title: Tyrosine requirement during the rapid catch-up growth phase of recovery from severe childhood undernutrition.
abstract: The requirement for aromatic amino acids during the rapid catch-up in weight phase of recovery from severe childhood undernutrition (SCU) is not clearly established. As a first step, the present study aimed to estimate the tyrosine requirement of children with SCU during the catch-up growth phase of nutritional rehabilitation using a diet enriched in energy and proteins. Tyrosine requirement was calculated from the rate of excretion of ¹³CO2 (F ¹³CO2) during [¹³C]phenylalanine infusion in thirteen children with SCU, five females and eight males, at about 19 d after admission when the subjects were considered to have entered their rapid catch-up growth phase and were consuming 627.3 kJ and about 3.5 g protein/kg per d. Measurements of F ¹³CO2 during [¹³C]phenylalanine infusion were made on two separate days with a 1 d interval. Three measurements at tyrosine intakes of 48, 71 and 95 mg/kg per d were performed on experimental day 1 and measurements at tyrosine intakes of 148, 195 and 241 mg/kg per d were performed on experimental day 2. An estimate of the mean requirement was derived by breakpoint analysis with a two-phase linear regression cross-over model. The breakpoint, which represents an estimate of the mean tyrosine requirement, is a value of 99 mg/kg per d when the children were growing at about 15 g/kg per d. The result indicates that the mean requirement for tyrosine during the catch-up growth phase of SCU is about 99 mg/kg per d under similar conditions to the present study.
authors.affiliation: Tropical Metabolism Research Unit, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica. asha.badaloo@uwimona.edu.jm
authors.forename: Asha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Badaloo
authors.forename: Jean W-C
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: Carolyn
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Taylor-Bryan
authors.forename: Marvin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reid
authors.forename: Terrence
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Forrester
authors.forename: Farook
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jahoor
mesh_terms: D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007225:Infant Food; D007228:Infant Nutrition Disorders / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000178:diet therapy*; D009751:Nutritional Requirements; D010649:Phenylalanine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D014443:Tyrosine / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D014443:Tyrosine; D010649:Phenylalanine