Description

Amino acids are organic compounds that contain amine and carboxyl functional groups, along with a side chain specific to each amino acid. They are made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. They are broadly classified as essential and non essential. Essential amino acids cannot be made by the body so one must get them from daily diet whereas Non essential amino acids can be made by the body itself. There are a total of 9 essential amino acids are: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine. Non essential amino acids include: alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, proline, serine, and tyrosine.All these 9 essential amino acids have sepearte imortant roles to play. Phenylalanine is a precursor for the neurotransmitters and plays an integral role in the structure and function of proteins and enzymes and the production of other amino acids. Valine helps to stimulate muscle growth and regeneration and is involved in energy production. Threonine is a principal part of structural proteins and helps in fat metabolism and immune function. Tryptophan is needed to maintain proper nitrogen balance and is a precursor to serotonin, a neurotransmitter that regulates your appetite, sleep and mood. Methionine plays an important role in metabolism, detoxification and the absorption of zinc and selenium. Leucine helps regulate blood sugar levels, stimulates wound healing and produces growth hormones. Isoleucine is important for immune function, hemoglobin production and energy regulation. Lysine plays major roles in protein synthesis, hormone and enzyme production and the absorption of calcium. Histidine is used to produce histamine, a neurotransmitter that is vital to immune response, digestion, sexual function and sleep-wake cycles.