Chapter-I ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Introduction ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1

The world is coming to recognize the grim truth that ultimately the population growth

will outstrip food suppliers with apocalyptic results. About 36 million people die

every year due to hunger or as a result of hunger (Gasperini and Maguire, 2001). A

total of 842 million people or around one in eight people in the world, were estimated

to be suffering from chronic hunger, regularly not getting enough food to conduct an

active life (FAO, 2013). There are 16 million people undernourished in developed

countries (FAO, 2012). If the current average birth rate continues, the world’s

population will grow from the current 6.7 to 9.2 billion by the year 2050, most of

which will be in the less developed countries, the countries least able to feed their

children (WHO/UN, 2007). Feeding 9.2 billion people at the current dietary levels

presents the staggering necessity of increasing the earth’s food producing capacity to

a rate never seen before (Ghaly and Alkoaik, 2010). More than half the world’s

population sees its health, even its survival, threatened by serious nutritional

deficiencies. Protein deficiency is at the root of problems of growth and immunity.

Vitamin A deficiency affects more than 10 million children, causing half the blindness

in the world. Hypovitaminosis-A is defined by World Health Organization (WHO) as

the second priority after protein malnutrition. Iron deficiency, even more widespread,

since according to United Nations International Children’s Emergency Funds

(UNICEF), 500 million children suffer chronic anemia with its accompanying

immunity problems and hindrance to physical and mental growth. For decades, WHO

has had a programme for fighting these three deficiencies but while the need is great

the cost is high (Zanin, 2009).

People whose diet provides their body with a regular and adequate supply of

the nutrients essential for growth and health are said to be well-nourished. Those

whose diets fall short on one or more of these essential nutrients are malnourished.

Malnutrition is the biggest health problem in the world. Protein deficiency or protein

caloric malnutrition (PCM) is one of the major nutritional problems in the developing

world (Latharn, 1997). Approximately, 60% of the 10.9 million deaths each year

among children under the age of five in the developing world are attributed to

malnutrition (WHO, 2002a). It is estimated that 730,000,000 children in the world are

currently malnourished (FAO, 2012). India is one of the highest ranking countries in

the world for the number of children suffering from malnutrition. The prevalence of

underweight children in India is among the highest in the world, and is nearly double

that of Sub-Saharan Africa with dire consequences for mobility, mortality,

2

productivity and economic growth (The World Bank, 2009). The Global Hunger

Index (GHI) report ranked India 15th, amongst leading countries

with hunger situation (GHI, 2011). In India, around 46 per cent of all children below

the age of three are too small for their age, 47 per cent are underweight and at least 16

per cent are wasted. Many of these children are severely malnourished. One in every

three malnourished children in the world lives in India (The World Bank, 2009).

Malnourished children are smaller and weaker than their peers. They have more

frequent and more severe intestinal and respiratory infections, and they take longer to

recover from them. Their attention span is shorter and their ability to concentrate or

remember things is less than that of well nourished children. Their life expectancy is

shorter. In severe cases, they suffer permanent mental and physical damage in their

first tender years of life from a lack of enough food (Cameron and Hofvander, 1983).

In a world where the struggle to succeed can be very tough, they begin life at a

tremendous disadvantage, through no fault of their own. The suffering and loss of

human potential from malnutrition is unnecessary. Malnutrition is preventable in very

much the same way as smallpox and polio are. While there is no vaccine against

malnutrition, the same creative forces that developed the vaccines and the same

determination that makes sure children are vaccinated against crippling diseases can

free our children from the plague of malnutrition. FAO has, for long, tried to define

criteria for quantifying malnutrition. In the 1970’s it put the accent on protein deficit.

