An Accurate Estimate of the Amino Acid Content of Human Milk Collected from Chinese Women Adjusted for Differences in Amino Acid Digestibility.

BACKGROUND: The amino acid (AA) composition of human milk is used to define the AA requirements of the infant. Thus, it is important that estimates of composition be as complete and accurate as possible. When determining AA composition using standard hydrolysis methods, some AAs are progressively destroyed while others are incompletely released. For accuracy, AA composition needs to be determined using multiple hydrolysis times. The true ileal digestibility of AAs also needs to be taken into consideration. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to bring together AA compositional (determined using multiple hydrolysis intervals) and digestibility data determined using the piglet to give an estimate of the absorbed AA profile of human milk with reference in particular to Asian females. METHODS: Mature milk was collected from Chinese females. AA analysis using multiple hydrolysis intervals and a nonlinear regression model was used to accurately estimate AA composition. Human milk, as well as a protein-free diet, were fed to piglets (n = 6), and ileal digesta were collected (piglet age, 21 d) to determine the true ileal AA digestibility of AAs in human milk. RESULTS: True ileal AA digestibility coefficients ranged from (mean ± standard error of the mean) 0.61 ± 0.081 for tyrosine to 1.01 ± 0.030 for tryptophan, with a digestibility for total nitrogen of 0.90 ± 0.013. Convergence criteria were met for the modeling for each AA, and the model had a level of significance of P < 0.0001 for each AA. The amount of available AAs (total AA content as per the model prediction multiplied by the true ileal AA digestibility coefficient determined in the piglet) are reported. CONCLUSIONS: An estimate of the absorbed AA profile of mature milk collected from Chinese females is provided. For the first time, data is presented for cysteine.

Digestible indispensable amino acid score (DIAAS): 10 years on.

The objective of the review is to revisit the findings of the 2011 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Expert Consultation on Dietary Protein Quality Evaluation in Human Nutrition, and to report on progress on uptake of the findings. It is evident that since 2011 there has been a concerted research effort to enhance an understanding of the protein quality of foods. The validity of the growing pig ileal protein digestibility assay has been confirmed and numerous studies reported using the growing pig as a model to give true ileal amino acid digestibility values for foods as consumed by humans. This has allowed for the determination of digestible indispensable amino acid scores (DIAAS) for a range of foods. A new non-invasive true ileal amino acid digestibility assay in humans which can be applied in different physiological states, called the dual-isotope assay, has been developed and applied to determine the DIAAS values of foods. It is concluded that DIAAS is currently the most accurate score for routinely assessing the protein quality rating of single source proteins. In the future, the accuracy of DIAAS can be enhanced by improved information on: the ideal dietary amino acid balance including the ideal dispensable to indispensable amino acid ratio; dietary indispensable amino acid requirements; effects of processing on ileal amino acid digestibility and lysine bioavailability. There is a need to develop rapid, inexpensive in vitro digestibility assays. Conceptual issues relating DIAAS to food regulatory claims, and to holistic indices of food nutritional and health status are discussed. The first recommendation of the 2011 Consultation regarding treating each indispensable amino acid as an individual nutrient has received little attention. Consideration should be given to providing food label information on the digestible contents of specific indispensable amino acids.

Amino acid requirements of the infant: the amino acid composition of human breast milk.

The recommended amino acid requirements of the infant are based on the amino acid composition of mature human breast milk. The amino acid composition of breast milk is usually determined following either acid or alkaline (for tryptophan) hydrolysis. For accuracy, however, the known effect of hydrolysis time on amino acid composition should be accounted for. Also, ideally the amino acid composition of breast milk should be given in units of digested (assumed to be absorbed) amino acids. A review of the literature is presented which gives mean total amino acid concentrations in mature human milk (n = 26 studies), mean hydrolysis correction factors (n = 3 studies) and mean true ileal amino acid digestibility coefficients (n = 3 studies, suckling piglet). There were differences between the estimates of amino acid concentration corrected for hydrolysis time and digestibility, and current FAO (2013) recommendations that were not corrected for these factors. The values based on the published literature up until 2023 (mg/g true protein) corrected for hydrolysis time and digestibility gave higher values (more than 16% higher) for leucine, lysine and threonine, and considerably higher values (greater than 30%) for histidine and tryptophan. Current recommendations may need revision.

The Inhibitory Effects of New Zealand Pine Bark (Enzogenol®) on α-Amylase, α-Glucosidase, and Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 (DPP-4) Enzymes.

