Do You Know What Amino Acids Are?

1. How were amino acids discovered?

A large number of important tasks are reflected in an incredible spectrum of known proteins that vary widely in overall size, shape, and charge. By the end of the 19th century, scientists realized that although many different kinds of proteins exist in nature, all proteins, upon hydrolysis, produce a simpler class of compounds, the building blocks of proteins, called amino acids. The simplest amino acid is called glycine, named for its sweet taste ("sugar"). It is one of the first amino acids to be identified and has been isolated from protein gelatin since 1820. In the mid-1950s, scientists involved in elucidating the relationship between proteins and genes agreed that 20 amino acids (called standard or common amino acids) were considered the basic building blocks of all proteins. The last known threonine was discovered in 1935.

2. Amino acid is a group of organic compounds containing amino and carboxyl groups

The body needs 20 different amino acids to maintain health and function properly. Nine of these amino acids, called essential amino acids, must be obtained through food. Good dietary sources include meat, eggs, tofu, soy, buckwheat, quinoa, and dairy products.

Amino acid powder are compounds in which the hydrogen atom on the carbon atom of carboxylic acid is replaced by an amino group. Amino acids contain two functional groups: amino group and carboxyl group. Similar to hydroxy acids, amino acids can be divided into α-, β-, γ-... W-amino acids, but the only amino acids that are produced by proteolysis are alpha-amino acids, and there are only two dozen of them, which are the building blocks of proteins.

An amino acid is any of a group of organic molecules containing a basic amino group (-NH2) and an acid carboxyl group (-COOH), and both amino and carboxyl groups are directly linked to a -CH- structure. The general formula is that the R group is the variable group. Except glycine, the α-carbon atoms of other protein amino acids are asymmetric carbon atoms, so amino acids can have stereoisomers, that is, optical isomerism, there are two configurations: D-type and L-type, the amino acids that constitute proteins, are L-type.

Amino acids can be synthesized in plant or animal tissues and can be obtained by proteolysis. They play an important role in the metabolism, growth, maintenance and repair of tissues. When a person eats food containing protein, their digestive system breaks down the protein into amino acids. The body then binds amino acids in various ways to perform bodily functions. A healthy body can make the other 11 amino acids, so these don't usually need to enter the body through diet.

Amino acids are known to strengthen muscles, cause chemical reactions in the body, transport nutrients, prevent disease, and perform other functions. Amino acid deficiencies can lead to weakened immunity, digestive problems, depression, fertility problems, reduced mental alertness, slow growth in children, and many other health problems. Each essential amino acid plays a different role in the body, and the symptoms of deficiency vary accordingly.