Later, it defined malnutrition (or chronic underfeeding) by the single deficit of energy

when the level is below an annual average intake of 2, 200 cal/day, 780 million

individuals are concerned, of whom 195 million are children under 5 (FAO/WHO,

1992). However, this method does have the disadvantage of failing to take into

account deficiencies in protein, vitamins and minerals. The main ones being iron,

vitamin-A, iodine and calcium. Now, some populations with low income, while

satisfying the criterion of 2, 200 cal/day, suffer shortages of nutrients. This refers to a

much greater number than that estimated by FAO: more than 2000 million individuals

are affected by these two forms of malnutrition: caloric and specifically deficient in

one or more nutrients (Adeyeye & Omolayo, 2011). Specific nutritional deficiencies

can cause serious health problems, especially in children: low weight, slow growth,

mental retardation, weakened immunity, sometimes death. In fact, it is during the first

5 years that the consequences are most dramatic: the body and especially the nervous

3

system are in a period of rapid growth and need the presence for their development of

proper nutrients (King and King, 1991).

A large section of the populations of the underdeveloped world lives under

substandard conditions, including nutritionally inadequate diets. The available food

supplies are not sufficient to meet the demands of the growing population. Further,

shortage of supply of good quality protein food is also a serious concern of the feed

producers to produce animal protein. Use of human dietary and animal protein such as

soybean and fish in livestock and fish diets, particularly in fish meals is unaffordable

in the developing economies. This limits aquaculture development since fish requires

more protein than terrestrial animals (Wilson, 1991). These considerations have

necessitated the search for additional sources of protein. The widening gap between

the supply and demand can be bridged by increasing the production of food and by

supplementing the existing resources with novel foodstuffs. The development of

novel protein sources such as Fish Protein Concentrate (FPC) (Pariser et al., 1978;

Sikka et al., 1979), Single Cell Protein (SCP) (Tannenhaum and Wang, 1975;

Ferrianti and Fiechter, 1983), Soybean Protein (SBP) (Mendez et al., 2002; Bhatia and

Greer, 2008) and insect protein (Ghaly and Alkoaik, 2010) have made significant

contributions toward the alleviation of the world protein deficiency (Kuijer and

Wielenga, 1999). However, there is still an estimated one billion people suffering

from protein deficiency and malnutrition (FAO, 2008; WHO, 2002b). Therefore, new

methods of feeding the underfed world population, especially in the less developed

countries, have to be developed. Those methods that will guarantee a continuous

protein supply require most serious attention since most malnutrition cases have been

found to be a result of protein insufficiency. There is agreement among scientists that

protein malnutrition contributes to the high death rate among infants and children of

the less developed countries and causes among the survivors debilitating weakness,

higher susceptibility to disease and irreversible brain damage (FAO, 2008; WHO,

2002b).

In most under developed countries, the majority of the people are vegetarian

and even where it is possible to obtain meat the price is too high that most families do

not have meat more than once a week (Ghaly and Alkoaik, 2010). Therefore,

expansion of present agricultural practices into marginal lands is expected to solve

this chronic world food shortage. The process of photosynthesis is the only non

depletable protein source and can supply some essential amino acids as well as

4

provide adequate nitrogen in the diet for synthesis of non essential amino acids

(Kinsella, 1970; Staman, 1970). However, only a very small percentage of the world

edible plants are being utilized for human food. Furthermore, about 90% of the world

plant food comes from only 20 crops and in many countries only 6 crops are actually

exported/imported (Parrish et al, 1974). Leafy vegetable protein is about half the

vegetable protein content in the human diet and probably contributes more to the

world protein total than do fish, although less attention is given to it.

Two factors limit the nutritional value of plant leaves to monogastric animals:

The high fibre content and the indigestibility of cellulose (Kinsella, 1970). Normally

animals assimilate the plant protein and they are in turn are consumed by human and

through this food chain man avoid the cellulose. However, this food chain system is

very inefficient in under developed countries since most people do not eat enough

animal protein for economic reasons. Moreover, only 8-20% of the plant protein

consumed by animals is recoverable as protein for human nutrition. Thus, more

efficient ways of utilizing plant protein must be found.

