Digestibility of water-soluble fibroin has long remained unknown. The present study thus aimed to clarify the digestibility of water-soluble fibroin extracted from silk yarn, and to determine the proximate composition and amino acid composition.
In vitro digestibility of water-soluble fibroin was 58% after treatment with pepsin-trypsin-chymotrypsin. In contrast,
in vivo true digestibility (TD) of water-soluble fibroin was 65.7% in rats. Moreover, water-soluble fibroin exhibited lower food efficiency, TD, protein efficiency ratio, biological value, and net protein utilization as a protein source than the casein group. The present study has thus clarified the digestibility of water-soluble fibroin.
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