The New Zealand pine bark extract (Enzogenol®) has previously been shown to elicit acute hypoglycaemic effects in humans. The present study investigated the underlying mechanisms of Enzogenol® in reducing postprandial glucose in humans. The potential inhibitory action of Enzogenol® against digestive enzymes: α-amylase and α-glucosidase, and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) enzyme was determined. Enzogenol® demonstrated the ability to inhibit all three enzymes: α-amylase enzyme activity (IC50 3.98 ± 0.11 mg/mL), α-glucosidase enzyme activity (IC50 13.02 ± 0.28 µg/mL), and DPP-4 enzyme activity (IC50 2.51 ± 0.04 mg/mL). The present findings indicate the potential for Enzogenol® to improve postprandial glycaemia by delaying carbohydrate digestion via the inhibition of digestive enzymes (α-amylase and α-glucosidase), and enhancing the incretin effect via inhibiting the dipeptidyl-peptidase-4 enzyme. The inhibitory actions of Enzogenol® on enzymes should therefore be further validated in humans for its potential use in type 2 diabetes mellitus prevention and management.

A Narrative Review of Human Clinical Trials on the Impact of Phenolic-Rich Plant Extracts on Prediabetes and Its Subgroups.

Phenolic-rich plant extracts have been demonstrated to improve glycemic control in individuals with prediabetes. However, there is increasing evidence that people with prediabetes are not a homogeneous group but exhibit different glycemic profiles leading to the existence of prediabetes subgroups. Prediabetes subgroups have been identified as: isolated impaired fasting glucose (IFG), isolated impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and combined impaired fasting glucose and glucose intolerance (IFG/IGT). The present review investigates human clinical trials examining the hypoglycemic potential of phenolic-rich plant extracts in prediabetes and prediabetes subgroups. Artemisia princeps Pampanini, soy (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) leaf and Citrus junos Tanaka peel have been demonstrated to improve fasting glycemia and thus may be more useful for individuals with IFG with increasing hepatic insulin resistance. In contrast, white mulberry (Morus alba Linn.) leaf, persimmon (Diospyros kaki) leaf and Acacia. Mearnsii bark were shown to improve postprandial glycemia and hence may be preferably beneficial for individuals with IGT with increasing muscle insulin resistance. Elaeis guineensis leaf was observed to improve both fasting and postprandial glycemic measures depending on the dose. Current evidence remains scarce regarding the impact of the plant extracts on glycemic control in prediabetes subgroups and therefore warrants further study.

An Acute, Placebo-Controlled, Single-Blind, Crossover, Dose-Response, Exploratory Study to Assess the Effects of New Zealand Pine Bark Extract (Enzogenol®) on Glycaemic Responses in Healthy Participants.

An acute, placebo-controlled, single-blind, crossover, dose-response, exploratory study was designed to investigate the hypoglycaemic effects of New Zealand pine bark extract (Enzogenol®). Twenty-five healthy participants categorised into having a monophasic or complex (biphasic or triphasic) glucose curve shape at the control visit consumed a placebo and Enzogenol® (50 and 400 mg) on three separate occasions before an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). In the monophasic group, 50 and 400 mg of Enzogenol® significantly reduced the mean glucose incremental area under the curve (iAUC) compared to control 241.3 ± 20.2 vs. 335.4 ± 34.0 mmol/L·min, p = 0.034 and 249.3 ± 25.4 vs. 353.6 ± 31.5 mmol/L·min, p = 0.012, respectively. The 400 mg dose further reduced the percentage increment of postprandial glucose (%PG) 31.4% ± 7.9% vs. 47.5% ± 8.6%, p = 0.010, glucose peak 7.9 ± 0.3 vs. 8.9 ± 0.3 mmol/L, p = 0.025 and 2h-OGTT postprandial glucose (2hPG) 6.1 ± 0.3 vs. 6.7 ± 0.3 mmol/L, p = 0.027. Glucose iAUC was not significantly different in the complex group, except for reductions in %PG 28.7% ± 8.2% vs. 43.4% ± 5.9%, p = 0.012 after 50 mg dose and 27.7% ± 5.4% vs. 47.3% ± 7.2%, p = 0.025 after 400 mg dose. The results suggest that Enzogenol® may have hypoglycaemic effects in healthy participants, especially those exhibiting monophasic shapes.