Protein Source on Plasma Amino Acid Concentrations In Older Adults (S55)

Effects of Consuming Ounce Equivalent Portions of Fresh Pork Versus Nuts, Beans, and Eggs, as Defined by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans on Essential Amino Acid Substrate Availability for Protein Anabolism in Older Adults

This study will determine the effect of the same ounce-equivalents of fresh pork versus nuts, beans, and eggs on postprandial plasma essential amino acid availability in older adults. Each participant will receive all four treatments.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Protein Deposition
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Pork; Other: Egg; Other: Black beans; Other: Almonds

Detailed Description

The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommends how much protein-rich foods should be consumed as part of Healthy Eating Patterns. The predominant protein sources include lean meats, poultry, and eggs, along with nuts, seeds, and soy products (dairy is a separate category). Ounce-equivalent (oz-eq) is used as a standard unit of measure among these protein sources. One whole egg (1 oz-eq) is equal to 0.5 oz of nuts (1 oz-eq), 0.25 c (1 oz-eq) of beans, and 1 oz of lean meat (1 oz-eq). Importantly, protein quantity and quality of the foods are not considered. Consequently, consuming an oz-eq of protein foods from different sources may have different effects on an individuals' digestion, absorption, and use of the amino acids contained in proteins to build new proteins in their body (an anabolic response to feeding). Also importantly, while the current Recommended Dietary Allowance for protein (0.8 g total protein/kg/d) does not take into account the sources of protein consumed, these sources have varied essential amino acid patterns. The purpose of this study is to expand on a recent study assessing the effect of consuming ounce-equivalents of eggs versus pork, nuts, and beans on essential amino acid (EAA) substrate availability for protein anabolism in younger adults to include a cohort of older adults. Findings from this current research will allow direct comparisons of postprandial EAA substrate availability between different protein-rich food sources in a cohort of older adults (primary outcome). Subsequently, investigating postprandial responses of the same ounce-equivalents of fresh pork versus nuts, beans, and eggs on postprandial plasma essential amino acid availability in older adults will also allow for a comparison between the younger (from a study started prior to this one and still currently ongoing investigating the effect of the same ounce-equivalents of fresh pork versus nuts, beans, and eggs on postprandial plasma essential amino acid availability in adults) and older adult cohorts response to consuming different protein-rich foods (secondary outcome). This research will serve as an important resource for future DGA Committees to assess whether 'protein-ounce-equivalents' of varied protein-rich foods provide equivalent EAA substrate to promote postprandial protein synthesis in older adults, in support of dietary protein intake recommendations for younger and older adults.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 25
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Indiana
    • West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, 47905
      • Purdue University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 55 years to 75 years (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Male or female
• Age 55-75
• BMI 20-35 kg∙m-2
• Weight stable (± 4.5 kg) 3 months pre-study
• Not acutely ill
• Not diabetic
• Not pregnant or lactating
• Not currently (or within 3 months pre-study) following a vigorous exercise regimen
• Non-smoking
• Willing to consume study foods and travel to testing facilities.

Exclusion Criteria:

-

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: DIAGNOSTIC
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: CROSSOVER
• Masking: DOUBLE

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: Pork; 1 ounce lean pork	Other: Pork; 1 oz lean pork
EXPERIMENTAL: Egg; 1 large whole egg	Other: Egg; 1 large whole egg
EXPERIMENTAL: Black beans; 0.5 cups of cooked black beans	Other: Black beans; 0.5 cups cooked black beans
EXPERIMENTAL: Almonds; 0.5 ounce of whole almonds	Other: Almonds; 0.5 oz almonds

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Plasma amino acid concentrations as measured by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)	Plasma samples will be drawn at times 0, 30, 60, 120, 180, 240, and 300 minutes after the consumption of the trial meal. The amino acids that will be assessed are alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, valine.	5 hours

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Purdue University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): January 17, 2020
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): November 30, 2021
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): December 31, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 18, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 24, 2020
• First Posted (ACTUAL): January 28, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): September 28, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 26, 2022
• Last Verified: September 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: IRB-2019-354

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No