Removal of deleterious glucosides from safflower meal

Safflower meal is a source of high quality protein for animal feeds but has not been used for human consumption because it is bitter and mildly cathartic. Deleterious glucosides in the meal were removed or modified by extraction with either water at the iso‐electric point or with methanol, enzymatic treatment with β‐glucosidase, dialysis, or by processing to pre‐pare protein isolates. Analytical procedures were de‐vised for quantitative measurement of two phenolic glucosides reported to be associated with bitterness and cathartic activity in safflower meal, and for es‐timating the cathartic activity of safflower meals and fractions.