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Pdcaas
Pdcaas
Pdcaas
Abstract
Background: The FAO has recommended replacing the protein digestibility–corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) with
the digestible indispensable amino acid score (DIAAS).
Introduction
corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS)6 as a suitable method.
An accurate assessment of the nutritional quality of dietary The score is based on the ratio of the amount of the first-limiting
proteins is of fundamental importance. Although there are many dietary indispensable amino acid in the protein source to the
means of determining dietary protein quality, the FAO/WHO amino acid requirement of the 1–2-y-old child corrected for
(1) have previously recommended the protein digestibility– protein digestibility based on true fecal nitrogen digestibility and
using the growing rat as a model for the adult human. PDCAAS
values >1 for both whole foods and ingredients are rounded
1
This study was funded by the Primary Growth Partnership, a New Zealand (truncated) to 1 (1).
Government funding initiative.
2
Author disclosures: SM Rutherfurd, BJ Miller, and PJ Moughan, no conflicts of
Although the PDCAAS method has proven to be useful, it has
interest. AC Fanning is a current employee of Fonterra Co-operative Group been criticized on several counts (2–6). First, the PDCAAS uses
Limited, a New Zealand dairy company.
3
Supplemental Tables 1 and 2 are available from the ‘‘Online Supporting
6
Material’’ link in the online posting of the article and from the same link in the Abbreviations: DIAAS, digestible indispensable amino acid score; MPC, milk
online table of contents at http://jn.nutrition.org. protein concentrate; PDCAAS, protein digestibility–corrected amino acid score;
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: s.m.rutherfurd@ SPI, soy protein isolate; WPC, whey protein concentrate; WPI, whey protein
massey.ac.nz. isolate.
2 of 8 Rutherfurd et al.
ysates (casein, beef muscle protein, lactalbumin, zein, and SPI) in rats of 0.5–3-y-old child (12), and the digestible amino acid content was
a body weight that was similar to those used in the present study. calculated as follows:
Endogenous ileal nitrogen flow was that determined in rats fed a protein-
free diet as reported by Butts et al. (21). True fecal nitrogen digestibility Digestible amino acid ðithÞ content ðg=kg proteinÞ
was calculated by following WHO guidelines (6), in which the metabolic ¼ Amino acid ðithÞ content ðg=kg proteinÞ
fecal nitrogen flow was that determined in rats fed a protein-free diet and 3True ileal amino acid ðithÞ digestibilityð%Þ
as reported by Hendriks et al. (22). where i (1 2 n) refers to the dietary indispensable or conditionally
The PDCAAS was calculated as prescribed by the FAO/WHO/UNU indispensable amino acids and where for Lys, estimates of availability
Expert Consultation (1) as follows: (digestibility of reactive Lys) rather than digestibility were used.
PDCAAS ¼ Lowest uncorrected amino acid ratio
Statistical Analysis. True ileal nitrogen digestibility was compared
3 fecal crude protein digestibilityð%Þ
with true fecal nitrogen digestibility and true ileal nitrogen digestibility
was compared with the true ileal amino acid digestibility using 1-factor
where the amount of test protein was based on crude protein (total N ANOVA for each protein source singly (general linear model procedure)
content 3 6.25) content. The reference protein indispensable amino acid by using SAS version 9.3 (SAS Institute) (23). True ileal nitrogen digest-
profile was either the amino acid requirement pattern for the 1–2-y-old ibility was compared with true ileal amino acid digestibility using
child (6) or the amino acid requirement pattern for the 0.5–3-y-old child orthogonal contrasts when overall significant differences were observed
(12). For comparison of the PDCAAS with the DIAAS, PDCAAS values (P < 0.05). In addition, a correlation analysis was conducted between
that were >1 were truncated to 1. true ileal nitrogen digestibility and true fecal nitrogen digestibility by
The DIAAS was calculated as prescribed by the FAO (12) as follows: using the CORR procedure in SAS version 9.3 (23).
