ABSTRACT
The biological values marked by the pepsin-pancreatin digest index indicate that in the course of yogurt fermentation the in vitro digestibility of proteins, and especially the release of amino acids, increases, resulting in an improvement of the nutritive value. Fermented soybean foods are very popular in the Far East, and the most familiar among them is the tempeh of Indonesian origin. Weight gain and food consumption by rats receiving a diet containing fermented wheat were significantly increased over the wheat control group. The increase in body weight and Protein efficiency ratio (PER) value of rats consuming diets after 48 hr fermentation was the highest. The consumption of diets after 72 hr fermentation was reduced because of the flavor change; this caused a reduction in weight gain. The nutritive value of proteins in the tempeh itself changed with the function of fermentation time. The PER and Essential Amino Acid Index increased after 12 to 36 hr fermentation.
