scholarly journals Protein, amino acids and the control of food intake

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.

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1955 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 672-672

If the sole purpose of protein in the diet is to furnish amino acids, the amount needed is that which provides the required quantities of essential amino acids. In these studies the requirement of an essential amino acid is determined by feeding a diet made up of purified amino acids and shown to support normal growth (as evidenced by weight nitrogen retention and plasma protein). The amino acid under study is omitted and then reintroduced in increments until normal growth is resumed; the least amount of the amino acid necessary is considered to be the minimum requirement. Using this technique the minimum requirement for infants between 1 and 6 months of age for threonine was 60 mg./kg./day and for phenylalanine, 90 mg./kg./day. An infant ingesting 200 ml./kg./day of woman's milk would receive approximately 104 mg. of threonine and 106 mg. of phenylalanine/kg./day.


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.


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.


2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-59
Author(s):  
Nancy Montilla ◽  
◽  
Lolito Bestil ◽  
Sulpecio Bantugan ◽  

A feeding trial with broilers was conducted to evaluate the effects of amino acids (lysine and methionine) supplementation of diets low in protein content on the voluntary intake, feed conversion efficiency, broiler performance, and cost and return of broiler production. Results showed cumulative voluntary feed intake was not significantly affected by lowering the protein content of the diet. Cumulative weight gain of broilers was lower with diet when supplemented iwht lysine and methionine to meet requirements. Birds fed with diets low in protein has less efficient feed converstion, but became comparable with those receiveing diets high in protein when supplemented with amino acids. Feed cost per kilogram broiler produced was not significantly affected by diets used in the study, although the low-protien diet with amino acid supplement had the lowest values. In terms of return above feed and chick cost, broilers fed with high-protein diet had the greatest value, but not significantly different from birds fed with low-protien diet with amino acid supplementation which gave about P10 per bird higher returns than those fed low-protein diet without amino acid supplementation.


1976 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-230
Author(s):  
P. G. Lunn ◽  
R. G. Whitehead ◽  
B. A. Baker

1. Free amino acid concentrations in the plasma have been compared with those in liver and quadriceps muscle, in rats fed on diets containing 209 (control) and 31 (low-protein) g protein/kg. The effects of the low-protein diet on diurnal variations in these values were also measured.2. In the plasma, the total amino acid concentration was significantly lower in animals given the low-protein diet, at all times of day except 12.00 hours. In the liver, and to a lesser extent the muscle, total amino acid concentration was maintained.3. In the control animals, diurnal variation in the concentrations of both essential and non-essential amino acids was very similar in plasma, liver and muscle. In animals given the low-protein diet, although the same diurnal pattern was maintained for non-essential amino acids, that occurring among the essential amino acids had virtually disappeared.4. In plasma, the mean 24 h concentration of essential amino acids decreased from 24· mmol/l in control animals to only 1·29 mmol/l in the low-protein-fed animals. Concentrations in muscle and liver were reduced by a similar proportion (from 8·6 to 5·56 μmol/g and from 8·67 to 5·05 μmol/g respectively). Conversely the concentrations of non-essential amino acids in animals given the low-protein diet were increased in plasma (from 1·53 to 2·00 mmol/l), muscle (from 12·5 to 14·3 μmol/g), and liver (from 16·8 to 20·5 μmol/g), muscle showing the lowest increase.5. With the exceptions of lysine, threonine, cystine and tyrosine, the concentrations of all other essential amino acids were reduced more in liver than in muscle. The relationship between this and the failure to maintain plasma albumin concentrations is discussed.


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.


1985 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 499-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Heger ◽  
Z. Frydrych

1. Nitrogen balance was studied in growing male SPF-rats fed on diets in which each essential amino acid was varied from zero to about 120% of optimum requirement. From the balance results, optimum and maintenance requirements were estimated as well as the efficiency of utilization of amino acids for growth and growth + maintenance.2. N balance increased with increasing dietary level of the deficient amino acid; the response gradually diminished as the content of the amino acid approached optimum. At zero level of intake, negative N balance was found for all amino acids except histidine. The highest loss of body N was found in the sulphur-amino-acid-free diet and the lowest one in the lysine-free diet.3. Maximal utilization of essential amino acids for growth was found at dietary levels corresponding to 30–60% of optimum requirement and ranged from about 0.65 to 0.85 except for S amino acids and histidine. The utilization of S amino acids was about 0.55 while that of histidine exceeded 1.0. The utilization of amino acids for growth-tmaintenance was maximal at the lowest levels of intake and gradually decreased as the dietary concentration of the limiting amino acid increased. At dietary levels near optimum the utilization was about 06–07, except for S amino acids where the utilization was less than 0.5.


