Trypsin inhibitors and nutritive value in cereals.

Chemical assays demonstrated that rye and barley cultivars contained relatively high levels of trypsin inhibitor activity as compared to oat and wheat cultivars, and there was a low degree of stability to prolonged wet treatment. In feeding trials with broiler chicks, incorporation of 67% raw barley or 50% raw rye in the rations enhanced feed intake and weight gains, and the marginal increases in pancreas weight were not reversed by feeding autoclaved cereals. Raw rye cultivars fed at the 75% level in mouse diets reduced weight gains, feed efficiency, protein digestibility, protein efficiency ratio and biological value. Autoclaving to inactivate trypsin inhibitors, or ether extraction to remove the resorcinols, failed to improve the nutritive value of rye diets for mice. It appeared that the protease inhibitors in the four cereals were relatively weak inhibitors of trypsin in the digestive system despite stability to dry heat and acid pH.