Essential amino acid (EAA)
Proteins are composed of amino acids, some of which your body can synthesize and others not. The nine you need yet cannot synthesize, and thus need to ingest, are called essential amino acids (EAAs). A protein is said to be complete when it has enough of each EAA.
Essential amino acid (EAA) is most often used for
Last Updated:September 28, 2022
Proteins are composed of amino acids, some of which your body can synthesize and others not. The nine you need yet cannot synthesize, and thus need to ingest, are called essential amino acids (EAAs). Among those, branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are crucial to your muscles,[1] with leucine being especially anabolic.
| Essential Amino Acid (EAA) | mg/kg/day | Complete | Milk | Pea | Rice | Soy | Whey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Leucine (BCCA)
|
39
|
59
|
97
|
97
|
88
|
80
|
116
|
Isoleucine (BCCA)
|
20
|
30
|
50
|
54
|
40
|
43
|
59
|
Valine (BCCA)
|
26
|
39
|
58
|
81
|
55
|
44
|
58
|
Cystine
|
4
|
6
|
9
|
14
|
17
|
12
|
20
|
Histidine
|
10
|
15
|
30
|
17
|
24
|
26
|
21
|
Lysine
|
30
|
45
|
80
|
83
|
33
|
60
|
102
|
Methionine
|
10
|
16
|
27
|
5
|
29
|
10
|
23
|
Methionine + cysteine
|
15
|
22
|
30
|
8
|
39
|
14
|
36
|
Phenylalanine + tyrosine
|
25
|
30
|
99
|
94
|
111
|
90
|
66
|
Threonine
|
15
|
23
|
47
|
43
|
38
|
37
|
76
|
Tryptophan
|
4
|
6
|
13
|
11
|
14
|
13
|
20
|
mg/kg/day = daily requirement in milligrams (of a given amino acid) per kilogram (of body weight) per day | Complete/Milk/Pea/Rice/Soy/Whey = milligrams of amino acid per gram of complete/milk/pea/rice/soy/whey protein (mg/g)
References: World Health Organization. Protein and Amino Acid Requirements in Human Nutrition, page 245, table 49. 2007.[2] Kalman. Foods. 2014.[3] Gorissen et al. Amino Acids. 2018.[4] USDA Food Composition Databases (accessed: 2018 Sep)
A protein is called complete when, proportionally to its overall amino-acid content, it has enough of each EAA. The main advantage of animal proteins is that most are complete.
- EAAs
- ^MacLean DA, Graham TE, Saltin BBranched-chain amino acids augment ammonia metabolism while attenuating protein breakdown during exerciseAm J Physiol.(1994 Dec)
- ^Joint WHO/FAO/UNU Expert ConsultationProtein and Amino Acid Requirements in Human NutritionWorld Health Organ Tech Rep Ser.(2007)
- ^Douglas S KalmanAmino Acid Composition of an Organic Brown Rice Protein Concentrate and Isolate Compared to Soy and Whey Concentrates and IsolatesFoods.(2014 Jun 30)
- ^Stefan H M Gorissen, Julie J R Crombag, Joan M G Senden, W A Huub Waterval, Jörgen Bierau, Lex B Verdijk, Luc J C van LoonProtein Content and Amino Acid Composition of Commercially Available Plant-Based Protein IsolatesAmino Acids.(2018 Dec)