Amino acid profiles and presumptive nutritional assessment of single-cell protein from certain lactobacilli.

The amino acid profiles, modified essential amino acid (MEAA) indexes, and in vitro pepsin digestibilities were determined for single-cell protein (SCP) from certain industrially important lactobacilli. For the three parameters examined, substantial differences were seen between different Lactobacillus species and between strains with a given species. SCP from all of the lactobacilli examined appeared relatively high in MEAA indexes and pepsin digestibility. SCP from L. acidophilus 3205 and L. fermenti 3954 had the highest MEAA indexes, whereas L. bulgaricus 2217 and L. thermophilus 3863 had the highest percentage of digestible crude protein. SCP from L. plantarum strains had the lowest MEAA indexes. The essential amino acid compositions of SCP from different lactobacilli appear comparable to that of Food and Agriculture Organization reference protein and SCP from other sources.