Introduction to the 3rd Amino Acid Assessment Workshop

A series of Amino Acid Assessment Workshops (AAAWs) are being organized and conducted to bring together experts in amino acid nutrition, metabolism, cell and molecular biology, toxicology, and regulation/policy with the eventual goal to establish a paradigm for the characterization of risks associated with ingestion of specific intakes of amino acids by humans. In this brief introductory article, I present the rationale behind these AAAWs, which basically emerges from the fact that there is little systematic information about the adverse effects and the pathophysiological mechanisms of excessive intakes of single amino acids or of mixtures of amino acids in human subjects. This 3rd AAAW extends, as well as builds upon, the information collected at the 1st and 2nd AAAWs. The previous two workshops focused attention largely on the metabolism, mechanism of action, and functions of amino acids. This 3rd AAAW will focus particular attention on intakes needed to meet physiological requirements and above, host and diet factors that affect these needs and responses, as well as variation in responses to and levels of intake of amino acids among individuals. In this context, the overall objective is to establish the science and knowledge base required for use in determining and/or predicting the upper level of the safe range of intake of specific amino acids under various host, agent (diet), and environmental conditions.