 11.79 ~ 3.32% on dry matter （DM） basis respectively and good acid （ADF） and neutral （NDF） detergent fibre fractions. Lignin and ash resulted high in all plant parts and organic matter （OM） was consequently low, ash analysis showed high calcium concentration, especially in leaves, with values exceeding 4% of din, whereas the other micro （except the lead） and macroelements were in a normal range. OMD and energy values resulted poor in leaves, tops and in the whole plant and lower than the other forages commonly used as feed for runninants, thus the utilisation of ramie plant and its by-products requests further investigations.

Comparative study of the nutritional composition and toxic elements of farmed and wild Chanodichthys mongolicus

Information of the difference in quality between farmed and wild fish is central to better ensuring fish products produced in aquaculture meet regulatory and consumer requirements. Proximate composition, amino acid and fatty acid profiles, and toxic elements contents of fanned and wild Chanodichthys mongolicus were established and compared. Significantly higher crude protein content while lower moisture content in farmed fish compared to wild fish were observed （P〈0.05）. The percentages of total amino acids （TAA）, total essential amino acids （TEAA）, total non-essential amino acids （TNEAA） and total delicious amino acids （TDAA） in farmed fish were all significantly higher than those in the wild equivalent （P〈0.05）. Compared to the FAO/WHO recommended reference values, the ratios of TEAA/ TAA （39.84%o-40.33%） were comparable to 40% and TEAA / TNEAA （66.22%-67.60%） were above 60%. Fatty acid profiles in both farmed and wild C. mongolicus were dominated by monounsaturated fatty acid （MUFA）, with farmed fish contained much more MUFA content compared to wild counterpart （P〈0.05）. Notably, wild fish exhibited significantly higher levels of total polyunsaturated fatty acid （PUFA） including eicosapentaenoic acid （EPA） and docosahexaenoic acid （DHA） than fanned fish （P〈0.05）. The EPA （C20：503） and linoleic acid （C18：206） were the predominant PUFA in wild and farmed C. mongolicus, respectively. Moreover, farmed fish displayed an overall lower toxic element levels （As, Cd, Pb and Hg） in comparison with wild fish, and both were far lower than the established limit standard. In conclusion, our results suggest that the nutritional quality of fanned C. mongolicus was inferior to their wild counterpart with respect to fatty acids nutrition, and therefore further studies should focus on the improving C. mongolicus diet in order to enhance the overall nutritional composition.

Effects of Plant Density on Forage Nutritive Value of Whole Plant Corn

In the field experiment, the effects of plant densities (75 000, 112 500 and 150 000 plants ha-1) on forage nutritive value of whole plant corn (WPC) were studied from 1999 to 2001. The results demonstrated that with the increasing of plant density, the forage matter yield per plant corn decreased significantly, while the fresh matter and dry matter per hectare corn increased significantly, and a higher grains yield was gotten at higher plant densities. Forage nutritive quality of whole plant corn was changed as plant density increased, the crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), crude fiber (CF), nitrogen free extract (NFE) and general energy (GE) yields increased obviously. Increas- ing plant density reasonably with the application of plant growth regulators could improve plant properties, harvest more forage matter, and enhance forage nutritive value of WPC.