STRUCTURE AND POTENTIAL ALLERGENIC CHARACTER OF CEREAL PROTEINS: I. PROTEIN CONTENT AND AMINO ACID COMPOSITION

The protein content and amino acid composition of grain of various cultivars of 12 cereal species (Triticum monococcum, T. durum, T. aestivum, T. spelta, Secale cereale, Triticosecale, Hordeum vulgare, H. nuda, Avena sativa, A. nuda, Panicum miliaceum, Zea mays), one buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) and one amaranth (Amaranthus molerosa) were studied in biochemical experiments. The grain yield of T. monococcum, T. spelta, Avena nuda, T. durum and one old Hungarian bread wheat (T. aestivum, cv. Bánkúti 1201) reached the highest protein concentration (20.9-18.2%). The protein content of other species were in the intervals as follows: bread wheat 14-16%, 15.4%, triticale 13.5-14.5%, millet 10.4-14.3%, barley 10-14.9%, oat 12.4-12.9%, corn 10.6-13.8%. Amaranth had high protein content (15,4%) with a favourable amino acid composition. Similarly to the crude protein the highest total amino acid content was measured in the grain of spelt, einkorn, naked oat, and wheat cv. Bánkúti 1201. Sweet corn, dent type of corn hybrid, oat and spring malting barley had the lowest level of amino acid content. Pop corn had the highest leucine content. The highest methionine, lysine and arginine were found in the wholemeal of amaranth, while corn, barley and common wheat proved to be poor in methionine and lysine. Our results suggest that the poor methionine and lysine content of common wheat could be supplemented mostly by adding wholemeal of amaranth and naked oat. Buckwheat is suitable for increasing the lysine content in cereal products. The wholemeal of naked oat contains significantly higher amount of six out of the essential eight amino acids than the aestivum and durum wheat.