Although protein is costly to produce, it is the greatest limitation to growth

and good health (Altschul, 1965). There is a great disparity in protein usage by the

various nations. Figure 1.1 shows the global geographical distribution of malnutrition

(Ghaly and Alkoaik, 2010). The low protein content in the diet is associated with the

low level of animal protein supply and results in acute clinical symptoms, particularly

among children. Moreover, even when children survive the aftermath leaves its mark

on adulthood and renders the adults more susceptible to further debilitations when

exposed to diseases which normally would be tolerated by people with a history of

good nourishment (Sodamode et al., 2013). Therefore, protein deficiency requires

special attention for the following reasons: (a) the scientific evidence available now

points to the fact that apart from calorie shortage, protein deficiency diseases are the

major cause of malnutrition in low income countries, (b) protein deficiencies present

special difficulties because of inadequate methods of diagnosis, (c) protein

deficiencies in under developed countries are always linked with other deficiencies so

that accurate clinical diagnosis and epidemiological studies may be difficult, (d)

proteins are complex chemical compounds and there are wide variations in their

composition based on their sources, storage, processing and cooking, (e) proteins are

required in considerable amounts each day and deficiency cannot (except possibly as

an emergency measure) be dealt with through provision of medicine and (f) proteins

5

are normally among the most expensive foods and their immediate provision in many

countries may entail imports which could be difficult based on general financial

grounds in poor countries (Kinsella, 1970).

It is not enough to present statistics which indicate that protein supplies are

inadequate for large population groups. It is, thus, necessary to demonstrate that

malnutrition actually occurs as a clinically identifiable disease. The most disastrous

consequences occur in children where protein malnutrition manifests itself in forms of

two notorious diseases: kwashiorkor and Marasmus (Abowei & Ekubo, 2011).

Kwashiorkor is a case of severe protein deficiency with the absence of serious

calorie deficiency (Amadou et al., 2010; Loubna & Nacer, 2011). It is a medical name

for malnutrition when a child is weaned and the diet that replaces breast milk is high

in carbohydrates and deficient in protein as is common in many parts of the world

where the bulk of the diet is made of starchy vegetables (Williams, 1953). The name

is derived from one of the languages in coastal Ghana, translated “first-second”. It

means the rejected one, reflecting the development of the condition in the older child

after the second one is born. A picture of a child suffering from Kwashiorkor disease

is shown in Figure 1.2 (Ghaly and Alkoaik, 2010). Early symptoms of kwashiorkor

disease include: Fatigue, irritability and lethargy. As protein deprivation continues,

growth failure, loss of muscle mass, swelling edema and decreased immunity occur.

Other conditions include: Edema of the legs and feet, a pot-belly, light colored-thin

hair, skin depigmentation, shiny skin, dermatitis, loss of teeth and enlarged liver

(Cilinberto et al., 2005). Protein function in the body is to keep the blood from leaking

out of the blood stream into the body tissues and cavities. When blood proteins are

very low, serum seeps into the soft tissues and abdominal cavities causing defuse

body swelling or edema and abdominal bloating or ascites. Aside from the direct

effect of the disease, there are some secondary effects including: Lowered resistance

to infection and the infection in turn reduces the capacity of the child to be nourished

and enhances the malnourished condition. Kwashiorkor typically occurs at about age

one after infants are weaned from breast milk to a protein deficient diet of starchy

gruels or sugar water, but it can develop at any time during the formative years

(WHO, 2002b; Krawinkel, 2003). Kwashiorkor patient’s mortality in poor countries is

18-30% (WHO, 2002b). Mortality rate of children 1-4 years of age in countries where

Kwashiorkor is rare is only 1.0-3.8 per 1000 population where mortality in countries

Figure 1.1:

2010).

(a)

Figure 1.2

edema and

2010).

