The following graph shows a the typical amino acid profile of pea protein. Essential amino acids have a little asterisk next to their names.
This graph was generated using our amino acid profile comparison tool.
It might be easier to read in table form. Essential amino acids are again marked with an asterisk (*).
| % of total amino acids | |
|---|---|
| Alanine | 4.3 |
| Arginine | 8.6 |
| Aspartic Acid | 11.9 |
| Cystine | 0.9 |
| Glutamic Acid | 17.2 |
| Glycine | 4.1 |
| Histidine* | 2.5 |
| Isoleucine* | 4.8 |
| Leucine* | 8.5 |
| Lysine* | 7.5 |
| Methionine* | 1 |
| Phenylalanine* | 5.5 |
| Proline | 4.3 |
| Serine | 5.4 |
| Threonine* | 3.7 |
| Tryptophan* | 1 |
| Tyrosine | 3.8 |
| Valine* | 5 |
Overall Summary of Pea Protein’s Amino Acid Profile
Pea protein has a great amino acid profile, that’s why it’s the most popular protein source in vegan protein powders.
First of all it is a complete protein, meaning that it has a significant amount of all the essential amino acids
We can compare it to whey protein’s amino acid profile to see how they stack up. They’re pretty similar except for a few differences. Pea protein is relatively:
- High in arginine
- High in glycine
- High in phenylalanine
- Low in threonine
- Slightly low in leucine*, isoleucine*, and lysine*
Peas are lower in those 3 essential amino acids, but if you look at the chart or table, you can see that it’s by a very small amount. Pea protein is very comparable to whey when you look at the overall amino acid profile.