What is amino acid?

Amino acids are organic compounds containing alkaline amino and acidic carboxyl groups. A compound formed by replacing the hydrogen atom on the carbon atom of a carboxylic acid with an amino group. 

Amino acids are usually colorless crystals with a melting point exceeding 200 ℃, which is much higher than the melting point of general organic compounds. α- Amino acids have four different flavors: sour, sweet, bitter, and fresh. Monosodium glutamate and glycine are the most commonly used fresh seasonings. Amino acids are generally soluble in water, acid solutions, and alkaline solutions, but insoluble or slightly soluble in organic solvents such as ethanol or ether. The solubility of amino acids in water varies greatly, for example, the solubility of tyrosine is the smallest. At 25 ℃, only 0.045g of tyrosine is dissolved in 100g of water, but the solubility of tyrosine is relatively high in hot water. Lysine and arginine often exist in the form of hydrochloride salts, as they are highly soluble in water and difficult to crystallize due to deliquescence.

Amino acids can play the following roles through metabolism in human body: ① synthesis of tissue proteins; ② Transforming into ammonia containing substances such as acids, hormones, antibodies, and creatine; ③ Transformed into carbohydrates and fats; ④ Oxidize into carbon dioxide, water, and urea, producing energy.

Physiological regulation

The role of protein in food nutrition is obvious, but it cannot be directly utilized in the human body. Instead, it is utilized by transforming into small molecules of amino acids. That is, it is not directly absorbed by the human body in the gastrointestinal tract, but through the action of various Digestive enzyme in the gastrointestinal tract, it decomposes high molecular protein into low molecular polypeptides or amino acids, is absorbed in the small intestine, and enters the liver along the Portal vein. A portion of amino acids are decomposed or synthesized into proteins in the liver; The other part of amino acids continue to be distributed to various tissues and organs along with the blood, allowing them to choose and synthesize various specific tissue proteins.

Medical effects

Amino acids are mainly used in medicine to prepare compound amino acid infusions, as well as therapeutic drugs and for synthesizing peptide drugs. There are over a hundred amino acids used as drugs, including 20 amino acids that make up proteins and over 100 amino acids that make up non proteins.

The Polypill composed of various amino acids plays a very important role in modern intravenous nutrition infusion and "element diet" therapy, plays an active role in maintaining the nutrition of critical patients and saving their lives, and becomes one of the indispensable medicine varieties in modern medicine.

Amino acids such as glutamic acid, arginine, Asparagus cochinchinensis acid, Cystine, L-DOPA, etc. can treat some diseases alone, mainly used to treat liver diseases, digestive tract diseases, encephalopathy, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, and to improve muscle vitality, pediatric nutrition and detoxification. In addition, amino acid derivatives have shown hope in cancer treatment. 

Material basis

As Engels said, "Protein is the material foundation of life, and life is a form of protein." If there is a lack of protein in the human body, mild cases may experience physical decline, delayed development, weakened resistance, anemia and fatigue, severe cases may develop edema, and even endanger life. Once protein is lost, life no longer exists, so some people call it the "carrier of life". It can be said that it is the first element of life.

The basic unit of protein is amino acid. If the human body lacks any Essential amino acid, it can lead to abnormal physiological function, affect the normal progress of body metabolism, and finally lead to disease. Even the lack of some non Essential amino acid will cause metabolic disorders. Arginine and Citrulline are very important for the formation of urea; Inadequate intake of Cystine will cause insulin decrease and blood sugar increase. Another example is that after trauma, the demand for Cystine and arginine is greatly increased. If it is insufficient, even if the heat energy is sufficient, the protein cannot be successfully synthesized.

Food

The adult Essential amino acid requirement is about 20%~37% of the protein requirement.

The role of amino acids in food can not be ignored. Some are flavoring agents, some are nutrition enhancers, and some can play a role in enhancing flavor.

1. The taste of amino acids

Most amino acids have a sense of taste and play a role in sour, sweet, bitter, and astringent flavors in food. Tryptophan is non-toxic and sweet. It and its derivatives are promising sweeteners. Some water-soluble amino acids have a bitter taste and are products of protein hydrolysis in food processing.

Glutamic acid is mainly present in plant protein and can be obtained by hydrolyzing wheat gluten protein. Glutamic acid has two flavors: sour and fresh, with the main one being sour. When alkali is added and neutralized appropriately, sodium glutamate is generated; After the formation of salt, the acidity of glutamic acid disappears and the freshness increases. Sodium glutamate is the main component of the widely used flavoring agent - monosodium glutamate.

2. One of the prerequisites for flavor

The carbonylation reaction between amino acids and sugars is an important reason for aroma and coloring in food processing. During the reaction, a portion of amino acids and sugars are consumed, resulting in the formation of flavor substances. Amino acids can also be heated and decomposed to produce certain flavor substances, or produce odorous substances under bacterial decomposition. Therefore, amino acids are a prerequisite for flavor substances and also a nutrient for spoilage bacteria. 

Proteins are a class of macromolecular substances that can be hydrolyzed into small molecules by the action of acids, bases, or proteases: after complete hydrolysis of proteins, their basic constituent unit - amino acids (amino acids) can be obtained. There are over 300 amino acids present in nature, but there are usually 20 amino acids involved in the composition of proteins, all of which belong to L- α- Amino acids (excluding glycine). These amino acids are connected by peptide bonds in different order to form proteins.

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