Alanine (g), Arginine (g), Aspartic Acid (g) , Cystine (g), Glutamic Acid (g), Glycine (g), Histidine (g), Isoleucine (g), Leucine (g), Lysine (g), Methionine (g), Phenylalanine (g), Proline (g), Serine (g), Threonine (g), Tyrosine (g), , Tryptophan (g), Valine (g).

Amino acid data for a class or species of food are aggregated to yield a set of values that serve as the pattern for calculating the amino acid profile of other similar foods. The amino acid values for the pattern are expressed on a per-gram-of-nitrogen basis. Data to develop amino acid patterns for simple foods were obtained primarily by ion-exchange chromatography. The amino acid patterns and the total nitrogen content were used to calculate the levels of individual amino acids per 100 g of food, using the following formula:

AAf = (AAn * Vp ) / Nf
AAf = Amino acid content per 100 grams of food
AAn = Amino acid content per gram of nitrogen
Vp = Protein content of food
Nf = Nitrogen factor

In the past, the number of data points appeared only on the food item for which the amino acid pattern was developed, not on other foods that used the same pattern. It referred to the number of observations used in developing the amino acid pattern for that food. For foods processed in the new NDBS, the number of observations used in developing an amino acid pattern will be released only with the pattern. The amino acid profiles calculated from these patterns will show the number of data points to be zero.

If amino acid values are presented for an item with more than one protein-containing ingredient, the values may have been calculated on a per-gram-of-nitrogen basis from the amino acid patterns of the various protein-containing ingredients. Then the amino acid contents for an item on the 100-g basis were calculated as the sum of the amino acids in each protein-containing ingredient multiplied by total nitrogen in the item.

Related topics include Proximates, Minerals, Vitamins, and Lipids.