부산대학교 도서관

Maintenance of proper skeletal muscle mass plays a critical role in health and disease. Dietary essential amino acids (EAAs), particularly when combined with resistance exercise are the most established safe and natural anabolic stimuli that lead to gains in muscle mass and function and in turn overall health. Gains in muscle mass are achieved by stimulation of muscle protein synthesis greater than muscle protein breakdown, which in turn improves muscle strength and function. It is critical that dietary EAAs should be formulated with balanced composition of 9 EAAs for an optimal anabolic response (i.e., a maximal gain in muscle mass). In this review, we will briefly cover following topics: 1) skeletal muscle and its importance in health, 2) regulation of muscle mass through protein turnover, 3) dietary EAAs as natural anabolic stimuli, 4) importance of provision of balanced mixture of EAAs, and 5) practical guidelines for dietary EAA intake to achieve optimal gains in muscle mass and improved muscle function.