title: Some Nutritional Characteristics of a Naturally Occurring Alga (Microcystis sp.) in a Guatemalan Lake.
abstract: The nutritional characteristics of an alga (Microcystis sp.) that occurs naturally in a Guatemalan lake were determined. The sun-dried material proved to have a high protein content (55.6%) and to be a possible good source of calcium and phosphorus (1, 169.1 and 633.4 mg/100 mg, respectively). Amino acid analysis showed that total sulfur amino acids were the most deficient ones, giving a protein score of 42 to the material. The in vitro protein digestibility of the material was 69.5%. Biological trials demonstrated that when the material was offered as the only protein source, very low consumption and a high mortality rate were obtained whether or not the diet was supplemented with 0.4% dl-methionine. However, when the material supplied 25% of the total protein of a corn-algae diet, the protein quality of the cereal was significantly improved (P < 0.05).
authors.affiliation: Division of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama, Guatemala City, Guatemala, Central America.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: de la Fuente
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Flores
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Molina
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Almengor
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bressani