**5. Amino acids in pulses**

All proteins are created from 20 different amino acid building blocks. Out of these 20, nine amino acids are those that cannot be produced by the body and are called "essential," and they must be obtained from food source. Each amino acid within the body is associated with specific function. Lysine and arginine are found to be associated with the release of growth hormone in young children. In the early years of age, protein intake is positively associated with height and weight. Hence children with lower serum level of essential amino acids particularly arginine, glycine, and glutamine lead to stunting and wasting. Pulses can provide potential ingredient for the intervention in such types of ailments. Branch chain amino acids (BCAA), e.g., leucine, are reported to play significant role in regulating signaling pathways of muscle protein, valine for repair, and isoleucine in muscle growth. Likewise each amino acid performs a specific function during different life stages, from infancy to elders [21].

Legumes containing relatively low quantity of methionine, essential amino acid, compared with egg, red meat, or poultry meat, are suitable as complimentary source with low lysine-containing cereals such as wheat. It can be source of goodquality protein. Protein quality is defined by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as the capacity of a food protein source and diet to meet the protein and essential amino-nitrogen requirements [22]. Quality can be evaluated in terms of amino acid composition and protein digestibility. It is essential to have a good balance of amino acids in order to synthesize enough protein in the cells to keep the body healthy. Dietary intake of proteinaceous meal comprising sufficient quantity of balanced is essential for adults as well as growing children. If the dietary intake of amino acids is unbalanced, the amino acid that is most limiting becomes the bottleneck for the amount of protein synthesized.

Pulse consumption not only fulfills essential amino acid requirement within the body besides that lower methionine intake is responsible for reduction in oxidative stress by decreasing mitochondrial ROS generation and damage of the liver, which would ultimately increase longevity by this dietary manipulation. Amino acid composition of some common pulses is given in the table comprising essential and non-essential amino acids (**Table 1**).