: Global geo

2: Picture o

d (b) Signif

ographical d

of children

ficant weigh

6

distribution

with kwas

ht loss, fat

n of malnutr

(b)

shiorkor (a)

igue and p

ition (Ghaly

) Significan

pot-belly (G

y and Alkoa

nt hair thin

Ghaly and A

aik,

ning and

Alkoaik,

7

Figure 1.3: Picture of a child with marasmus (Ghaly and Alkoaik, 2010).

8

where kwashiorkor is prevalent ranges from 12-60 per 1000 for the same age group

(Badaloo et al., 2006; Pirie, 1975a).

Marasmus is a severe general malnutrition syndrome of both calorie and

protein (Amadou et al., 2010; Loubna & Nacer, 2011). It affects infants age 6-18

months old as a result of breast feeding failure or a debilitating condition such as

diarrhea. Figure 1.3 shows a picture of a child with marasmus (Ghaly and Alkoaik,

2010). The child looks emaciated and the body may be reduced to less than 80% of

normal weight for that height. The malnutrition leads to extensive tissue and muscle

wasting as well as variable edema, dry skin, loose skin folds hanging over the glutei

and axcille, vomiting, lethargy and impaired immunity. The afflicted child becomes

fretful, irritable and voraciously hungry (Cilinberto et al., 2005). Protein malnutrition

in adults is not easy to detect as in children and yet there may be far reaching effects

including the prospect of permanent damage to organs in those adults who had a

protein malnutrition experience when young which would influence the later habits

and activities (WHO, 2002b).

The increasing storage of food protein for human and animal consumption has

drawn attention to fresh green leaves as source of protein. Pirie, 1966 has suggested

that “when vegetable consumption is accepted, protein extracted from leaves should

be used as a supplementary protein concentrate especially in wet tropical countries”.

Shortage of supply of the good quality protein for meeting the requirements of

increasing animal and human population has necessitated search for addition sources

(Bedor & Kulkarni, 2011). The unconventional source of protein which include

oilseed meals, fish protein concentrate, single cell protein and perhaps algal and leaf

proteins have tremendous scope for developing low cost protein foods (Ghaly et al.,

2012; Olaofe et al., 1994) and thus filling the huge “protein-gap” that exists between

the overall requirements of protein foods for adequate nutrition of the population and

the total availability of such protein foods.

Out of all the unconventional source of protein, leaf protein appears to have

better exploitation in the light of excessive of photosynthesis and availability of

abundant green vegetation (Srivastava & Mohan, 1981). Leaf concentrate can be a

powerful tool in the effort to defeat malnutrition. Pirie, 1966 suggested incorporation

of leaf protein concentrate (LPC) into human food. Shah, 1976 extracted proteins

from grasses which contained 35%-60% protein, 6%-10% crude lipids and 1.01-1.47

mg/g of carotene. Research interest has been focused on different leaf meals as

9

protein sources in animal feeds (Abowei & Ekubo, 2011). Constraints to enhanced

utilization of seeds and leaves of fodder trees includes high fibre content, presence of

anti-nutritional factors (ANF) and deficiencies of some essential amino acids.

Processing of leaf into leaf protein concentrate reduces fibre content and some ANFs

(Pirie, 1971). Concentrates are feedstuffs high in digestible nutrients and low in fibre.

Better use of plants to deal with problems of poverty, food and nutritional security,

income generation and environmental health would revive such plants that are

currently neglected as increase demand would encourage farmers to increase their

production.

Leaf proteins have been found to have great nutritive value than most of the

pulses, resembling skim milk in the diet of infants recovering from kwashiorkor. It

also helps avert certain diseases associated with malnutrition, in particular anemia,

diarrhea, respiratory infections and nutritional blindness. In very young children they

allow normal development of the brain and thus safeguard the ability to benefit from

education and to improve the chance of a better life (Zanin, 2009). It has been

advocated as a potential protein food source for human consumption (Pirie, 1971).

