Dietary intake of tryptophan tied emotion-related impulsivity in humans

Author(s):  
Florian Javelle ◽  
Descartes Li ◽  
Philipp Zimmer ◽  
Sheri L. Johnson

Abstract. Emotion-related impulsivity, defined as the tendency to say or do things that one later regret during periods of heightened emotion, has been tied to a broad range of psychopathologies. Previous work has suggested that emotion-related impulsivity is tied to an impaired function of the serotonergic system. Central serotonin synthesis relies on the intake of the essential amino acid, tryptophan and its ability to pass through the blood brain barrier. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the association between emotion-related impulsivity and tryptophan intake. Methods: Undergraduate participants (N = 25, 16 women, 9 men) completed a self-rated measure of impulsivity (Three Factor Impulsivity Index, TFI) and daily logs of their food intake and exercise. These data were coded using the software NutriNote to evaluate intakes of tryptophan, large neutral amino acids, vitamins B6/B12, and exercise. Results: Correlational analyses indicated that higher tryptophan intake was associated with significantly lower scores on two out of three subscales of the TFI, Pervasive Influence of Feelings scores r =  –.502, p < . 010, and (lack-of) Follow-Through scores, r =  –.407, p < . 050. Conclusion: Findings provide further evidence that emotion-related impulsivity is correlated to serotonergic indices, even when considering only food habits. It also suggests the need for more research on whether tryptophan supplements might be beneficial for impulsive persons suffering from a psychological disorder.

2004 ◽  
Vol 92 (S1) ◽  
pp. S27-S30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Tome

The influence of protein and amino acid on the control of food intake and the specific control of protein and amino acid intakes remains incompletely understood. The most commonly accepted conclusions are: (1) the existence of an aversive response to diets deficient in or devoid of protein or deficient in at least one essential amino acid; (2) the existence of a mechanism that enables attainment of the minimum requirement for N and essential amino acids by increasing intake of a low-protein diet; (3) a decrease in the intake of a high-protein diet is associated with different processes, including the high satiating effect of protein. Ingested proteins are believed to generate pre- and post-absorptive signals that contribute to the control of gastric kinetics, pancreatic secretion and food intake. At the brain level, two major afferent pathways are involved in protein and amino acid monitoring: the indirect neuro-mediated (mainly vagus-mediated) pathway and the direct blood pathway. The neuro-mediated pathway transfers pre-absorptive and visceral information. This information is for the main part transferred through the vagus nerve that innervates part of the oro-sensory zone: the stomach, the duodenum and the liver. Other information is directly monitored in the blood. It is likely that the system responds precisely when protein and essential amino acid intake is inadequate, but in contrast allows a large range of adaptive capacities through amino acid degradation and substrate interconversion.


Cancers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 675 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo-Hyun Choi ◽  
Jonathan L. Coloff

Far beyond simply being 11 of the 20 amino acids needed for protein synthesis, non-essential amino acids play numerous important roles in tumor metabolism. These diverse functions include providing precursors for the biosynthesis of macromolecules, controlling redox status and antioxidant systems, and serving as substrates for post-translational and epigenetic modifications. This functional diversity has sparked great interest in targeting non-essential amino acid metabolism for cancer therapy and has motivated the development of several therapies that are either already used in the clinic or are currently in clinical trials. In this review, we will discuss the important roles that each of the 11 non-essential amino acids play in cancer, how their metabolic pathways are linked, and how researchers are working to overcome the unique challenges of targeting non-essential amino acid metabolism for cancer therapy.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Adeyeye EI ◽  
◽  
Idowu OT ◽  

This article reports the amino acid composition of the Nigerian local cheese called ‘wara’. ‘Wara’ is made by boiling cow milk with some added coagulant to cuddle the milk protein resulting in coagulated milk protein and whey. ‘Wara’ used to be an excellent source of nutrients such as proteins, fats, minerals and vitamins. Samples were purchased in Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. Amino acid values were high (g/100g crude protein) in Leu, Asp, Glu, Pro, Phe, Arg with total value of 97.7. The quality parameters of the amino acids were: TEAA (42.6g/100g and 43.6%) whereas TNEAA (55.1g/100g and 56.4%); TArAA (12.8g/100g and 13.1%); TBAA (14.2g/100g and 14.5%); TSAA (3.10g/100g and 3.17%); %Cys in TSAA (51.4); Leu/Ile ratio (1.74); P-PER1 (2.65); P-PER2 (2.48); P-PER3 (2.41); EAAI1 (soybean standard) (1.29) and EAAI2 (egg standard) (99.9); BV (97.2) and Lys/Trp ratio (3.62). The statistical analysis of TEAA/TNEAA at r=0.01 was not significantly different. On the amino acid scores, Met was limiting (0.459) at egg comparison, Lys was limiting at both FAO/WHO [24] and preschool EAA requirements with respective values of 0.966 and 0.97. Estimates of essential amino acid requirements at ages 10-12 years (mg/kg/day) showed the ‘wara’ sample to be better than the standard by 3.72-330% with Lys (3.72%) being least better and Trp (330%) being most. The results showed that ‘wara’ is protein-condensed which can be eaten as raw cheese, flavoured snack, sandwich filling or fried cake.


