Essential amino acids profile of differentially processed soy products and their efficiency in meeting daily requirement

Abstract

Purpose – In the backdrop of declining per capita availability of pulses, soybean is the alternate source to address protein deficiency in India. The study aims to assess the efficiency of soy products available in the market for meeting the daily requirement of essential amino acids (EAAs). Design/methodology/approach – Extruded soy products, namely, soy nuggets, granules, soy flour manufactured from sprouts, spray-dried soy milk variants, ready-to-drink (RTD) soy beverage and silken tofu, were analysed for EAAs by high-performance liquid chromatography. In addition, efficiency of these products in terms of meeting the daily requirement of EAAs for an adult weighing 70 kg through a single serving (equivalent to 6 g protein) was also computed. Findings – Leucine was the most concentrated EAA in all the soy products, except in variants of soy milk. Total essential amino acids’ (TEAAs) content in soy flour was significantly higher compared to soy nuggets and granules. Spray-dried plain soymilk exhibited a significantly higher level of TEAAs content compared to flavoured variant and RTD soy beverage. Among all the products, silken tofu exhibited the highest concentration of TEAAs. RTD soy beverage was the most efficient product for meeting the daily requirement of isoleucine and valine, soy flour for aromatic amino acids and silken tofu for lysine and leucine. Originality/value – This work pertains to the determination of EAAs of commercial soy products and assesses their efficiency in terms of meeting the daily requirement of EAAs. This type of technical evaluation of soy products has not been conducted earlier.