Eritrean Naturally High Protein Cereal Eden Tareke PhD
Ales is a cereal with historical roots in Eritrea which is recently been re-cultivated by a farmer who started with few seeds in 2003 and now producing more than 200 quintals. Ales contains up to 25% protein which is relatively high compared to protein content in other cereals, about 10–12% dry wt. In the study we analysed protein content in Ales from different areas in Eritrea and found out that protein levels varying from 16-25%. Analysis of amino acid profile revealed that though lysine content is higher in Ales than in many cereals it was still the limiting factor with protein score of 0.65 ± 0.1. Ales grown in some geographic areas in Eritrea exhibited amino acid score for lysine and threonine up to 0.75 % and 0.9 % respectively. In the study the naturally high protein content in Ales was observed to be stable both in the field and laboratory grown Ales. Ales is believed to be highly satiating, a character that is characteristic for high protein food. We also found that Ales has slightly higher levels of soluble and insoluble fibres compared to reference oat variety. However Beta-glucan (a soluble fibre found in oats) content in Ales was less than in oats; indicating that the soluble fibres in Ales are other beta glucan. Soluble fibres are known to have anti-diabetic characters. Thus the locally believed anti-diabetic characters of Ales may be attributed to its soluble fibre content.