Food News

The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) published a statement at the end of December on branched-chain amino acids when used in food supplements.

Leucine, isoleucine and valine form the group of branched chain amino acids (BCAA). They belong to the essential amino acids, i.e. they cannot be produced by the body itself, but must be supplied with food. They are regarded as "energy providers" and are often used in sports nutrition and supplementary products for strength and endurance sports.

According to the BfR, higher intakes of these amino acids in pure form, i.e. not as a component of proteins, can be associated with health risks. The expert authority has therefore derived and published guideline values for tolerable additional daily intakes based on animal studies. For healthy adults, the following guideline values for the daily intake of isolated branched-chain amino acids (individually or combined) were derived from the studies:

• Leucine: 4.0 grams per day
• Isoleucine: 2.2 grams per day
• Valine: 2.0 grams per day
• BCAA (total): 8.2 grams per day (corresponding to the sum of the individual BCAA)

The BfR also recommends that branched-chain amino acids should not be taken individually but in combination. No orientation values were determined for children and adolescents and people with impaired kidney function, as the data available were insufficient.

The food laboratories of the AGROLAB GROUP can precisely determine the amino acid contents in foods and food supplements both in free and in bound form and, based on this, assess the product specification with regard to the above recommendations.