American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 26, 965-972, Copyright © 1973 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.

Lysine supplementation of wheat gluten at adequate and restricted energy intakes in young men

¹ From the Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139

A total of 16 male MIT students were studied in two metabolic balance experiments to determine the effects of lysine supplementation and dietary energy restriction on the utilization of wheat gluten. Two levels of wheat gluten were tested; 0.27 g protein (N x 6.25)/kg body wt per day and 0.73 g protein/kg body wt per day. Food consumption during the period of adequate intake was sufficient to maintain constant body weight; during the period of restricted energy intake, the subjects consumed 20% less. At the level of 2.25% of total protein intake, lysine supplementation significantly improved N balance to nearly the same degree at both the adequate and restricted levels of energy intake. These results demonstrate that for subjects undergoing a continued body weight loss due to inadequate energy intake and fed a diet low in wheat protein, N utilization can still be improved through supplementation with the limiting amino acid, lysine.