Dear Josephine,
The issue is a question of mode of expression, similar to thiamin/thiaminhydrochloride or pantothenic acid/pantothenate.
It is all a question of what is measured, and how the measurement is expressed.
In the analysis of amino acids, a quite harsh hydrolysis of the protein may be used to release the amino acids, during which glutamine is converted to glutamic acid and ammonia. Similarly, asparagine will be converted to aspartic acid and ammonia.
Both amino acids (glutamine/asparagine) are therefore estimated/measured as glutamic acid and aspartic acid.
Furthermore, the molar masses of glutamine and glutamic acid are almost the same, the final result (number) will be the same. The same applies for asparagine/aspartic acid.
The answer to your questions is therefore, yes!
Best regards,
Anders
Anders Møller
Danish Food Informatics
Borgediget 12
DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark
Websites: Danish Food Informatics (http://www.danfood.info)
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From: Food Composition Discussion Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Josephine Deeks
Sent: 05 November 2013 13:33
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: glutamine and asparagine
Hello,
I maintain the Canadian food composition database and I have had an interesting question posed to me that I do not know how to answer.
The question comes from our research scientists here at Health Canada concerning a couple of non-essential amino acids that are nonetheless important in protein building.
Evidently, glutamine is the most abundant free amino acid in the body. According to several sources on the web it is present in both plant and animal proteins. However, the only nutrient code I know about that is close, is Glutamic acid. Does that value include glutamine? Similarily does the aspartic acid value include asparagine?
These researchers are trying to determine maximum normal intakes of total amino acids in order to set regulations on how much can be added to foods. If the glutamic acid and aspartic acid values do not include these sources of amino acids, we don't really know what the total intake amounts to.
Thanks,
Josephine Deeks, MSc.
Nutrition Research Division
Health Canada
Ottawa, ON
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Telephone | 613-957-0926/ Facsimile | 613-946-6212
Government of Canada
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