AMINO ACID AND PROXIMATE ANALYSES OF WEED SEEDS

Weed seeds commonly found in Western Canadian cereals and oil seeds as dockage were examined for their amino acid, protein, oil and fiber contents. The weeds analyzed were Sinapis arvenis L.(wild mustard), Thlaspi arvense L. (stinkweed), Descurainia sophia (L.) Webb (flixweed), Polygonum convolvulus L. (wild buckwheat), Rumex pseudonatronatus L. (field dock), Avena fatua L. (wild oats), Setaria viridis (L.) Beauv. (green foxtail), Iva xanthifolia Nutt. (false ragweed), Chenopodium album L. (lamb’s-quarters), and Amaranthus retroflexus L. (redroot pigweed). Composite analysis showed that some of the weed seeds are high in protein and oil content. Amino acid analysis showed that many weeds have an excellent essential amino acid balance, and also a higher content of essential amino acids than do the commonly grown cereals. These results suggest that some weed seeds could be excellent sources of protein and oil for feed or food purposes.