AMINO-ACID MIXTURES

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25227, 4 July 1947, Page 2

AMINO-ACID MIXTURES

“Proteins owe their life-giving properties to their component parts, which are called amino-acids,” said Dr. Muriel Bell, nutritionist for the Department of Health, when addressing a meeting of Plunket nurses, mothers, and members of the Food Value League last night. Her subject was protein foods—their importance for feeding children, for expectant and nursing mothers, and for those recovering from illness. After describing the many ways in which proteins could be supplied in food, Dr. Bell gave interesting information about amino-acids, on which chemists are now doing research work. .“Some of these amino-acids are absolutely essential, others relatively essential either for growth or repair,” Dr. Bell explained. “For example, one of the sulphur-containing amino-acids, called methionine, has assumed very great importance as a result of recent researches. It has been found that methionine is required for preventing injury to the liver or for promoting healing following wounds or burns or fractures.” Modern developments arising from these new-found roles of amino-acids were to stimulate the production of mixtures of amino-acids for the treatment of medical and surgical cases. Chemists in many laboratories, the speaker said, were hard at work devising methods by which proteindigests and amino-acids could be used for the treatment of cases in medical practice. One of these developments was that premature babies were being treated by supplementation with these amino-acid mixtures, because very small premature babies were not always able to digest or absorb sufficient protein to make them grow. They grew better when they were given, not only the amount of milk which they could digest, but also some of the pre-digested proteins or amino-acid mixtures.

Another type of case in which these were proving useful, Dr. Bel! concluded. was in the treatment of allergic babies.