The in vivo and in vitro protein quality of three hemp protein sources

Abstract In this work, the protein quality of defatted hemp hearts and protein‐enriched hemp fractions was determined. Protein quality was assessed using a rodent bioassay to evaluate growth and protein digestibility, while amino acid composition was determined via HPLC. A method for determining in vitro protein digestibility was compared to in vivo methodology and used to generate an in vitro protein quality score. The true protein digestibility of hemp protein 2, a hemp protein concentrate, was significantly lower than that of either defatted hemp hearts or hemp protein 1, a hemp protein concentrate ( p < .05). While there was no relationship between the in vivo and in vitro measurements of protein digestibility ( R 2 = .293, p = .459), there was a significant correlation between the protein digestibility‐corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) determined in vivo and in vitro PDCAAS ( R 2 = .989, p = .005). The protein efficiency ratio of hemp protein 1 was significantly lower than that of either defatted hemp hearts or hemp protein 2 ( p < .05). These data highlight the nutritional capacity of hemp protein sources while also demonstrating the relationship between in vivo and in vitro methods for determining protein quality.