The Discovery of the Master Amino Acid Pattern

The Master Amino Acid Pattern was discovered by the International Nutrition Research Center (INRC), a leading research institution, founded in 1971. INRC's research has been aimed to achieve the advanced scientific knowledge necessary to provide a safer and more effective nutrition, especially among malnourished populations. Thus, reducing the incidence of morbidity and mortality.

INRC believes that by providing a safer and more effective nutrition, the standards of human physical and mental growth can be improved. And, as a consequence, the learning and working abilities can be enhanced. Thus, achieving the primary foundation for building healthier and more productive self-sufficient societies.

Scientific contributions

INRC's scientific contributions to the nutritional sciences can be defined as remarkable. Since 1971, INRC’s pioneering work has been dedicated to experimental human nutrition and has resulted in major scientific achievements such as:

1. The invention of a procedure denominated Metabolism Equalizing and Stabilizing Diet (MESD™). This nutritional procedure equalizes protein metabolism in human subjects, before they undergo Nitrogen Balance studies, thus, allowing an unprecedented accuracy and reliability in this methodology.
2. The discovery of the MAP Master Amino Acid Pattern®, namely the ideal amino acid pattern. MAP™ provides a 99% Net Nitrogen Utilization (NNU) for body protein synthesis (BPS).This is the highest NNU ever provided by any dietary protein or protein supplement.
3. The invention of a procedure denominated Dietary Protein Engineering Nutrification (DPEN™). The DPEN™ allows, for the first time, a remarkable increase in the nutritional value of dietary proteins.

The publications related to the previously described INRC’s scientific achievements were deliberately postponed in order to allow the granting of the related patents. In recognition of the originality of its discoveries, INRC has been granted patents from the United States of America, the European Union, Canada and Japan.

In recognition of INRC’s scientific contributions to the nutritional sciences, INRC’s president Prof. Dr. Maurizio Lucà-Moretti and vice-president Dr. Anna Grandi have been awarded with a cumulative of nine Honoris Causa degrees from universities worldwide; fifteen elections from National Academies of Medicine; two elections from National Academies of Science; two Medals of Honor for scientific merits; and the Cross of Alfonso X El Sabio, for scientific merits. Prof. Dr. Maurizio Lucà-Moretti curriculum vitae can be found in Who’s Who in Science, Who’s Who in Medicine, Who’s Who in America, and Who’s Who in the World.

To understand the extraordinary importance of INRC’s scientific achievements, it is necessary to analyze the following:

The identification of protein's essential amino acids began in 1820 with the discovery of leucine by Braconnot. In 1838, Mulder identified proteins as a class, and associated them with all forms of life. In 1881, Schultze and Barbieri discovered phenylalanine. Following in 1889, lysine was discovered by Drechsel; valine by Fischer in 1901; tryptophan by Hopkins and Cole in 1901; isoleucine by Ehrlich in 1904; methionine by Muller in 1922 and threonine by McCoy, Meyer and Rose in 1935. However, Fischer (the discoverer of valine) was the first to suggest that the characteristics of a specific protein were determined by its constituent amino acids.

Later, in 1936, Meyer and Rose confirmed the vital nutritive role of the eight essential amino acids. Finally, in 1946, Rose suggested, for the first time " the daily requirements of essential amino acids of man".

Block and Mitchell, in 1946, were the first to propose that the assessing of a protein's nutritional quality has to be calculated on the basis of its constituent amino acids. They also pointed out that all eight essential amino acids must be provided simultaneously at the sites of the body's protein synthesis, to avoid that intracellular deficits of any essential amino acid could result in a limitation of the rate of the body's protein synthesis.

Due to the previously described scientific breakthroughs, the scientific community became aware that it was theoretically feasible, by knowing the daily requirement of essential amino acids (recommended by Rose), to use a mixture of amino acids to substitute the hydrolyzed proteins formulas.

Unfortunately, the limited knowledge of human nitrogen balance techniques prevented Rose from using a sound methodology to achieve accurate and reliable results in the determination of the daily requirement of essential amino acids.

As a result, the different brands of amino acid formulations that were manufactured in accordance to the daily amino acids requirement recommended by Rose, provided a very low NNU for BPS and a consequential increase in the level of Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN).

