A comparison was carried out of the chemical composition and nutritive value of three genotypes of faba beans: two with coloured flowers, Nadwiślański and the self-ending Tinos varieties, and one with white flowers, Caspar. Caspar seeds were heavier and had a lower hull proportion and lower crude protein content (27.2% DM). The largest differences were in the content of proanthocyanidins (condensed tannins) which ranged from 0.02% (Caspar) to 1.11% DM (Tinos). The proanthocyanidin content in dehulled seeds of coloured flower varieties was low (0.02%) and similar to that in the low-tannin variety, Caspar. The antitrypsic activity of the seeds varied, ranging from 3.4 TIU/mg (Caspar) to 7.4 TIU/mg (Tinos). The inositol phosphate (1.05-1.15% DM) and agalactoside (2.1-2.4% DM) contents did not differ significantly. The new varieties, Caspar and Tinos, contained almost twice as much vicine and convicine (0.75% and 0.92%, respectively) as the traditional variety, Nadwiślański (0.36% DM).True digestibility coefficients (TD) for seeds determined on rats differed significantly and were:for Caspar, 83.9; Tinos, 77.3 and Nadwiślański, 80.0. Replacing whole seeds with dehulled seeds significantly increased the digestibility of dietary protein, to 88.1, 88.3 and 84.9, respectively. The net protein utilization (NPU) of the Nadwiślański and Tinos seeds were similar (55.4 and 55.0, respectively) and significantly lower than the NPU of Caspar seeds (61.0). The protein efficiency ratio (PER) of whole seeds supplemented with methionine and tryptophan were similar (Caspar, 2.21; Nadwiślański, 2.18; Tinos, 2.03) and insignificantly lower than the PER of dehulled seeds (2.37, 2.32 and 2.25, respectively).KEY WORDS: faba bean, antinutrients, proanthocyanidins, nutritive value, rats, protein 402 FREJNAGEL S. ET AL.

Selected biochemical indicators in blood and liver and indicators of femur mineralization were determined in rats fed for eight weeks on diets containing 10% fat with a peroxide value below 5,40, 80, 120, 160, or 200 meq 02/kg. The average body weight of the rats was 259.9±10.5 g, the experimental groups contained 12 animals. Fat with a high peroxide value (160 and 200 meq 02/kg) significantly increased the concentration of malondialdehyde in the serum and slightly in the liver. The most sensitive indicators of the reaction of rats to oxidation of dietary fat were the activity of glutathione peroxidase in erythrocytes, which increased with the rising degree of dietary fat oxidation, i.e. at 40 meq 02/kg, the activity of serum aspartate aminotransferase and the vitamin A content in the liver, which fell at a peroxide value of 80 meq 02/kg. A less sensitive indicator was erythrocyte peroxide dismutase activity, which did not increase until fat with a peroxide value of 160 meq 02/kg was fed. The degree of fat oxidation did not significantly affect the activity of serum alanine aminotransferase, liver enzymes (aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, acid phosphatase, and lactate dehydrogenase), serum and liver triglycerides levels, total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol, or femur mineralization indicators.

The size, weight and chemical composition of seeds, cotyledons and seed coat of three Polish varieties of low-alkaloid white lupin, Wat, Hetman and Bardo, were determined in seed samples from the 1992-1994 harvests. In the oldest variety, Wat, the average proportion of the seed coat was nearly 21%, while crude protein content in seeds amounted to 34% of DM. The newer varieties, Hetman and Bardo, had a lower seed coat content (about 18%) and contained more protein (37 and 38% DM, respectively). The alkaloid content in Wat seeds was almost 1 mg/g, while the newer varieties had half this amount. Large differences were found in the contents of nutrients and alkaloids, depending on harvest year. Dehulling raised the protein content to 41 -46% DM and significantly decreased the seed fibre content. Large variations in trace element content were found, independent of the lupin variety, most notably in respect to Mn, Fe and Cu. The Mn content of seeds was relatively high, ranging from 0.44 to 1.45 g/kg.

The effect of faba bean hull fibre on utilization of Fe, Zn and Cu was studied. The degree of binding these elements by the hull fibre was measured in vitro and their retention was determined in rats fed on diets without hulls (control) or with hulls either extracted with acetone to remove phenolic compounds (He) or extracted and incubated in a solution of sulphates of the elements under study (Hi). Incubation performed in vitro in conditions simulating those in the digestive tract (37°C, pH 2 for 5 h followed by pH 5 for 1 h) increased Fe, Zn and Cu content in the hulls by 36.6, 22.4 and 5.4 mg/1 OOg, respectively. The amount of fibre-bound elements in the experimental Hi diet corresponded to 40 % of the amount provided by the control diet.In the animals fed during 4 weeks on the control and experimental diets the total body Zn content was similar in all groups (4.5-4.6 mg/rat). The Fe and Cu content was smaller both in the rats receiving extracted and incubated hulls as compared with control animals (8.26 and 7.58 vs 8.59 and 0.51 and 0.48 vs 0.55 mg/rat, respectively). Small differences between the groups seem to indicate that in spite of the high sorption capacity of faba bean hull fibre in vitro, its effect on utilization of Fe, Zn and Cu in vivo was relatively small.