Nutritional profile of Kuwaiti composite dishes: Proximate composition, phytates content and protein quality evaluation

The chemical composition and nutritional quality of 22 Kuwaiti composite dishes were investigated. On a fresh weight basis, the dishes contained 13.9-91.6% moisture, 0.93-18.1% protein (Nx6.25), 0.2-16.4% fat, 0.00-0.8% crude fiber, 0.8-4.6% ash, 4.5-73.86% carbohydrates (by difference), 165.6-1556.8 kJoules (39.6-372.1 kcal) and 0.014-0.37% phytates. The essential amino acids most deficient in the dishes were mostly tryptophan (18 dishes) or either lysine (one dish) or total sulphur amino acids (M + C, in one dish). The chemical scores ranged between 15-96 (FAO/WHO, 1989). The in-vitro protein digestibility (IVPD) calculated protein efficiency ratio (C-PER), and protein digestibility corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) values, ranged between 73.4-90.0%, 0.6-2.91 and 0.13-0.84, respectively. Under identical conditions, the Animal Nutrition Research Council casein showed IVPD, C-PER and PDCAAS values of 90%, 2.5 and 1.00 respectively. The significance of these results are discussed.