DIAAS ¼ lowest digestible indispensable amino acid ðithÞ reference ratio
Results
where the digestible indispensable amino acid reference ratio is calcu-
lated as follows: Gross protein and amino acid composition. The gross
mg of the ith digestible dietary indispensable amino acid in 1 g of the test protein
Digestible indispensable amino acid reference ratio ¼
mg of the ith dietary indispensable amino acid in 1 g of the reference protein
or conditionally indispensable amino acid, the reference protein Comparison between true ileal nitrogen digestibility and
amino acid profile was the amino acid requirement pattern for the true fecal nitrogen digestibility. True ileal nitrogen digestibility
TABLE 2 True ileal amino acid digestibility and Lys availability determined in growing male rats for the 14 protein sources1
Protein source, %
Cooked Cooked Corn-based
Cooked kidney Cooked rolled Wheat Roasted breakfast
MPC WPI WPC SPI A SPI B PPC peas beans rice oats bran peanuts RPC cereal
Asp2 96 99 97 96 95 97 91 76 77 84 68 92 79 47
Thr 94 99 94 95 92 96 88 70 70 82 65 87 80 62
Ser 83 98 93 97 95 97 89 77 73 84 70 91 81 72
Glu3 93 99 97 98 98 98 94 80 71 92 85 94 80 83
Ala 96 100 98 96 95 98 92 74 75 82 67 94 85 82
Cys 96 100 100 97 94 98 87 69 66 93 78 93 71 66
Val 94 99 97 95 94 96 90 73 80 85 68 91 83 69
Met 92 97 94 91 89 92 91 81 55 90 76 94 63 79
Ile 92 100 98 97 96 98 92 80 79 88 73 93 83 71
Leu 98 100 99 96 95 98 92 81 75 89 75 94 83 87
Tyr 99 100 99 98 97 98 92 78 74 89 73 95 83 84
Phe 99 100 99 97 96 98 93 81 80 90 76 96 84 83
His 98 99 98 98 97 96 92 79 82 88 80 95 83 72
Trp 92 98 97 90 90 91 83 72 80 79 71 79 80 25
Lys4 99 100 99 98 98 98 96 94 92 84 73 92 86 13
Arg 96 100 96 99 98 98 94 78 87 87 72 95 91 74
Mean amino acid digestibility 94 100 98 97 96 98 92 77 77 87 74 93 82 67
Overall SEM5 1.0 0.5 0.7 0.8 0.5 1.1 0.4 0.9 0.3 0.3 0.6 0.5 1.1 0.2
1
Values are means, n = 6. MPC, milk protein concentrate; PPC, pea protein concentrate; RPC, rice protein concentrate; SPI, soy protein isolate; WPC, whey protein concentrate;
WPI, whey protein isolate.
2
Asp consists of Asp + Asn.
3
Glu consists of Glu + Gln.
4
Lys availability based on reactive Lys determined by using the guanidination method (16).
5
Overall SEM for true ileal amino acid digestibility across amino acids.
TABLE 3 Statistical comparison between true ileal nitrogen digestibility and true ileal amino acid digestibility for the dietary
indispensable and dietary conditionally indispensable amino acids determined in growing male rats for the 14 protein sources1
Amino acid
Thr Cys Met Val Ile Leu Tyr Phe His Trp Lys2 Overall significance3
MPC ,0.001
P values 0.014 0.14 0.13 0.005 0.41 ,0.001 ,0.001 ,0.001 ,0.001 0.91 ,0.001
Underestimation 2.4 — — 2.0 — 5.8 6.7 7.3 5.7 — 6.7
WPI ,0.001
P values 0.5 0.015 0.006 0.73 0.27 0.16 0.26 0.08 0.49 0.11 0.07
Underestimation — 1.9 21.6 — — — — — — — —
4 of 8 Rutherfurd et al.