Trees have also been suggested as a possible source of leaf protein food in

addition to already identified weeds, cultivated crops and wild plant species. The

production of protein food from tree leaves appears to have a unique advantage as

they do not involve recurring cost of cultivation as in the case of crops (Sodamode et

al., 2013; Pirie, 1968b). It has been estimated that trees may yield 6-7 tones of protein

annually per ha (Siren et al, 1970). However, the trees have not yet been sufficiently

studied for their leaf protein production potentiality. Pirie, 1968b also advocate the

potentiality of tree leaves for leaf protein production.

What is LPC?

Leaf protein concentrate (LPC), a concentrated form of protein derived from

the foliage of plants, has long been recognised (Byers, 1961; Oke, 1973; Pirie, 1971;

Nagy et al, 1978; Saunders et al, 1972) as the inexpensive and most abundant

potential source of proteins for production of animal feed and unconventional foods

because of their capacity to synthesize amino acids from a wide range of virtually

unlimited and readily available primary materials such as sunlight, water, CO2 and

atmospheric N2 (Ravindrian and Blain, 1992; Eggum, 1970). Nutritional value of LPC

extracted from green foliage has been shown to be comparable to that of protein

isolates of animal origin and superior to seed proteins (Morris, 1977).

10

Leaf concentrate is an extremely nutritious food made by mechanically

separating indigestible fibre and soluble anti-nutrients from much of the protein,

vitamins, and minerals in certain fresh green plant leaves. Because it is so rich in beta-

carotene, iron, and high quality protein, leaf concentrate is very effective in combating

malnutrition, especially the anemia and vitamin A deficiency which are prevalent

among children and pregnant women in most developing countries (Kennedy, 1993).

It is easily combined with a variety of inexpensive foods to make culturally acceptable

dishes. Because it takes more direct advantage of solar energy, a leaf crop can

produce more nutrients per hectare than any other agricultural system. Leaf crops can

usually be produced with less environmental impact than grains (Siren et al, 1970).

The simple technology of making leaf concentrate offers a means of capturing a much

greater part of the leaf harvest for direct human consumption. The fibre that is

separated can be used to feed animals and the left over liquid, or "whey" can be used

to fertilize plants, so nothing is lost (Byers, 1961).

LPC has been examined as a human or animal food source, because it is

potentially the cheapest, most abundant source of available protein. Although humans

can derive some protein from the direct consumption of leaves as leaf vegetables, the

human digestive system would not be able to deal with the enormous bulk of leaves

needed to meet dietary protein requirements with leaf vegetables alone (Barbeau,

1989). LPC was first suggested as a human food in the 1960s, but it has not achieved

much success, despite early promise. Pirie, the Noble Prize winner from UK,

reviewed and emphasized importance of its benefits which brought the subject

forward. The increasing reliance on feedlot based animal rearing to satisfy human

appetites for meat has increased demand for cheaper vegetable protein sources. This

has recently led to renewed interest in LPC to reduce the use of human-edible

vegetable protein sources in animal feed (Hussein, 1999).

Apart from lower methionine content, the amino acid profile from most leaf

species compare favorably with those of soya bean, meat, fish and egg and generally,

surpass FAO essential amino acid pattern (Eggum, 1970; Barbeau, 1989). Leaf

protein is a good source of amino acids, with methionine being a limiting factor

(Olaofe et al., 1994). Leaf proteins can also be rich in polyphenols (Rambourg and

Monties, 1983). The challenges that have to be overcome before LPC becomes a

viable protein source for humans include the high fiber content and other anti-

nutritional factors, such as polyphenols, saponins, cyanide, alkaloids and tannins

11

(Ayodeji and Aletor, 2005). Dried LPC contains about 40% crude protein, of which

about three quarters is true protein. The amino acid composition is remarkably

constant regardless of the green fodder used. The biological value of leaf protein lies

between that of soybean and that of milk (Hassan and Umar, 2006). The product is

green and presents no palatability problems when included in mixed feeds.

