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Tryptophan Requirements During Pregnancy

NCT06519071 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 29

Last updated 2025-09-16

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Pregnancy is an important period of life where there is an increased need for nutrients including protein and amino acids from food. The current protein and amino acids dietary recommendations were all established using older methods done in adult men. Then protein and amino acids requirements for all stages of pregnancy were calculated without accounting for changing demands in each trimester. Therefore, another more precise method is needed to better understand how much amino acids (in this study tryptophan) women need during pregnancy.

In the current study, the investigators are going to apply the Indicator Amino Acid Oxidation (IAAO) method to measure the dietary tryptophan needs in a healthy pregnancy. This method is a noninvasive, quick, and reliable technique that uses a stable isotope-labeled amino acid. The stable isotope tracer is a labeled amino acid, which is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and completely safe; they are present in the air, water and food. Amino acids are mostly made of Carbon-12 (12C), whereas the isotope tracer contains Carbon-13 (13C). The tracer can be detected in breath and urine samples with special equipment because it looks different than the rest of the amino acids in the body. In Elango lab, the investigators have done similar studies, using the same technique in children, nonpregnant women and pregnant women. This will allow us to measure tryptophan needs in pregnancy.

Conditions

  • Pregnancy

Interventions

OTHER

Tryptophan Intake

Each hourly meal will provide one-twelfth of the participants' daily energy requirements as estimated by 1.7 Resting Energy Expenditure and adequate protein (at 1.5 g.kg.d), to maintain a metabolic steady state. The liquid shake contains protein-free powder orange-flavored drink crystals, corn oil, and water.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

    collaborator OTHER_GOV

  • University of British Columbia

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Rajavel Elango, PhD · University of British Columbia

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
20 Years
Max Age
40 Years
Sex
FEMALE
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2023-07-20
Primary Completion
2025-03-20
Completion
2025-07-18

Countries

  • Canada

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT06519071 on ClinicalTrials.gov