Studies on Brassica carinata seed. 1. Protein molecular structure in relation to protein nutritive values and metabolic characteristics.

The objectives of this study were to investigate (1) the protein chemical profile, (2) the protein subfractions partitioned by the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System (CNCPS), (3) the rumen crude protein (CP) degradation kinetics, (4) the protein supply predicted by the DVE/OEB system, (5) the protein structural features using a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic technique with attenuated total reflectance (ATR), and (6) the correlations between protein intrinsic structural features and nutritional profiles in three strains of Brassica carinata in yellow and brown seed coats, with comparison to canola seed as a reference. The results showed that carinata seed strains were different in both nutritional values and IR absorbance within the protein spectral region (ca. 1720-1482 cm(-1)). The comparison between yellow and brown B. carinata seeds indicated that the former was lower in acid detergent insoluble crude protein (ADICP; P = 0.002) and undegradable protein fraction (PC; P = 0.002) and greater in the degradable (D) fraction (P = 0.004) and true absorbed protein in the small intestine (DVE; P = 0.02) as well as feed milk value (FMV; P = 0.02) than the latter. The brown canola seed (Brassica napus L.) was also not in full accordance with B. carinata seed on these parameters. The FTIR studies showed significant differences in protein amide II peak height, amide I peak area, and β-sheet height among different B. carinata strains. However, multivariate spectral analyses indicated a similarity in protein structural makeup in these four kinds of oilseed. The not very strong correlations shown in this study implied that the limited sample size and narrow range in biological and spectral variation might be responses for the weak relationships between chemical profile and mid-IR spectral data. Further studies using sufficient samples with wide and diverse range in nutritional properties are needed to illustrate the actual relationship between spectroscopic data and nutritional profiles in oilseeds.