Calidad de las proteínas de los menúes consumidos por dos grupos poblacionales en Cuba

The quality of the proteins of a menu depends not only on the quality of each food which forms part of it but also on the complementary effect of the proteins of those foods. Every region has a food pattern which typifies it. That is why it has been pointed out the importance of measuring the quality of the proteins of mixed diets consumed in different regions. In the present work, the aminoacid score (AAS) of menus consumed by a group of pregnant women and another group of children in school age was determined as an indicator of the quality of proteins. As a reference pattern it was taken the one of the children in preschool age. Also it was measured the consumption frequency of the different foods and the percentage of proteins supplied by these. Lysine resulted the limitary aminoacid in 52.8% of menus with an AAS of 92.4%. The tryptophan was the second limitary aminoacid, but with an AAS higher than 100%. These results agree with the high proportion of proteins supplied by cereals. The average AAS (97.5%) was higher than the one informes for the menus consumed in some developing countries (74%), this seems to be determined because 43.7% of proteins were animal origin and by the complementary effect of foods which appeared with higher frequency (rice and beans).