Ingredient supplier Roquette’s Nutralys pea protein recently received a Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid (DIAAS) of 100, indicating that the digestibility and composition of its amino acids fall within the “excellent” category. “Good” quality proteins fall within the range of 75-00, according to the National Institutes of Health. The DIAAS study appears in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
 
Roquette said that it was the first key company in the pea protein market to use this method, which is recommended by the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) of the United Nations. According to the company, the number of plant protein product launches multiplied by 5 between 2014 and 2020, a growth rate driven by consumers’ focus on health, well-being, and sustainable development.
 
Digestibility and composition of amino acids are the two key determinants of a protein’s nutritional quality. The recent DIAAS study was conducted in partnership with academic experts from INRA, France’s National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment.
 
The DIAAS methodology allows the evaluation of the digestibility of each indispensable amino acid in the protein with a very precise protocol implemented in humans. The high-level method is used to complement the notable PDCAAS (Protein Digestibility-Corrected Amino Acid Score), of which the pea protein scored a 93.  
 
“Thanks to high level scientific collaborations with academic experts, we showcase, through the robust DIAAS methodology on humans, the premium nutritional quality of our pea protein,” Caroline Perreau, nutrition and health research manager at Roquette, said. “This was another step to share our expertise about pea protein nutritional benefits.
 
“The result of this study is another piece of evidence that pea protein is an outstanding plant-based ingredient,” Jeremy Burks, senior vice president of plant proteins at Roquette, said. “At Roquette, we aim to be the best partner for our customers and all the players along the value chain, and we are proud to be the first to use this methodology that confirms our strong bet for this extraordinary pulse.”
 
“In a clinical study on healthy volunteers, we showed that Roquette’s pea protein isolate displayed a well-balanced indispensable amino acid composition associated with a high digestibility,” Juliane Calvez, research scientist at INRAE, said. “We obtained a DIAAS of 100 that demonstrates pea isolate is an excellent source of plant protein for human diet.”