The basic technology for separating the leaf protein from the fibrous part or

the leaf has been known for about fifty years. The basic steps for the production of

LPC are grinding the plant and separating the juice by pressing. The protein is

dissolved in the juice, after which it is coagulated, usually by heating, and then dried

(Pirie, 1957). Protein that is processed quickly is more readily digested by enzymes,

contains more available lysine, and less methionine sulphoxide than protein processed

more slowly (Saunders et al., 1972).

Green vegetation is the primary replenishable source of food in the world;

numerous technologies have been developed over the last 50 years to separate protein

in leaf from accompanying fibrous material (Adeyeye and Omolayo, 2011). The leaf

extract or juice contains proteins, sugars, salts, lipids and vitamins along with the

moisture in plant. When the juice is heated to over 80oC, or acidified to pH-4.0, green

protein rich curd referred as leaf protein concentrate (LPC) is produced. The LPC can

be separated from deproteinised juice (DPJ) by filtration through cotton cloth. In this

way green foliage can be fractionated mechanically into three fractions: (i) fibrous

pressed crop, (ii) leaf protein concentrate and (iii) deproteinised juice (Wilkins et al,

1977; Pirie, 1978). During green crop fractionation (GCF) the pressed crop residue

(PCR) which is also known fibrous residue, left after the extraction of juice, still

contain from 9 to 16 % crude protein (CP; N x 6.25) in its dry matter (DM) depending

on the species used for fractionation. This can be successfully used as a feed for cattle

(Walker et al., 1983; Joshi, 1983). LPC contain from 40 – 70 % protein (on DM basis)

along with appreciable quantities of β-carotene (pro-vitamin A), vitamin E and

minerals. The LPC can be used as a protein vitamin- minerals supplement in poultry,

calf (Joshi, 1983) or even human nutrition (Pirie, 1978; Shah, 1976). Deproteinised

juice (DPJ) contains soluble components of the plant cell. It is considered as a by-

product of GCF system. This fraction can be used along with PCR in animal nutrition

(Joshi, 1983), for irrigation as a fertilizer source (Ream et al., 1983; Jadhav and

Mungikar, 1998) or for growing useful microorganisms (Pirie, 1971, Pirie, 1978;

Baviskar et al., 1999). It is seldom possible to date precisely.

12

Advantages of LPC

Leaf concentrate is an extremely nutritious food. It is richer in vitamin A and iron

than any commonly available foods. Deficiencies of these two nutrients are two of

the most serious and prevalent health problems in the world today. Leaf

concentrate is also a very good source of high quality protein and calcium, as well

as several other important nutrients (Kennedy, 1993).

It is a very efficient way of using land to produce food, yielding roughly three

times as much protein per hectare as grain crops and five to ten times as much per

hectare as animal rising (Siren et al., 1970).

While the green colour of leaf concentrate foods is unfamiliar, the acceptance of

these foods by children in a dozen different countries has been excellent. As most

parents know, many children all over the world do not like to eat dark green leafy

vegetables (Pirie, 1978).

Leaf concentrate is relatively easy to make. People with little training or education

can make it in rural villages (Ghaly et al., 2012).

It offers a very nutritious food at prices below what foods like meat, cheese, eggs,

or powdered milk cost. It is usually the cheapest dietary source of vitamin A and

iron wherever it is made (Kennedy, 1993).

It is an environmentally sound agricultural technique. Leaf crops protect the soil

from the erosion that has been destroying grain production land. Pesticides are not

needed to protect leaf concentrate crops from cosmetic insect damage since the

leaves are ground to a pulp immediately after harvest (Oke, 1973).

Nothing is wasted in leaf concentrate production. The residual fibre makes an

excellent feed for cows, goats, sheep, horses, rabbits, or guinea pigs. It can also be

used to enrich the soil or in production of bio-gas for cooking. The left over liquid

is rich in nitrogen and potassium, and makes a good fertilizer. It has been used to

produce ethanol as well (Byers, 1961).