Due to the poor nutritional effectiveness and the adverse effect of increased BUN caused by amino acid formulations, the medical community no longer recommended their utilization, and eventually they progressively disappeared from the clinical nutrition market.

The nutritional failure of amino acids formulations generated among the scientific community even more discrepancies and confusion about the answers to questions, such as:

1. How many amino acids are essential for human nutrition?
2. What should be the "ideal" combination of amino acids for human nutrition?
3. How can the daily requirement of amino acids be calculated?
4. Should an amino acid mixture provide only the essential or also the non-essential amino acids? And then, in what proportion?

Toward the Discovery of the Metabolism Equalizing and
Stabilizing Diet (MESD™)

In 1971, among the lack of knowledge, discrepancies, and confusion concerning nutritional amino acids, INRC initiated research aimed to find the answers to the previously described questions.

INRC suspected that the results’ discrepancies among nitrogen balance studies aimed to determine the ideal amino acid pattern for human nutrition, could have been caused by a shortcoming of the utilized methodologies. Later, INRC discovered that the shortcoming was caused by ignoring that it is essential to equalize protein metabolism in human subjects, before they undergo Nitrogen Balance studies, thus, allowing an unprecedented accuracy and reliability in this methodology.

Then, INRC research resulted in the discovery of a nutritional procedure that was denominated Metabolism Equalizing and Stabilizing Diet (MESD™). The use of MESD™ allowed, for the first time, to equalize and stabilize the subjects' protein metabolism, before their inclusion in nitrogen balance studies, thus achieving unprecedented accuracy and reliability in the results.

Towards the discovery of the MAP Master Amino Acids Pattern®

After this crucial discovery, INRC felt more confident about the possibility of discovering the MAP Master Amino Acid Pattern®, namely the ideal amino acid pattern that could provide the highest NNU for BPS.

Eventually, the discovery of MAP™ came as the result of more than 23 years of accurate, continuous, and persistent research. Finally, the results of INRC’s state-of-the-art nitrogen balance clinical studies confirmed the discovery of the MAP Master Amino Acid Pattern®, the ideal amino acid pattern capable of providing an unprecedented 99% NNU for BPS.

Towards the invention of the Dietary Protein Engineering Nutrification (DPEN™)

After the MAP™ discovery, INRC realized it was now possible to increase the NNU of dietary proteins. This could be achieved by adding to a given dietary protein a specific amino acid complement able to reach, as closely as possible, the MAP Master Amino Acid Pattern®.

Later, INRC’s nitrogen balance clinical studies results confirmed this hypothesis by showing a significant 73% NNU increase in DPEN’s bovine milk protein, and a significant 131% NNU increase in DPEN’s soybean protein.

INRC denominated this unique nutritional procedure Dietary Protein Engineering Nutrification (DPEN™) a procedure capable of significantly enhancing the dietary protein NNU for BPS.

The advantages and potential benefits of the DPEN™ can be highly remarkable. Through the DPEN™ procedure the dietary protein NNU for BPS can be significantly enhanced.

As well known, malnutrition remains prevalent in developing countries and among populations with low social economic standards of living in certain urban and rural areas of industrialized countries. It has been estimated that about two thirds (66%) of the world population suffer from qualitative or quantitative lack of food and that about 55 million children die each year as a consequence of malnutrition. Furthermore, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around 300 million children are experiencing physical and/or growth retardation as a consequence of malnutrition.

The DPEN™ provides an unprecedented inexpensive procedure extremely effective for the treatment and prevention of malnutrition for the malnourished populations.

Through the DPEN™ the dietary proteins nutritional value provided to a given population can be significantly enhanced by optimizing the proteins NNU for BPS without increasing protein intake or even altering local nutritional preferences.

There is no doubt that through the implementation of DPEN™ procedure, malnutrition could be effectively treated and/or prevented. As a result malnourished populations could eventually achieve adequate standards of human physical and mental growth. Their incidence of morbidity and mortality could be dramatically reduced. As well as, their learning and working abilities could be optimized, thus reaching the primary foundation for building healthier and more productive self-sufficient societies.

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