2008 ◽  
Vol 276 (1658) ◽  
pp. 987-991 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Akman Gündüz ◽  
A.E Douglas

Animals generally require a dietary supply of various nutrients (vitamins, essential amino acids, etc.) because their biosynthetic capabilities are limited. The capacity of aphids to use plant phloem sap, with low essential amino acid content, has been attributed to their symbiotic bacteria, Buchnera aphidicola , which can synthesize these nutrients; but this has not been demonstrated empirically. We demonstrate here that phloem sap obtained from the severed stylets of pea aphids Acyrthosiphon pisum feeding on Vicia faba plants generally provided inadequate amounts of at least one essential amino acid to support aphid growth. Complementary analyses using aphids reared on chemically defined diets with each amino acid individually omitted revealed that the capacity of the symbiotic bacterium B. aphidicola to synthesize essential amino acids exceeded the dietary deficit of all phloem amino acids except methionine. It is proposed that this shortfall of methionine was met by aphid usage of the non-protein amino acid 5-methylmethionine in the phloem sap. This study provides the first quantitative demonstration that bacterial symbiosis can meet the nutritional demand of plant-reared aphids. It shows how symbiosis with micro-organisms has enabled this group of animals to escape from the constraint of requiring a balanced dietary supply of amino acids.


1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (8) ◽  
pp. 841-848 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Harvey Anderson ◽  
Shuqin Luo ◽  
Leonidas Trigazis ◽  
Greta Kubis ◽  
Edmund T. S. Li

This study examined the effects of selected groups of essential amino acids (EAAs), given by gavage, on short-term food and water intake. Amino acid groups were selected on the basis of their common physiologic functions in relation to current hypotheses on the role of amino acids in food intake control, and the quantities given were based on the proportions in 1.5 g of the EAA content of albumin. The complete EAA mixture (1.5 g) suppressed food intake by an average of 60 and 37% during the 1st and 2nd h of feeding, respectively, but had no influence on feeding in the subsequent 12 h. Total daily (14 h) intake was decreased by 9%. With the exception of the aromatic amino acid (Phe + Tyr + Trp, 0.34 g) group, all groups significantly decreased food intake by a comparable magnitude (32%) during the 1st h. In this time period, rats given the EAAs, Arg + Met + Val (0.38 g), and Arg + His + Lys (0.44 g) mixtures increased their water intake, whereas intake by rats given the Phe + Tyr + Trp + Thr (0.46 g) and Ile + Leu + Val (0.45 g) mixtures was unchanged. Thus, the food intake suppression caused by EAAs was not accounted for by an equal effect of its component amino acid groups. As well, food intake suppression by amino acid groups was not explained by increased water consumption, nor was it simply related to the quantity of nitrogen provided by the treatment.Key words: food intake, water intake, essential amino acids.


1998 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 285-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. García-Gallego ◽  
H. Akharbach ◽  
M. de la Higuera

AbstractThis experiment was conducted to test two different protein sources as alternatives to the commonly used fish meal (FM) in the diet of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla). Six experimental diets were tested in three replicated lots of European eels. All diets contained the same protein and energy content (ca, 300 g crude protein per kg dry matter and 18·5 MJ/kg, respectively) but differed in the nature of the protein source: FM was the only protein source in the control diet and was fully or partially (0–5: 0–5) replaced by meat meal (MM) or sunflower meal (SFM) in four other diets; a sixth diet included SFM as the only protein source but was supplemented with several essential amino acids. Food intake, fish growth and several indices of diet and protein utilization were measured. MM clearly was the poorest protein source while SFM could replace, at least 0·5 of the FM with no significant reduction in performance. In addition, the European eel was able to utilize the supplement of essential amino acids. The full-SFM diet was improved significantly when supplemented and results were not statistically different from the control FM-based diet. Overall, a good correlation was found between the results of each diet and the respective essential amino acid index, calculated using as reference the essential amino acid requirements previously defined for another eel species, Anguilla japonica. This index could be used as a reliable measure for an a priori evaluation of alternative protein sources to be included in commercial foods for eels.


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