Unlike dark green vegetables, leaf concentrate is easy to preserve. It can be dried,

converted to pasta, made into drink mixes or syrups, salted or pickled (Parrish et

al., 1974).

Many of the anti-nutrients found in leafy foods are removed through the leaf

Concentrate process. The hydrocyanic acid, nitrates, goitrgens and free oxalic acid

that limit the usefulness of many leaf crops in the human diet are almost

13

completely removed when the leaves are converted to leaf concentrate (Sogbesan,

2006)).

Leaf concentrate uses far less fuel to prepare than beans, the main high protein

food of the world's poor (Kennedy, 1993).

There have been no known cases of allergic reaction to leaf concentrate since

1975 when the standard processing heat was raised to a minimum of 90 ° C (195 °

F). However, many children are intolerant of other nutrient dense foods like fish

or cheese, and genetic lactose intolerance makes milk a less than ideal food for

children in some regions (CAN, 1993).

LPC as a protein supplement in food/feed

Nutritionists in different part of the world are investigating the possibilities of

supplementing diet with novel source of protein. One such source is leaf protein

concentrate. In order to gain acceptance of novel foods by those who need them most,

special efforts need to be taken towards their popularization. However nutritious or

abundant a novelty is, it may not be adopted unless its palatability has been

determined (Devadas, 1967). Therefore consumer acceptances through persuasion,

education and example are of paramount importance when introducing novel foods.

Amerine et al, 1965 suggested that standardized recipe should be such that it

produces identical result whenever tried under the condition specified. Accordingly,

all the variables such as the ingredients, cooking temperature, duration of cooking, the

quantity of water, salt and condiments used and blending were controlled. For arriving

at the quantity of the LPC to be used, from the nutritional point of view, it was

considered advisable that the LPC furnishes 6-7 g of protein; for this 10-13 g of the

normal product is incorporated (Pirie, 1971).

Use of LPCs as a protein supplement in animal feed has also been

demonstrated (Olvera-Novoa et al., 1990; Abowei and Ekubo, 2012). LPCs for animal

feed currently are manufactured on a large commercial scale from alfalfa (Medicago

sativa) in Europe and the United States (Zanin, 2009). It may also be used in animal

feeds for swine, calves, chickens and fish (Telek and Graham, 1983). Previously,

research on LPCs was aimed mainly at obtaining LPCs for animal feed; lately

encouraging results have shifted interest to its use for humans (Zanin, 2009; Pirie,

1984)

14

Before leaf protein can gain acceptance as a human food, standards of quality

will have to be drawn up. Meticulous care will be needed to meet these standards. The

crop, as harvested, is dirty. It needs careful rinsing to remove dust and other

contaminants from its surface. Otherwise there will be an unacceptable amount of acid

insoluble ash in the final product. The reasons given for extracting the protein with

dilute acid outweigh the disadvantage that these extractions also remove much of the

calcium, magnesium and potassium (Aletor and Adeogun, 1995). These are useful

components of diet, but they are easily supplied in other ways. Coagulation at 800C

kills most of the bacteria and other possibly harmful organism on leaf surface. If this

treatment should not, in some circumstances, be thought adequate, the final product

may be given more intense heat treatments, or hypochlorite or some such agent could

be added to the water in the original rinsing time or to the water used to wash the

protein. The acceptability of crops that have been treated with insecticides or

herbicides is also a matter for experiment. Many are harmless and others are probably

removed from the protein by washing (Pirie, 1971; Pirie, 1978).

Prompted by aforesaid facts, there is a continued interest in developing LPCs

to combat protein deficiency and prospecting for development of LPCs from the trees

acquire significant relevances from scientific and industrial point of view. Since many

tree species are planted as a large scale under agro-forestry/social-forestry programme

and generate huge amount of their leaves as plantation by-products, utilization of

these leaves for production of LPCs could be a practical proposition that could also

generate another income to farmers from these plantations.

15

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