This edited volume comprehensively highlights recent advances in the metabolism, nutrition, physiology, and pathobiology of amino acids in all the systems of humans and other animals (including livestock, poultry, companion animals, and fish). It enables readers to understand the crucial roles of amino acids and their metabolites in the health and diseases of the circulatory, digestive, endocrine, immune, muscular, nervous, reproductive, respiratory, skeletal, and urinary systems, as well as the sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, skin, and tongue). Readers will learn that amino acids are not only the building blocks of protein, but are also signalling molecules, as well as regulators of gene expression, metabolic processes and developmental changes in the body. This knowledge will guide nutritional practices to improve the growth, development and health of humans and other animals, as well as prevent and treat chronic (e.g., obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disorders) and infectious (e.g., bacterial, fungal, parasite, and viral) diseases. Editor of this volume is an internationally recognized expert in nutritional biochemistry. He has over 38 years of experience with research and teaching at world-class universities in the area of amino acid biochemistry, nutrition, and physiology. He has published more than 625 papers in peer-reviewed journals, 62 chapters in books, and authored two text/reference books, with an H-index of 117 and more than 55,000 citations in Google Scholar. This publication is a useful reference for professionals as well as undergraduate and graduate students in animal science, biochemistry, biomedical engineering, biology, human medicine, food science, kinesiology, nursing, nutrition, pharmacology, physiology, toxicology, veterinary medicine, and other related disciplines. In addition, all chapters provide general and specific references to amino acids in systems health for researchers and practitioners in biomedicine, animal and plant agriculture, and aquaculture, and for government policy makers.

Amino acids (AAs) are not only building blocks of protein, but are also signalling molecules as well as regulators of gene expression and the protein phosphorylation cascade. Additionally, AAs are key precursors for syntheses of hormones and low-molecular weight nitrogenous substances with each having enormous biological importance. For example, physiological concentrations of AA metabolites (e.g., nitric oxide, polyamines, glutathione, taurine, thyroid hormones, and serotonin) are required for cell functions. Growing evidence shows that humans and animals have dietary requirements for all proteinogenic AAs. Mammals, birds and fish also have species- and age-dependent needs for some AA-related substances. However, elevated levels of other products (e.g., ammonia, homocysteine, H2S, and asymmetric dimethylarginine) are pathogenic factors for neurological disorders, oxidative stress, and cardiovascular disease. Thus, optimal amounts of AAs and their ratios in diets and circulation are crucial for whole body homeostasis and health. Adequate provision of one or a mixture of functional AAs or metabolites may be beneficial for ameliorating health problems at various stages of the life cycle (e.g., fetal growth restriction, neonatal morbidity and mortality, weaning-associated intestinal dysfunction and wasting syndrome, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, the metabolic syndrome, and infertility). Dietary supplementation of these nutrients can also optimize the efficiency of metabolic transformations to enhance muscle growth, milk production, and athletic performance, while preventing excess fat deposition and reducing adiposity. Therefore, functional AAs hold great promise in improving the growth, health and well-being of individuals. Chapter 7 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

It is a commonly held belief that athletes, particularly body builders, have greater requirements for dietary protein than sedentary individuals. However, the evidence in support of this contention is controversial. This book is the latest in a series of publications designed to inform both civilian and military scientists and personnel about issues related to nutrition and military service. Among the many other stressors they experience, soldiers face unique nutritional demands during combat. Of particular concern is the role that dietary protein might play in controlling muscle mass and strength, response to injury and infection, and cognitive performance. The first part of the book contains the committee's summary of the workshop, responses to the Army's questions, conclusions, and recommendations. The remainder of the book contains papers contributed by speakers at the workshop on such topics as, the effects of aging and hormones on regulation of muscle mass and function, alterations in protein metabolism due to the stress of injury or infection, the role of individual amino acids, the components of proteins, as neurotransmitters, hormones, and modulators of various physiological processes, and the efficacy and safety considerations associated with dietary supplements aimed at enhancing performance.

