Table 3.

Studies carried out in the last ten years, assessing the anabolic properties of plant-based protein sources.

Study Type	Study (Reference)	Design	Method	Outcomes
Acute	Kanda et al. [30] Animal study	Young male Sprague-Dawley rats: n = 237 Oral administration of 3.1 g protein/kg BW Milk protein CC Whey protein CC Caseinate Soy protein CC	Isotope tracer	Soy proteins had an inferior effect on muscle protein synthesis after exercise compared with dairy proteins
	Norton et al. [29] Animal study	Young rats: n = 52 (Exp 1) n = 18 (Exp 2) Exp 2: 4 g meals (16% protein) Whey protein isolate Wheat gluten Wheat gluten+ Leu	Isotope tracer	Exp 2: Fortifying wheat with leucine to match the leucine content of whey diet induced similar anabolic responses, i.e., similar muscle protein synthesis rates
	Tang et al. [75] Clinical study	18 M Young subjects: 19–27 years Whey hydrolysate: 21.4 g Casein micelle: 21.9 g Soy protein isolate: 22.2 g	Isotope tracer	Muscle protein synthesis rates were in this order at rest condition: whey ≈ soy > casein after resistance exercise: whey > soy > casein
	Yang et al. [42] Clinical study	30 M Older subjects: 66–76 years 20 or 40 g Whey protein isolate Soy protein isolate	Isotope tracer	Soy protein isolate had less ability to stimulate muscle protein synthesis, compared to whey protein isolate under both rested and post-exercise conditions
	Gorissen et al. [44] Clinical study	60 M Older subjects: 70–72 years 35 or 60 g Whey protein isolate Micellar casein Wheat protein hydrolysate	Isotope tracer	Muscle protein synthesis rates were lower after ingesting 35 g wheat protein than after the same amount of casein. Ingesting a larger quantity of wheat protein (i.e., 60 g) substantially improved muscle protein synthesis rates in elderly men
	Laleg et al. [34] Animal study	Young male Wistar Rats n = 50 Ad libitum consumption of isoproteic and isocaloric diets for 3 weeks Faba bean-enriched pasta Wheat gluten pasta Casein	Echo-MRI	Rats fed legume-enriched pasta or wheat gluten pasta had a lower LM than rats fed casein
Chronic	Volek et al. [37] Clinical study	63 M + F Young subjects: 18–35 years Daily consumption of supplements containing whey or soy proteins + Whole-body periodized resistance training program for 36 weeks	DXA	Daily supplementation with whey was more effective than isoproteic and isocaloric supplement containing soy protein in enhancing LM during resistance training
	Mobley et al. [38] Clinical study	75 F Young subjects: 20–22 years Daily consumption (twice) of supplements containing whey or soy proteins + Whole-body resistance training (3 d/week) for 12 weeks	DXA	Whey and soy supplement groups showed similar increases in total body skeletal muscle mass and type I and II fiber cross-sectional area during resistance training
	Banaszek et al. [39] Clinical study	15 M + F Young and adult subjects: 26–51 years Consumption of supplements containing whey or pea proteins on training day + High-intensity functional training (4 sessions/week) for 8 weeks	BIA	Ingestion of whey and pea protein produced similar outcomes in measurements of body composition, especially LM and muscle thickness
	Chan et al. [94] Clinical study	1411 M + 1315 F Older subjects: 65 years and older L (4 years), FFQ	DXA	Higher plant (but not total and animal) protein intakes were associated with reduced muscle loss
Chronic	Isanejad et al. [93] Clinical study	554 F Older subjects: 65–72 years L (3 years); 3 d food record	DXA	Higher total and animal protein intakes were associated with increased LM and ALM Higher plant protein intake was associated with less reduction in ALM
	Sahni et al. [88] Clinical study	1139 M + 1497 F Young and older subjects: 29–86 years CS; FFQ	DXA	Higher total and animal (but not plant) protein intakes were associated with higher LM in the leg
	Miki et al. [96] Clinical study	168 M + F with type 2 diabetes Older subjects: ≥ 65 years CS; BDHQ	BIA	Total and plant protein intakes were positively associated with skeletal muscle mass
	Huang et al. [95] Clinical study	327 M + F Older subjects: 66–76 years CS; FFQ	BIA	Low total and plant protein intakes were associated with a higher risk for low muscle mass
	Verreijen et al. [97] Clinical study	3075 M + F Older subjects: 70–79 years L (5 years); FFQ	DXA	Higher total, animal and plant protein intakes were not associated with changes in mid-thigh-muscle CSA
	Mangano et al. [89] Clinical study	2986 M + F Young and older subjects: 19–72 years L; FFQ Food clusters 1. Fast food 2. Red meat 3. Fish 4. Chicken 5. Low-fat milk 6. Legumes	DXA	Individuals in the legume protein food cluster had significantly lower ALM compared with subjects in all other protein food clusters. No associations between protein clusters and any musculoskeletal outcomes in adjusted models.

Abbreviations: M: male; F: female; CS: cross-sectional; L: longitudinal; FFQ: food-frequency questionnaire; BDHQ: brief-type self-administered diet history questionnaire; LM: lean mass; ALM: appendicular lean mass; CC: concentrate; BW: body weight; Exp: experiment; DXA: dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry; BIA: bioelectrical impedance analysis; CSA: cross-sectional area.