Amino acids

Amino acids are organic acids which contain at least one carboxylgroup (COOH) and one or more aminogroups (NH2). Amino acids are needed for the synthesis of proteins.

There are approximately 80 amino acids in nature. Amino acids can be classified in two types: essential amino acids and non-essential amino acids. From the 20 fundamental amino acids we need, our body can synthesize 10 in sufficient quantities out of carbohydrates, fats and a nitrogen source. These 10 amino acids are: lysine, tryptophan, phenylalanine, leucine, isoleucine, threonine, methionine, valine, arginine and histidine. These are called the “essential amino acids”.

Arginine and histidine are only essential in periods of growth. They are broken down in your body very fast.

Some deviations in metabolism can make other amino acids essential. Tyrosine is synthesized from phenylalanine. People who are suffering from phenylketonuria (PKU) can’t produce phenylalanine, so it’s important for them to take sufficient tyrosine out of food.

The 20 fundamental amino acids can be classified by their chemical properties. These amino acids are:

• Alanine
• Arginine
• Asparagine
• Aspartate
• Cysteine
• Glutamine
• Glutamate
• Glycine
• Histidine
• Isoleucine
• Leucine
• Lysine
• Methionine
• Phenylalanine
• Proline
• Serine
• Threonine
• Tryptophan
• Tyrosine
• Valine

For a Dutch translation of this article see: Aminozuren.

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