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Studies on the Utilization of Tempeh Protein by Weanling Rats^{1 ,2}

New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Cornell University, at Geneva, New York

The effect of allowing a specific mold of the Rhizopus species to grow on soybeans has been studied in weanling rats. The mold did not improve protein efficiency nor growth in these studies above the protein efficiency ratio for the unfermented soybeans. Either the mold or something elaborated by the mold depressed the acceptance of the diets containing the fermented soybeans (tempeh). It was found that the acceptance of the tempeh-containing diets by rats was decreased with each 12-hour increment in fermentation time. There was no marked change on our parameters (growth, feed consumption, digestibility and protein efficiency ratio) of deep-fat frying tempeh for 3 minutes or less or of steaming for 2 hours or less after the fermentation step. In all our studies the animals receiving diets containing tempeh have consumed less food than similar animals fed diets containing unfermented full-fat soybean meal. Our experiments do not show an improvement in the nutritional value and digestibility of soybeans fermented by a specific mold of the Rhizopus species, but they do show that properly prepared tempeh contains high quality protein.

² Approved for publication as Journal Paper no. 1369, by the Director of the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, New York.

Manuscript received 7 December 1963.