Davisco Foods DIAAS Protein Quality Measurement of BiPRO and Alpha-lactalbumin Exceeds Requirements

12 Nov 2013 --- Davisco Foods has announced the results of Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score (DIAAS) protein quality measurement of BiPRO whey protein isolate and >95% pure Alpha-lactalbumin protein powders made by proprietary ion exchange technology. DIAAS is the preferred method of protein quality measurement, following the 2013 FAO report Dietary protein quality evaluation in human nutrition (ISSN 0254-4725, FAO 2013).

By any measure, whey protein has consistently been found to be among the most highly digestible of proteins, providing the body complete amino acid for growth and repair. However, precise values for protein quality and digestibility can differ among whey protein suppliers based on level of purity since each product has a slightly different amino acid profile. BiPRO has previously been measured to have a Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS) of 1.0. The DIAAS was recommended by the FAO sub-committee to compensate for several incomplete aspects of the PDCAAS. Considerations included fecal measurement in rats not being representative of true absorption in the human ileum, the truncation of the PDCAAS to a maximum of 1.0 for all high quality proteins, and the inability to consider the specific amino acid digestibility and thus net protein quality of mixes of proteins in finished foods.

The DIAAS measurement was performed on behalf of Davisco Foods at the Riddet Institute at Massey University, New Zealand using standard protocols previously reviewed and published. The DIAA ratio of BiPRO was found to be limited by the amino acid histidine, while Alpha-lactalbumin was limited by the amino acid valine. The DIAAS scores of BiPRO and Alpha-lactalbumin are well over 100, indicating complete amino acid nutrition. BiPRO is among the highest natural food sources of leucine, a metabolic trigger for muscle protein synthesis, at approximately 13.1g per 100g protein. Alpha-lactalbumin is rich in leucine and high in tryptophan at approximately 4.8g per 100g protein.