ABSTRACT
Amino acids are important compounds for the formation and maintenance of body tissues. Eight amino acids, namely, threonine, methionine, valine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine, lysine, and tryptophan, are known as essential amino acids because they cannot be synthesized in sufficient amounts inside the body and must be supplied through diet. Amino acids may be free or form a part of proteins in foods. Milk and dairy products are considered good sources of high-quality dietary protein for humans because of the balanced content of amino acids in its proteins. Casein is a phosphoprotein that accounts for nearly 80% of proteins in milk, while the rest are whey proteins. This chapter deals with the main techniques for sample preparation, extraction, and analysis of amino acids in milk and dairy foods.
