Amino+Acid

An alpha-amino acid has the generic formula H2NCHRCOOH, where R is an organic subsitituent; [|[1]] the amino group is attached to the carbon atom immediately adjacent to the carboxylate group (the [|α–carbon] ). Other types of amino acid exist when the amino group is attached to a different carbon atom; for example, in gamma-amino acids (such as [|gamma-amino-butyric acid] ) the carbon atom to which the amino group attaches is separated from the carboxylate group by two other carbon atoms. The various alpha-amino acids differ in which side-chain (R-group) is attached to their alpha carbon, and can vary in size from just one hydrogen atom in glycine to a large heterocyclic group in tryptophan. Amino acids serve as the building blocks of proteins, which are linear chains of amino acids. Amino acids can be linked together in varying sequences to form a vast variety of proteins Twenty amino acids are naturally incorporated into polypeptides and are called proteinogenic or standard amino acids. These 20 are encoded by the universal genetic code. Nine standard amino acids are called "essential" for humans because they cannot be created from other compounds by the human body, and so must be taken in as food. Amino acids are important in nutrition and are commonly used in nutrition supplements, fertilizers, food technology and industry. In industry, applications include the production of biodegradable, drugs, and chiral catalysts. Humans can produce 10 of the 20 amino acids while the others must be supplied in food. Failure to get enough of just 1 of the 10 essenital amino acids will result in degredation of the body's proteins. The body does not store excess amino acids for later like it does fat and starch. The ten amino acids we can produce in the body are alanine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, proline, serine and tyrosine. While the amino acids we cannot produce are arginine (required for the young, but not for adults), histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine.
 * Amino acids** are molecules containing an amine group, a carboxylic acid group, and a side-chain that is specific to each amino acid. The key elements of an amino acid are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, while sulfur is also an important part of amino acids . They are particularly important in biochemistry, where the term usually refers to //alpha-amino acids//.

Humans can produce 10 of the 20 amino acids which are referred to as the "essential" nutrients. The others must be supplied in the food. Failure to obtain enough of even 1 of the 10 essential amino acids, those that we cannot make, results in degradation of the body's proteins—muscle and so forth—to obtain the one amino acid that is needed. Unlike fat and starch, the human body does not store excess amino acids for later use—the amino acids must be in the food every day.

Amino acids play central roles both as building blocks of proteins and as intermediates in metabolism. The 20 amino acids that are found within proteins convey a vast array of chemical versatility.The precise amino acid content, and the sequence of those amino acids, of a specific protein, is determined by the sequence of the bases in the gene that encodes that protein. The chemical properties of the amino acids of proteins determine the biological activity of the protein. Proteins not only catalyze all (or most) of the reactions in living cells, they control virtually all cellular process. In addition, proteins contain within their amino acid sequences the necessary information to determine how that protein will fold into a three dimensional structure, and the stability of the resulting structure. The field of protein folding and stability has been a critically important area of research for years, and remains today one of the great unsolved mysteries.

Amino acids are used for a variety of applications in industry, but their main use is as additives to animal feed. This is necessary, since many of the bulk components of these feeds, such as soybeans either have low levels or lack some of the essential acids: Lysine, methionine, threonine, and tryptophan are most important in the production of these feeds. In this industry, amino acids are also used to chelate metal cations in order to improve the absorption of minerals from supplements, which may be required to improve the health or production of these animals.

. Amino Acids


 * ~ Essential ||~ Nonessential ||
 * [|Histidine] || [|Alanine] ||
 * [|Isoleucine] || [|Arginine] * ||
 * [|Leucine] || [|Asparagine] ||
 * [|Lysine] || [|Aspartic acid] ||
 * [|Methionine] || [|Cysteine] * ||
 * [|Phenylalanine] || [|Glutamic acid] ||
 * [|Threonine] || [|Glutamine] * ||
 * [|Tryptophan] || [|Glycine] ||
 * [|Valine] || [|Ornithine] * ||
 * || [|Proline] * ||
 * || [|Selenocysteine] * ||
 * || [|Serine] * ||
 * || [|Taurine] * ||
 * || [|Tyrosine] * ||

Amino acids are vital to human health Athletes and Amino Acids
 * helps vitamins and minerals to carry out their jobs efficiently
 * builds up antibodies to help the immune system
 * hormones that help the metabolism

Many athletes will take supplements that include the essential amino acids because they feel they will help to increase their muscle build as amino acids contain protein which helps increase muscle mass.This can be dangerous and even sometimes deadly.

//Amino Acids// aid in the Recovery Process & Build Muscle Tissue

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