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VM-Molecular Biosciences
University of California, Davis
Davis, CA 95616
E-mail: qrrogers{at}ucdavis.edu
Metabolic and Therapeutic Aspects of Amino Acids in Clinical Nutrition, second edition, is a compilation of 44 chapters written by 81 authors as an update to the first edition, which was published in 1995. This edition is dedicated to the memory of Bernard Beaufrere and Peter Reeds, both of whom were recent contributors to the field of amino acid nutrition in health and disease. The book begins with a general introduction by John M Kinney to the development and scientific progression of amino acid nutrition and metabolism in the 20th century. This book is written for an audience that may be looking for a sound presentation on amino acid metabolism as it applies to health and disease in humans, and the reader should appreciate the scientific presentation and documentation in each chapter. The first section of the book describes the fundamentals for assessing amino acid nutriture: it explains proper sample preparation and storage and the analysis of amino acids by using ion exchange chromatography or HPLC; shows the validity of various methods; and includes some normal values in human plasma, muscle, and red blood cells. For the benefit of readers who might not be familiar with flux measurements obtained with the use of stable isotopes, a chapter is included that explains this approach in the study of amino acid metabolism.
Topics that are thoroughly covered are the cellular transport of amino acids, the role of amino acids in gluconeogensis and ketogenesis, and the importance of the urea cycle and its regulation. Much detail is provided in various chapters on the role in nutrition and metabolism of amino acids, such as glutamate, glutamine, alanine, and the branched-chain amino acids, which have been studied in great detail in recent years, and the text includes valuable information on the role of arginine in providing regulation of both the urea cycle and the production of nitric oxide. Updated information is also presented on amino acid signaling of hormonal responses, especially the response of insulin, and on the role of amino acids, especially leucine, in protein synthesis and degradation. This information is amplified in several chapters that cover the possible supportive role of amino acid nutrition in patients with various diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and gastrointestinal diseases, as well as the possible role of certain amino acids during exercise. A thorough discussion of amino acid requirements in humans, from healthy neonates to the elderly, is presented along with information on how these requirements vary with different diseases. All of the amino acids are covered in the requirement section, whereas the detailed metabolism of most of the essential amino acids (eg, trp, lys, thr, his, met-cys, and phe-tyr), because they have not been studied lately in relation to human nutrition, does not receive extensive coverage. Because this book focuses on amino acid nutrition and metabolism as they relate to human nutrition, some important areas that have not yet been related to human nutrition, such as the question of ileal or whole gastrointestinal tract digestibility (ie, amino acid bioavailability), are not covered. Despite this, this volume provides information about the difference in the requirements of oral and parenterally administered amino acids.
I highly recommend this book to advanced nutrition students and medical doctors and especially to anyone interested in human amino acid nutrition; moreover, advanced animal science students and veterinarians will also gain insight into amino acid nutrition and metabolism from the various chapters of this volume.