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Ramanujan Dietary Complements: Quantitative Identification of Optimal Protein Couplings for Vegan and Vegetarian Diets
Author(s) -
Basu Avik,
Fu Leeann,
Woolf Peter
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.24.1_supplement.748.2
Subject(s) - ramanujan's sum , amino acid , food science , yield (engineering) , chemistry , biology , biochemistry , mathematics , pure mathematics , materials science , metallurgy
A balanced vegetarian or vegan diet requires eating not only enough protein, but also the correct relative proportions of amino acids. Traditional pairings of legumes and grains, or grains and milk provide an approximately balanced diet, however among specific foods there is significant variation in the relative amino acid proportions. To identify optimal protein complements, we have developed an analytical tool called Ramanujan. Using amino acid profiles provided by the USDA database, we use Ramanujan to identify single foods and two‐, and three‐component food couplings that yield an amino acid profile most similar to a standard protein source of raw egg white. The results identify both traditional and unexpected couplings, and in so doing provide a novel, data‐driven resource to balance amino acid consumption in vegetarian diets.