摘要：Twenty male albino rats of the Wistar strain were placed in four experimental groups of five rats each. Group A (Reference group) received a standard protein diet, Group B received a basal or protein-free diet, Group C received the F1-QPM diet, while Group D received common maize (CM) diet. Water and feed were allowed ad libitum . Rats were fed for 21 days at the expiration of which indices of protein nutritional quality viz PER, NPU, NPR, TD and BV, were evaluated. The results showed that Group C rats had a higher (p 0.05). Additionally, the protein contents of the F1-QPM and CM diets compared showed that though F1-QPM had a higher level of protein (11.80 ± 2.84%) than CM (10.67 ± 0.31%), the difference was not significant (p>0.05). Quality protein maize (QPM) maintained its high nutritional quality in spite of change in environment. Increased cultivation and utilization of QPM is recommended as this could help to alleviate hunger and protein malnutrition in developing countries.
