Growth, Reproduction, and Lactation on Diets Containing Soy Beans as the Sole Source of Vitamins B and G

Human beings and farm animals are dependent upon seeds for a considerable portion of their food supply. Many of these substances have been the subject of rigid dietary investigations within recent years - especially the grains - because of their great economic importance. Soy beans, which have been used as a food by Chinese and Japanese for hundreds of years, are becoming of great importance in the United States. There are many varieties of soy beans known. Granthan reports the analysis of seventeen varieties, and he does not include all. The color of the bean varies from the light yellow of the Manchu to the black of the Sable. Daniels and Nichols found that a sixty percent level of soy bean furnished adequate protein and a sufficient amount of vitamins A and B for normal growth. They found that the addition of butter fat prevented failure of the young to develop normally. McCollum, Simmonds, and Pitz observed that a twenty-five percent level of soy bean furnished adequate vitamin B for growth. Osborne and Mendel found that good reproduction and normal growth of young could be obtained on a diet containing fifty percent of soy bean as the only source of vitamin B