Speaking of amino acids, I believe everyone is not unfamiliar. Whether it is diet health care, skin care or medical research, amino acids can be said to be ubiquitous as the basic unit of protein. According to the latest research of IMARC, it is estimated that by 2024, the global amino acid market will reach 11.46 million tons, which is about 10.8 billion US dollars of growth space to be tapped.
From the perspective of human nutrition, amino acids can be divided into essential amino acids, conditionally essential amino acids and non-essential amino acids. For adults, there are eight kinds of essential amino acids, namely: lysine, tryptophan, phenylalanine, methionine, threonine, isoleucine, leucine, and valine.
Recently, an academic research paper published in Cell Metabolism [1] triggered a heated debate about the necessity of essential amino acids (BCAA). With its role in promoting muscle growth, reducing fat, and providing nutrition for the human body, essential amino acids represented by isoleucine and valine can be said to be the "sacred product" of nutritional supplements that have been well-known in the fitness industry. However, according to the research of Dr. Yu Deyang of the University of Wisconsin, a reasonable reduction in the intake of BCAA can effectively reduce the negative effects on human metabolism, and reducing the intake of BCAA may become a new means of intervention for aging.
While the necessity of isoleucine and valine has caused controversy, another essential amino acid, methionine (Met), has become an anti-cancer treatment research community by virtue of its role in the body's biosynthesis and metabolism. The new favorite has been paid attention to by more and more scientists, especially its role in tumors driven by epigenetic modification mutations should not be underestimated. Due to differences in the metabolism and nutritional requirements of tumor cells, amino acid depletion therapy will be safer and less harmful to normal cells.
Before this therapy is widely used in clinics, scientists still need to explore the metabolic sensitivity of different cancer cells to amino acids. Considering that monotherapy may bring about drug resistance, the combination of amino acid depletion therapy and targeted drugs will become a more feasible anti-cancer strategy in the future. On June 11 this year, Huaheng Bio-tech's decision to invest 250 million yuan to build a project with an annual output of 16,000 tons of three-branched-chain amino acids and their derivatives also highlights the importance of such substances in new applications in the market.
