Proteins are essential for body structure and growth, for regulating organ and tissue function and for protecting against infection. Protein quality is defined based on the capacity of a protein source to provide adequate amounts of essential amino acids.
If you would like to learn more about the IAEA’s work, sign up for our weekly updates containing our most important news, multimedia and more.
Protein Quality
Application & Literature
It is difficult to measure the proportion of essential amino acids absorbed from a given diet without taking a sample of ingested food from the gastrointestinal tract. However, this approach is not only invasive, but is prone to error related to protein digestion by bacteria in the large intestines.
A dual tracer stable isotope technique, based on labelling of food with both deuterium and 13C-protein/crystalline amino acid, enables a non-invasive and accurate assessment of the digestion and absorption of protein from the diet.
This isotope technique can be used to generate information on true protein digestion which can aid discussions on recommendations for protein intake and requirements.
