Impact of different protein sources on acute muscle protein synthesis following resistance training: a systematic review with standard and dose–response network meta-analyses
Study Details
This systematic review and network meta-analysis included 51 studies and 1,128 participants, comparing different protein sources for acute muscle protein synthesis (MPS) after resistance exercise 🔍
Here are the key findings ⬇️
Key Findings
🥛 Native whey, pea protein, whole egg, mycoprotein and whey ranked highest for estimated post-exercise MPS
📊 In the standard network analysis, only whey protein produced a statistically significant increase versus control
🏆 Native whey ranked highest overall, followed by pea protein, whole egg, mycoprotein and whey, although several estimates were based on very few studies
🥚 Dose-response modelling suggested particularly strong MPS responses with ~20 g native whey, 18 g whole egg, 25 g pea and 25 g mycoprotein
🌱 Pea and mycoprotein therefore achieved MPS rankings comparable with leading animal proteins, but generally at slightly higher doses
💪 This challenges the assumption that plant proteins are inherently inferior for stimulating post-exercise MPS
🧬 Differences in digestibility, leucine and essential amino acid content may partly explain why some plant proteins require larger doses
⚠️ Importantly, the analysis did not directly compare animal versus plant protein as broad categories, so this interpretation comes from individual protein rankings
📉 Fava bean and mealworm protein produced some of the lowest predicted MPS responses in the network
⏱️ Outcomes represented acute MPS over ~2–7.5 h, which should not automatically be interpreted as greater long-term hypertrophy
📊 Heterogeneity was very high (I² ~93%), and the network showed significant inconsistency
⚠️ Native whey was represented by only one study arm and pea by two, making those high rankings particularly uncertain
Conclusion
For athletes, total protein dose may be at least as important as whether protein comes from plants or animals; well-selected plant proteins such as pea or mycoprotein can produce strong acute MPS responses when consumed in sufficient amounts ✅
Reference
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15502783.2026.2740224
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