Production and importance of cereal grain proteins

Abstract Many cereal products consumed by Poles every day contain cereal grains. Grain is identified mainly as a raw material providing energy in the form of starch, which dominates its composition. However, cereal products in the daily diet also provide a significant portion of protein. They are often overlooked and downplayed. Cereal protein, as it is of plant origin, is considered a protein of lower biological quality because of deficient exogenous amino acids (mainly lysine), but it contains a number of important amino acids. Nowadays an increasing number of people pay attention to adequate protein consumption, especially people practising sports, due to the number of functions that protein performs and the amino acids it is composed of. The role of plant protein will increase in the future, due to the growing human population. The problem of suboptimal proportion of amino acids can be solved by properly conducted breeding focused on protein quality. People with gluten intolerance or who want to exclude this protein from their diet can also benefit from protein from non-bread cereals and pseudocereals. Therefore, more and more products with increased protein content are created on the basis of cereal grains, and with an appropriate balance of amino acids. It is possible to obtain high-protein products with a very good amino acid composition from additional raw materials. The aim of this review is to analyse the scientific literature on the quantity and quality of cereal grain protein and its production and nutritional importance for humans and animals.