The Protein Digestibility-Corrected Amino Acid Scoring (PDCAAS) method for assessing protein nutritional quality takes into account the essential amino acid profile of foods, its digestibility, and its ability to supply essential amino acids in amounts required by humans.
The PDCAAS for Mycoprotein is 0.91, fractionally behind beef at 0.92. Because of the other protein source in Quorn™ pieces (egg albumen) the PDCAAS for Quorn™ pieces is 1.0.
The table below shows how Mycoprotein compares to the PDCAAS of other food proteins.
| Protein Source | PDCAAS | Data Source |
|---|---|---|
| Quorn pieces | 1.0 | (iv) |
| Casein | 1.0 | (i) |
| Egg white | 1.0 | (i) |
| Chicken (light meat, roasted) | 1.0 | (iii) |
| Turkey (ground,cooked) | 0.97 | (iii) |
| Fish (Cod, oven or grill cooked) | 0.96 | (iii) |
| Soybean protein | 0.94 | (ii) |
| Beef | 0.92 | (i) |
| Mycoprotein | 0.99 | (iv) |
| Pea flour | 0.69 | (i) |
| Kidney beans (canned) | 0.68 | (i) |
| Rolled oats | 0.57 | (i) |
| Lentils (canned) | 0.52 | (i) |
| Peanut meal | 0.52 | (i) |
| Whole wheat | 0.40 | (i) |
| Wheat gluten | 0.25 | (i) |
Sources:
(i) FAO/WHO Joint Report 1989;
(ii) Sarwar and McDonough, 1990.
(iii) Calculated from amino acid data in USDA Nutrient Data Base for Standard Reference, March 12, 1998 (assumes a digestibility equivalent to beef = 94%).
(iv) Calculation based on digestibility study conducted at the Dunn Clinical Nutrition Centre, Cambridge.
| Essential Amino Acids | Mycoprotein | Cows Milk (i) | Egg (ii) | Beef (iii) | Soy isolate* | Soy concentrate* (acid wash) | Peanuts (v) | Wheat (vi) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Histidine | 0.35 | 0.09 | 0.30 | 0.66 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.65 | 0.32 |
| Isoleucine | 0.52 | 0.20 | 0.68 | 0.87 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.91 | 0.53 |
| Leucine | 0.86 | 0.32 | 1.10 | 1.53 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 1.67 | 0.93 |
| Lysine | 0.83 | 0.26 | 0.90 | 1.60 | 1.4 | 1 | 0.92 | 0.30 |
| Methionine | 0.21 | 0.08 | 0.39 | 0.50 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.32 | 0.22 |
| Phenylalanine | 0.49 | 0.16 | 0.66 | 0.76 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 1.30 | 0.68 |
| Tryptophan | 0.16 | 0.05 | 0.16 | 0.22 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.25 | 0.18 |
| Threonine | 0.55 | 0.15 | 0.60 | 0.84 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.88 | 0.37 |
| Valine | 0.62 | 0.22 | 0.76 | 0.94 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 1.08 | 0.59 |
* soy isolate and concentrate data are adjusted to same water content as Mycoprotein @ 75%
(i)Whole fluid milk [3.3% fat]
(ii) Raw fresh egg
(iii) Ground beef (regular, baked-medium)
(iv a + b ) soya derivatives used in the production of textured soy products
(v) Raw peanuts [all types]
(vi) Durum wheat