digestibility and Lys availability values for the 14 protein sources were calculated based on the amino acid requirement pattern for
were determined (Table 2). True ileal digestibility values for the 0.5–3-y-old child (12). The reference ratios were $1 for all
glycine were not reported, because endogenous ileal glycine of the dietary indispensable amino acids within each protein
flows (used to correct apparent glycine digestibility values to source for only MPC and WPI. When the lowest digestible
true values) may be overestimated when determined by using the indispensable amino acid reference ratio (DIAAS) was compared
enzyme hydrolyzed protein/ultrafiltration method (14). Mean with the lowest non-truncated protein digestibility–corrected
true ileal digestibility across all of the determined amino acids amino acid reference ratio (PDCAAS), the PDCAAS over-
(excluding glycine) ranged from 67% for the corn-based break- estimated the DIAAS by between 2.0% for WPI and WPC and
fast cereal to 100% for WPI. True ileal amino acid digestibility 515% for the corn-based breakfast cereal (mean overestimation,
ranged across the dietary indispensable and conditionally 7% across protein sources, excluding the corn-based breakfast
indispensable amino acids within each protein source with the cereal). The PDCAAS underestimated the DIAAS by 6% for
mean difference across amino acids being 18% units across the cooked rice, whereas for cooked peas the latter 2 ratios were
14 protein sources. similar.
True ileal amino acid digestibility was compared for each
amino acid individually with true ileal nitrogen digestibility for Comparison between the DIAAS and PDCAAS as formally
each protein source and the outcome of the statistical analysis is defined. The PDCAAS determined as described by the FAO (1)
shown in Table 3. There was no overall difference (P $ 0.05) be- and corrected for fecal crude protein digestibility, truncated, and
ween true ileal digestibility of dietary indispensable/conditionally based on the amino acid requirement pattern for the 1–2-y-old
indispensable amino acids and true ileal digestibility of nitrogen child (6), and the DIAAS determined as prescribed by the
for cooked rolled oats, but for the other protein sources, true FAO (12) and corrected for true ileal amino acid digestibility,
ileal nitrogen digestibility and true ileal amino acid digestibility untruncated, and based on the amino acid requirement pattern
were different (P < 0.05) for between 2 and 9 amino acids for the 0.5–3-y-old child (12) are presented in Table 5. The
(mean = 6 amino acids across protein sources) out of the 11 PDCAAS underestimated the DIAAS by 15% and 8% for MPC
TABLE 4 Untruncated digestible indispensable amino acid reference ratios calculated using true ileal amino acid digestibility values
and lowest untruncated PDCAAS calculated using true fecal nitrogen digestibility values determined in growing male rats for the 14
protein sources1
Thr 1.56 1.80 2.53 1.13 1.30 1.28 1.12 0.936 0.757 0.884 0.595 0.574 1.01 0.652
Met + Cys 1.18 2.29 1.71 0.906 0.898 0.822 0.579 0.588 1.04 1.95 0.888 0.833 1.22 0.975
Val 1.55 1.21 1.29 1.02 1.11 1.24 0.870 0.791 0.927 0.872 0.542 0.560 1.12 0.707
Ile 1.81 2.22 2.35 1.38 1.59 1.63 1.25 1.20 1.10 1.13 0.689 0.788 1.16 0.881
Leu 1.77 2.57 1.93 1.13 1.29 1.37 1.04 1.01 0.989 1.10 0.664 0.766 1.11 2.05
Tyr + Phe 2.39 1.71 1.43 1.65 1.85 1.99 1.36 1.43 1.63 1.66 0.927 1.31 1.83 1.75
His 1.60 1.09 0.973 1.18 1.37 1.34 1.01 1.25 1.09 1.11 1.04 1.07 1.03 1.07
Trp 1.94 3.35 2.74 1.69 1.67 1.12 1.47 1.50 1.85 1.75 1.74 1.28 1.38 0.228
Lys2 1.77 2.51 2.03 0.987 1.16 1.50 0.992 1.07 0.595 0.542 0.411 0.434 0.371 0.012
Lowest digestible indispensable 1.18 1.09 0.973 0.906 0.898 0.822 0.579 0.588 0.595 0.542 0.411 0.434 0.371 0.012
amino acid reference ratio, DIAAS
Lowest protein digestibility–corrected 1.25 1.12 0.990 0.974 0.943 0.860 0.575 0.624 0.562 0.611 0.479 0.464 0.382 0.071
amino acid reference ratio,3 PDCAAS
1
The digestible indispensable amino acid reference ratio was calculated using the amino acid requirement pattern for the 0.5–3-y-old child (grams per kilogram protein) (12).
