Alanine
Chemical structure
Alanine is one of the 20 most common natural amino acids. It is hydrophobic, with a methyl group side chain, and is the second-smallest of the 20 after glycine. Alanine is a non-essential amino acid and was first isolated in 1879.
L-Alanine is synthesized in muscle cells from pyruvate by transamination, with glutamate as the nitrogen donor. In the liver, alanine is transformed into pyruvate by the reverse reaction.
- Chemical formula: NH2CH(CH3)COOH
- Mass: 89.1
- pK1 (α-COOH): 2.35
- pK2 (α-NH3+): 9.87
- Protein Occurance: 7.8%
Categories: Amino acids