Biological evaluation of tomato waste seed meals and protein concentrate

Whole meal, deoiled meal and protein concentrate (PC) of tomato seeds were fed to male albino rats to study weight gain, along with standard and non-protein diets. Corrected protein efficiency ratio was 1.82 for whole meal, 1.93 for deoiled meal and 1.99 for PC as compared to 2.5 for casein. The net protein retention (NPR) was highest for casein (2.91), followed by whole meal (2.65) and deoiled meal (2.52) and least for PC (2.51). Tomato seeds contained high quality plant proteins that could be supplemented into various food products.