The Study
Probiotic Administration Increases Amino Acid Absorption from Plant Protein: a Placebo-Controlled, Randomized, Double-Blind, Multicenter, Crossover Study
This study showed that when people took a special probiotic pill with pea protein, their blood had more of certain building blocks called amino acids. But it didn't show if that made their muscles stronger or healthier — just that the amino acids showed up in their blood faster.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Plant proteins like pea protein don't have all the amino acids your body needs, especially methionine and BCAAs. This study tested if adding a special probiotic helps your body absorb more of these missing amino acids.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 574 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1These increases could help plant proteins better support muscle building, matching animal proteins without needing to eat more protein.
- 2After taking the probiotic for two weeks with pea protein, blood levels of methionine went up 16–20%, histidine up 49%, and BCAAs up 22–27%.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins
Year
2020
Authors
R. Jäger, J. Zaragoza, M. Purpura, S. Iametti, M. Marengo, Grant M. Tinsley, A. Anzalone, J. Oliver, Walter Fiore, Andrea Biffi, Stacie L. Urbina, L. Taylor
Related Content
Claims (6)
In healthy young men, taking a specific probiotic supplement daily for two weeks increases the levels of several amino acids in the blood after eating 20 grams of pea protein, with measurable rises in peak concentration and total exposure over time.
When healthy young men consume 20 grams of pea protein with a specific probiotic blend, their blood levels of methionine rise by 16–20% and their total essential amino acids rise by 16–16%.
Taking the probiotic blend L. paracasei LP-DG® and L. paracasei LPC-S01 with pea protein does not change how quickly amino acids reach their highest concentration in the blood, but it increases the total amount of amino acids absorbed.
In healthy young men, taking a specific probiotic blend with 20 grams of pea protein for two weeks raises the level of histidine in the blood by up to 49%.
When healthy young men consume pea protein after taking a specific probiotic blend containing L. paracasei LP-DG® and L. paracasei LPC-S01, their blood levels of branched-chain amino acids rise by 22–27%, and this increases the activation of muscle-building signals from the protein without changing how quickly the protein is absorbed.
Tofu contains all essential amino acids in better proportions than most plant proteins, but the body absorbs fewer of those amino acids from tofu than from eggs, meat, or dairy.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.