Soy Beans: Complete Amino Acid Profile

Soy Beans ‐ Amino Acids List

The Soybean (Glycine max) is an incredibly important plant species for both agricultural and human nutrition. Widely cultivated throughout the world, soybeans are high in amino acids. Amino acids – also called “building blocks” or “the building blocks of life” – are essential organic molecules comprised of a carboxyl group bonded to an amine function that form proteins through peptide bonds. Since all proteins are composed of various combinations of twenty different amino acids and not any single one, the quality and quantity of these amino acids found inside of soybeans is vitally important. Moreover, because soybeans have been widely used as a dietary source of animal protein, it has become increasingly recommended as a replacement for other meats due to its lower cholesterol content and decreased association with certain medical conditions such as heart disease and cancer. This paper will discuss the most common amino acids found within the structure of soybeans, examine the potential health benefits associated with their consumption, and lastly, suggest how future research may help optimize these specific amino acid profiles.

There are nine essential amino acids that are required by humans; these include L-isoleucine, leucine, lysine, threonine, tryptophan, methionine, phenylalanine, valine, and histidine. Of these nine, seven (histeine being excluded) are found in abundance in soybeans. Specifically, isoleucine is controlled especially well at around 0.3 g per 100 g of raw soybeans, while total levels of essential amino acids range from 2.6 - 4.2g/100 g. Lysine, the third limiting amino acid in soybeans among animals, is available mostly between 1.1 - 1.7 g/100 g, while the sulfur containing amino acids cysteine and methionine range from 0.27 - 0.36g/100 g and 0.15 - 0.25 g/100 g respectively. In general, whole soybeans contain around 44 percent of exogenous protein, making them moderately rich sources when compared to other plant foods.

Due to their composition of numerous essential amino acids, isolation of proteins from soybeans can obviate problems arising from deficient diets by providing complete nutritional value and – depending on the food preparation techniques applied – even increasing the bioavailability of some components including oligosaccharides, vitamins, minerals, and lipids. Most notably, the addition of soybeans into the average diet has shown to reduce the risk of certain illnesses linked to eating too much animal-based proteins such as coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, kidney stones, rheumatoid arthritis, and even some forms cancers. Additionally, consuming diets higher in their precursor amino acids – i.e. threonine and phenylalanine – as opposed to exclusively relying on fatty acids like linoleic acid received from vegetable oils, could lead to better serum lipid profiles, since soy protein affects an overall reduction in cholesterol concentrations.

It is clear that incorporating soybeans into our daily diets carries several promising potentials regarding the prevention of chronic degenerative diseases. However, careful analysis of the functional groups of individual components and how ingestion of processed products affect endogenous pathways still requires further attention. Such studies might aid in optimization of the best methods in obtaining maximum amounts of necessary nutrients from soybean polymers, which in turn would provide useful insight useful applications of this complex foodstuff. Furthermore, investigations involving the acceptance of trans and saturated fats versus mono-unsaturated ones together with interaction of both may prove pivotal evidence towards understanding the full impact on major metabolic pathways. Lastly, further research regarding absolute requirements of macro and micronutrients should be conducted along with an evaluation of their effects on each age group, sexes, cultures, subcultural variants within those given clusters, and other relevant measured parameters.

Ultimately, examining the amino acid profile specifically found inside of soybeans remains important. By analyzing total levels present, researchers can come to understand the efficacy of soyfoods inclusion into daily diets, since much of the realizations hinting beneficial relationships arise from reliable correlations rather than direct causation observations. As our collective knowledge grows through scientific examination of gene sequences, enzymatic activities, microbial cell interactions, and so forth, we may discover more reasons for integrating this natural fertilizer into everyday meals, thereby supplementing our own needs for healthy living through targeted alteration of dietary habits.