DIAAS, digestible indispensable amino acid score; MPC, milk protein concentrate; PDCAAS, protein digestibility–corrected amino acid score; PPC, pea protein concentrate; RPC,
rice protein concentrate; SPI, soy protein isolate; WPC, whey protein concentrate; WPI, whey protein isolate.
2
Based on reactive Lys content and Lys availability determined by using the guanidination method (16).
3
The lowest PDCAA ratio was calculated using the amino acid requirement pattern for the 0.5–3-y-old child (grams per kilogram protein) (12). For protein sources for which Lys
was the limiting amino acid, the ratio was based on total Lys content determined by using conventional amino acid analysis.
6 of 8 Rutherfurd et al.
differences between the PDCAAS and DIAAS in Table 5 compared not the limiting amino acid in MPC) in the MPC complements
with Table 4 demonstrate the outcome of the collective recom- that of the corn-based breakfast cereal and the DIAAS of the
mendations of the FAO (12) in arriving at the new protein quality resulting protein mixture increases to 1.07. The power of MPC
score, the DIAAS. to supplement the corn-based breakfast cereal is reflected in the
The use of truncation may undervalue high-quality protein Lys ratio of 1.77 for the MPC, not its DIAAS of 1.22.
ingredients and does not demonstrate the usefulness of a protein In conclusion, true fecal nitrogen digestibility differed from
for the combining of protein sources to alter the amino acid true ileal nitrogen digestibility for most of the protein sources
balance of the diet (i.e., the complementary effect). In this study, and in many cases this difference was large. Moreover, true ileal
when MPC and WPI were compared with the other protein amino acid digestibility varied considerably across the dietary
sources, the DIAAS (nontruncated scores) for the other protein indispensable amino acids within protein sources and, as a
sources were on average 46% and 50% lower than for MPC or result, a single nitrogen digestibility value should not be used as
WPI, respectively, but the PDCAAS (truncated scores) was on a proxy for true ileal amino acid digestibility. There were some
average only 37% lower than for MPC and WPI. Clearly, the use large differences between the PDCAAS and DIAAS when the
of truncation significantly undervalued the higher-quality pro- scores were calculated as prescribed by the FAO, and these
tein ingredients compared with lower quality protein ingredi- differences were due to the way in which the digestibility
ents. In addition, when the PDCAAS (truncated scores) is used, correction was made, the amino acid reference pattern used, and
the nutritional value of MPC and WPI was deemed to be truncation. When the scores were not truncated and a common
identical, yet the DIAAS (nontruncated scores) for MPC and reference pattern was used, so that the difference between scores
WPI were different (1.18 and 1.09, respectively). Clearly, was due to differences in the digestibility correction alone,
truncated scores are not a suitable measure for assessing the statistically significant differences between the PDCAAS and
nutritive value of high-quality protein ingredients. The latter DIAAS persisted. In this case, the PDCAAS was generally higher
conclusion is supported by Schaafsma (4), who commented that than the DIAAS, especially for the poorer-quality proteins, and
using truncated PDCAAS values based only on the limiting therefore the reported differences in the scores are of potential
8 of 8 Rutherfurd et al.