Protein dosage

Proteins are essential macronutrients, playing a fundamental role in growth, tissue repair, metabolism, and performance. Protein measurement is essential for assessing the nutritional quality of foods, standardizing plant extracts, and ensuring the compliance of formulations intended for human and animal nutrition. Analytical reference methods provide an accurate and reliable measurement of protein content, generally expressed as a percentage of dry matter.

Analytical methods for protein determination

Two main methods are used to determine protein content:

• Dumas Method : This technique relies on complete combustion of the sample to measure total nitrogen. Fast and accurate, it is particularly suitable for dry and processed matrices. The results are expressed as a percentage of protein, calculated from the nitrogen/protein conversion factor.
• Kjeldahl method : The traditional reference method, it consists of acid digestion followed by distillation and nitrogen titration. Although longer, it remains a recognized standard for food and nutraceutical products.

These analytical approaches are complementary to other nutritional assays, such as amino acid assays or dietary fiber assays .

Industrial and nutritional applications

Protein dosage is essential in different industrial contexts:

• Human nutrition : quality control of protein foods, validation of nutritional claims and monitoring of enriched products.
• Nutraceuticals : standardization of protein powders and formulations intended for sports performance, weight control or functional nutrition.
• Animal nutrition : balanced formulation of feed for livestock and pets, to optimize growth, productivity and health.
• Plant products : characterization of protein extracts from legumes, cereals or algae, increasingly used as alternatives to animal proteins.

This control is part of the continuity of other composition analyses, such as lipid dosage or calorie calculation .

Matrices analyzed for protein dosage

YesWeLab supports a wide range of matrices for protein assays: crude or concentrated plant extracts, nutritional powders, flours, processed foods, nutraceutical formulations, and animal nutrition products. Each matrix benefits from a tailored preparation and analytical protocol, ensuring representative and reliable results.

Quality and traceability issues

Controlling protein content is crucial for:

• Ensure regulatory compliance with nutritional labeling standards (INCO Regulation).
• Promote products with specific claims about protein content.
• Guarantee consistency between production batches , essential for the confidence of consumers and distributors.
• Optimize animal and human formulations , ensuring a protein intake adapted to targeted needs.

These issues are similar to those encountered in monitoring other nutritional compounds, such as mineral or vitamin dosage .

YesWeLab's expertise in protein dosage

YesWeLab collaborates with a network of more than 200 partner laboratories in France and Europe, accredited ISO 17025 and COFRAC. Our experts guide each project toward the most appropriate method (Dumas or Kjeldahl), depending on the matrix and objectives: quality control, regulatory compliance, or research and development. Thanks to our digital platform, analysis management is simplified: online quote requests, real-time sample tracking, and results available quickly. Since 2020, numerous manufacturers, distributors, and design offices have entrusted us with their protein analyses to guarantee the quality and reliability of their products.

Take action

Do you want to analyze the protein content of your extracts, powders, or nutritional formulations? Entrust your samples to YesWeLab for accurate and compliant dosage. Request a quote online now for your analyses.