Growth rate and composition of skeletal muscle of chickens fed different raw legume diets.

A significant impairment in the rate of growth and food efficiency, along with an increase in the non-protein nitrogenous fraction and a decrease in the sarcoplasmic nitrogenous fraction of the skeletal musculature, was found in chickens fed ad libitum over a 7-week period on the raw legumes V. faba, G. soja, V. ervilia, and Ph. vulgaris. The possible nature of these effects is discussed.