Since its introduction in 1943 Recommended Dietary Allowances has become the accepted source of nutrient allowances for healthy people. These Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) are used throughout the food and health fields. Additionally, RDAs serve as the basis for the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowances, the Food and Drug Administration's standards for nutrition labeling of foods. The 10th Edition includes research results and expert interpretations from years of progress in nutrition research since the previous edition and provides not only RDAs but also "Estimated Safe and Adequate Daily Dietary Intakes"â€"provisional values for nutrients where data were insufficient to set an RDA. Organized by nutrient for ready reference, the volume reviews the function of each nutrient in the human body, sources of supply, effects of deficiencies and excessive intakes, relevant study results, and more. The volume concludes with the invaluable "Summary Table of Recommended Dietary Allowances," a convenient and practical summary of the recommendations.

Amino acid biochemistry and nutrition spans a broad range of fields including biochemistry, metabolism, physiology, immunology, reproduction, pathology, and cell biology. In the last half-century, there have been many conceptual and technical advancements, from analysis of amino acids by high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry to molecular cloning of transporters for amino acids and small peptides. Amino Acids: Biochemistry and Nutrition presents comprehensive coverage of these scientific developments, providing a useful reference for students and researchers in both biomedicine and agriculture. The text begins with the discoveries and basic concepts of amino acids, peptides, and proteins, and then moves to protein digestion and absorption of peptides and amino acids. Additional chapters cover cell-, tissue-, and species-specific synthesis and catabolism of amino acids and related nitrogenous substances, as well as the use of isotopes to study amino acid metabolism in cells and the body. The book also details protein synthesis and degradation, regulation of amino acid metabolism, physiological functions of amino acids, and inborn errors of amino acid metabolism. The final chapter discusses dietary requirements of amino acids by humans and other animals. While emphasizing basic principles and classical concepts of amino acid biochemistry and nutrition, the author includes recent progress in the field. This book also provides concise coverage of major historical developments of the scientific discipline, so that readers will appreciate the past, understand the current state of the knowledge, and explore the future of the field. Each chapter contains select references to provide comprehensive reviews and original experimental data on the topics discussed.

Cereals belong to the most important elements in the history of mankind. From the beginning of agriculture, cereals have been by far the most important staple food in the world. Although the cereal consumption decreased to a low level in the developed countries in Europe and North America, in the devel oping countries over two-thirds of the calorie and protein intake is based on cereals. A substantial quantity of cereals goes indirectly into food via feed to animals. Generally, cereal proteins are classified as proteins of lower biological value because of shortage in lysine and some other essential amino acids. Recent developments in the de termination and evaluation of the biological value of proteins and protein mixtures suggest that the oversimplified earlier evaluation of cereal proteins must be reviewed. This book contains the edited proceedings of the Inter national Symposium on "Amino Acid Composition and Biological Value of Cereal Proteins", held in Budapest, Hungary, Hay 31- June 1, 1983, under the sponsorship of the International Association for Cereal Chemistry, Hungarian Scientific Society for Food Industry and Grain Trust, Hungary, with supplemental invited contributions. Scientists (biologist, plant breeders, farmers, chemists, biochemists, engineers, food technologists and nutritionists) from 17 countries presented and reviewed, along with partici pants from 20 countries, the recent methodology and trends in the determination of the biological value of cereal proteins, v the amino acid composition of cereal proteins and factors in fluencing the composition and the role of cereal proteins in nutrition and animal feeding.

In this second edition, Edwin Frankel has updated and extended his now well-known book Lipid oxidation which has come to be regarded as the standard work on the subject since the publication of the first edition seven years previously. His main objective is to develop the background necessary for a better understanding of what factors should be considered, and what methods and lipid systems should be employed, to achieve suitable evaluation and control of lipid oxidation in complex foods and biological systems. The oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids is one of the most fundamental reactions in lipid chemistry. When unsaturated lipids are exposed to air, the complex, volatile oxidation compounds that are formed cause rancidity. This decreases the quality of foods that contain natural lipid components as well as foods in which oils are used as ingredients. Furthermore, products of lipid oxidation have been implicated in many vital biological reactions, and evidence has accumulated to show that free radicals and reactive oxygen species participate in tissue injuries and in degenerative disease. Although there have been many significant advances in this challenging field, many important problems remain unsolved. This second edition of Lipid oxidation follows the example of the first edition in offering a summary of the many unsolved problems that need further research. The need to understand lipid oxidation is greater than ever with the increased interest in long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, the reformulation of oils to avoid hydrogenation and trans fatty acids, and the enormous attention given to natural phenolic antioxidants, including flavonoids and other phytochemicals.