Food systems ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-11
Author(s):  
S. V. Zverev ◽  
V. I. Karpov ◽  
M. A. Nikitina

The paper emphasizes the importance of not only the quantitative but also qualitative composition of protein in nutrition. The authors propose protein classification into three main groups according to the concept of reference (ideal) protein. A mathematical model is examined to solve the task of rational mixture production upon the given profile of reference protein. Two variants of the criterion for formation of optimal composition are described. One of them presents the classical sum of squares of the residual for essential amino acid scores and 1. The second also presents the sum of squares of the residual for essential amino acid scores and 1 but with regard to only those amino acids, which scores are less than 1. The minima of these criteria at the set of variants for the content of ingredients are taken as targeted functions. The algorithm and the program of calculation were realized in the program environment Builder C++ 6.0. The macro flowchart of the algorithm is presented and detailed description of each block is given. The program interface before and after the start of the calculation module is shown. The main windows and interpretation of the presented data are described. An example of realization of the proposed mathematical apparatus when calculating a food model composition is given. Plant components (white kidney beans, flax, peanut, grit “Poltavskaya», dry red carrot) were used as an object of the research. Most plant proteins were incomplete. It is possible to regulate the chemical composition including correction of a protein profile by combination of plant raw materials. Analysis of alternative variants demonstrated that minimum essential amino acid score in the first composition was 0.79 (by the first criterion), in the second 1.0 (by the second criterion); the reference protein proportion in the mixture was 10.8 and 13.5, respectively, according to the first and second criterion. The comparative results by other quality indicators for protein in the mixture are also presented: the coefficient of amino acid score difference (CAASD), biological value (BV), coefficient of utility, essential amino acids index (IEAA).


1973 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 608-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Peng ◽  
J. Gubin ◽  
A. E. Harper ◽  
M. G. Vavich ◽  
A. R. Kemmerer

2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (5) ◽  
pp. 1444-1448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jayna L. Ditty ◽  
Caroline S. Harwood

ABSTRACT Charged amino acids in the predicted transmembrane portion of PcaK, a permease from Pseudomonas putida that transports 4-hydroxybenzoate (4-HBA), were required for 4-HBA transport, and they were also required for P. putida to have a chemotactic response to 4-HBA. An essential amino acid motif (DGXD) containing aspartate residues is located in the first transmembrane segment of PcaK and is conserved in the aromatic acid/H+ symporter family of the major facilitator superfamily of transporters.


2015 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 378-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Hickson

The aim of the present paper is to critically review the details of the published nutrition intervention trials, with and without exercise, targeting sarcopenia. Sarcopenia is the loss of muscle mass, strength and/or performance with age. Since amino acids and energy are required for muscle synthesis it is possible that nutritional intake influences sarcopenia. Nutritional studies are challenging to carry out because of the complexity of modulating dietary intake. It is very difficult to change one nutrient without influencing many others, which means that many of the published studies are problematic to interpret. The studies included evaluate whole protein, essential amino acids and β-hydroxyl β-methylbutyrate (HMB). Whole-protein supplementation failed to show a consistent effect on muscle mass, strength or function. This can be explained by the variations in study design, composition of the protein supplement and the failure to monitor voluntary food intake, adherence and baseline nutritional status. Essential amino-acid supplements showed an inconsistent effect but there are only two trials that have significant differences in methodology and the supplement used. The HMB studies are suggestive of a beneficial effect on older adults, but larger well-controlled studies are required that measure outcomes relevant to sarcopenia, ideally in sarcopenic populations. The issues of timing and distribution of protein intake, and increased splanchnic amino-acid sequestration are discussed, and recommendations for future trials are made.


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