Biological value of protein rich foods

Proteins are essential elements to life as they help with growth and repair, and are needed for good
functioning and the structure of all living cells. Keep reading this article to learn more about them. 
Biological value (BV) is a measure of the proportion of absorbed protein from a food which becomes
incorporated into the proteins of the organism's body. It captures how readily the digested protein
can be used in protein synthesis in the cells of the organism. Proteins are the major source
of nitrogen in food. BV assumes protein is the only source of nitrogen and measures the amount of
nitrogen ingested in relation to the amount which is subsequently excreted. The remainder must have
been incorporated into the proteins of the organisms body. A ratio of nitrogen incorporated into the
body over nitrogen absorbed gives a measure of protein "usability" – the BV.
Unlike some measures of protein usability, biological value does not take into account how readily
the protein can be digested and absorbed (largely by the small intestine). This is reflected in the
experimental methods used to determine BV.
BV uses two similar scales:
i. The true percentage utilization (usually shown with a percent symbol).
ii. The percentage utilization relative to a readily utilizable protein source, often egg (usually
shown as unitless).

The biological value of a protein extends beyond its amino-acid composition and digestibility, and
can be influenced by additional factors in a tissue-specific manner. In healthy individuals, the slow
appearance of dietary amino acids in the portal vein and subsequently in the systemic circulation in
response to bolus protein ingestion improves nitrogen retention and decreases urea production. This
is promoted by slow absorption when only protein is ingested (e.g. casein). When a full meal is
ingested, whey achieves slightly better nitrogen retention than soy or casein, which is very likely
achieved by its high content of essential amino acids (especially leucine). Elderly people exhibit
‘anabolic resistance' implying that more protein is required to reach maximal rates of muscle protein
synthesis compared to young individuals. Protein utilization in inflammatory or traumatic conditions
increases substantially in the splanchnic tissues containing most of the immune system, and in
wounds and growing tissues. This happens especially in the elderly, which often suffer from chronic
inflammatory activity due to disease, physical inactivity and/or the aging process itself.
Consequently, the proportion of protein absorbed in the gut and utilized for muscle protein synthesis
decreases in these situations. This compromises dietary-protein-induced stimulation of muscle
protein synthesis and ultimately results in increased requirements of protein (∼1.2 g/kg body
weight/day) to limit gradual muscle loss with age. To optimally preserve muscle mass, physical

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exercise is required. Exercise has both direct effects on muscle mass and health, and indirect effects
by increasing the utilization of dietary protein (especially whey) to enhance rates of muscle protein
synthesis.

Protein content of a selected number of foods (g/100 g food)

Food Amount of protein (g per 100 g of food)

White rice, cooked 2.6

Pasta, cooked 7.7

White bread 7.9

Semi-skimmed milk 3.4

Cheddar cheese 25.4

Poached egg 12.5

Rump steak, grilled 31.0

Peanuts 25.6

Factors that affect BV

The determination of BV is carefully designed to accurately measure some aspects of protein usage
whilst eliminating variation from other aspects. When using the test (or considering BV values) care
must be taken to ensure the variable of interest is quantified by BV. Factors which affect BV can be
grouped into properties of the protein source and properties of the species or individual consuming
the protein.

Properties of the protein source

Three major properties of a protein source affect its BV:

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1. Amino acid composition, and the limiting amino acid, which is usually lysine
2. Preparation (cooking)
3. Vitamin and mineral content

Amino acid composition is the principal effect. All proteins are made up of combinations of the 21
biological amino acids. Some of these can be synthesised or converted in the body, whereas others
cannot and must be ingested in the diet. These are known as essential amino acids (EAAs), of which
there are 9 in humans. The number of EAAs varies according to species.

EAAs missing from the diet prevent the synthesis of proteins that require them. If a protein source is
missing critical EAAs, then its biological value will be low as the missing EAAs form a bottleneck in
protein synthesis. For example, if a hypothetical muscle protein requires phenylalanine (an essential
amino acid), then this must be provided in the diet for the muscle protein to be produced. If the
current protein source in the diet has no phenylalanine in it the muscle protein cannot be produced,
giving a low usability and BV of the protein source.

In a related way if amino acids are missing from the protein source which are particularly slow or
energy consuming to synthesise this can result in a low BV.

Methods of food preparation also affect the availability of amino acids in a food source. Some of
food preparation may damage or destroy some EAAs, reducing the BV of the protein source.

Many vitamins and minerals are vital for the correct function of cells in the test organism. If critical
minerals or vitamins are missing from the protein source this can result in a massively lowered BV.
Many BV tests artificially add vitamins and minerals (for example in yeast extract) to prevent this.

Advantages and disadvantages

BV provides a good measure of the usability of proteins in a diet and also plays a valuable role in
detection of some metabolic diseases. BV is, however, a scientific variable determined under very
strict and unnatural conditions. It is not a test designed to evaluate the usability of proteins whilst an
organism is in everyday life — indeed the BV of a diet will vary greatly depending on age, weight,
health, sex, recent diet, current metabolism, etc. of the organism. In addition BV of the same food
varies significantly species to species. Given these limitations BV is still relevant to everyday diet to
some extent. No matter the individual or their conditions a protein source with high BV, such as egg,
will always be more easily used than a protein source with low BV.

Typical values
Common foodstuffs and their values: (Note: this scale uses 100 as 100% of the nitrogen
incorporated.)

 Whey Protein: 96 

 Whole Soy Bean: 96 
 Human milk: 95
 Chicken egg: 94
 Soybean milk: 91
 Buckwheat: 90+
 Cow milk: 90

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 Cheese: 84
 Quinoa: 83
 Rice: 83
 Defatted soy flour: 81
 Fish: 76
 Beef: 92
 Immature bean: 65
 Full-fat soy flour: 64
 Soybean curd (tofu): 64
 Whole wheat: 64
 White flour: 41
Common foodstuffs and their values: (Note: These values use "whole egg" as a value of 100, so
foodstuffs that provide even more nitrogen than whole eggs, can have a value of more than 100. 100,
does not mean that 100% of the nitrogen in the food is incorporated into the body, and not excreted,
as in other charts.)

 Whey protein concentrate: 104

 Whole egg: 100
 Cow milk: 91
 Beef: 80
 Casein: 77
 Soy: 74
 Wheat gluten: 64
By combining different foods it is possible to maximize the score, because the different components
favor each other:

 85 % rice and 15 % yeast: 118

 55 % soy and 45 % rice: 111
 55 % potatoes and 45 % soy: 103
 52 % beans and 48 % corn: 101