Comparative characteristics of the content of essential amino acids, biological value of seed protein of sunflower bred in VNIIMK

Sunflower is a promising raw source of protein. This is due not only to the spread of the crop in Russia, but to a greater extent to the amino acid composition of the seed protein, which has a high percentage of digestibility (up to 90%) and has a biological value of 60%. We carried out a comparative estimation of the content of essential amino acids in seeds of sunflower hybrids and varieties bred in VNIIMK, which were grown on the experimental plots of the Krasnodar region in similar agroecological conditions. Determination of the amino acid composition was carried out using the high-performance liquid chromatography according to generally accepted current methods. Limiting amino acids in sunflower seed protein (lysine, leucine) have been identified. The first limiting amino acid of sunflower is lysine, the maximum amount of which is noted in the protein of seeds of the hybrids Achilles -4.2 g/kg, Taifun and Kubansky 930 - 3.6 g/kg each. It was found that sunflower seed protein contains branched chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, valine) which is within 50.8-52.6% of the total number of essential amino acids. According to the amount of essential amino acids in the protein of sunflower seeds, the following hybrids were distinguished: Achilles, Gorstar, Taifun, Kubansky 930. The biological value of sunflower samples has been calculated, ranging from 56.4 to 62.2% in relation to the FAO/WHO protein standard. The utilitarianism coefficient of the amino acid composition of sunflower seed protein differs between hybrids by 0.06 fractions of units.