Amino Acids Flashcards
What is the difference between an amino acid, a protein, and a peptide?
Amino acids make up both proteins and peptides. Proteins are made up of hundreds of thousands or sometimes even millions of amino acids. Peptides are made up of only a small number of amino acids.
How are amino acids absorbed in the body?
Proteins are absorbed into the body through the gut. However, proteins first need to be digested and turned into peptides and amino acids before they can be absorbed. Most dietary peptides are broken down in the gastrointestinal tract into simple amino acids. Then, they are transported into blood and reach the organs in our body.
What is a complete protein?
Complete proteins are food sources that contain all 9 essential amino acids. These foods include beef, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, soy, quinoa, and buckwheat
What are amino acids?
Amino acids are essential for human life. They support many different functions of our bodies. The proteins in our bodies are made up of 20 amino acids.
Name the essential amino acids.
Histidine (His, or H)
Isoleucine (Ile, or I)
Leucine (Leu, or L)
Lysine (Lys, or K)
Methionine (Met, or M)
Phenylalanine (Phe, or F)
Threonine (Thr, or T)
Tryptophan (Trp, or W)
Valine (Val, or V)
What are essential amino acids?
Of a total of 20 amino acids, 9 amino acids cannot be synthesized in our bodies and we need to take them in through our diets. These are called essential or indispensable amino acids.
What are the best food sources of the essential amino acids?
Foods such as beef, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy are the best sources of the essential amino acids. However some complete proteins can be found in plant-based foods such as soy, quinoa, and buckwheat.
What is a complete protein?
Complete proteins are food sources that contain all 9 essential amino acids. These foods include beef, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, soy, quinoa, and buckwheat.
What is an incomplete protein?
Foods that contain some, but not all, of the essential amino acids are called incomplete proteins. These foods include nuts, seeds, beans and some grains.
Name the non-essential amino acids.
Alanine (Ala, or A)
Arginine (Arg, or R)
Asparagine (Asn, or N)
Aspartic acid (Asp, or D)
Cysteine (Cys, or C)
Glutamine (Gln, or Q)
Glutamate or Glutamic acid (Glu, or E)
Glycine (Gly, or G)
Proline (Pro, or P)
Serine (Ser, or S)
Tyrosine (Tyr, or Y)
What are non-essential amino acids?
Amino acids that are nonessential are ones that our bodies can produce, even if we do not get it from the food we eat.
Name the conditionally essential amino acids.
Arginine
Cysteine
Glutamine
Tyrosine
Glycine
Ornithine
Proline
Serine
What are conditionally essential amino acids?
Amino acids that are essential only under specific circumstances, such as during illness, pregnancy, infancy, or trauma.
True or False:
Every amino acid has it’s own taste.
True
Amino acids play an important role in food taste. Proteins do not have much taste, but every amino acid has its own taste, and the combination of these is one of the important factors in defining food taste. The most well-known amino acid is glutamic acid which is responsible for the fifth taste Umami and is also a raw material for the umami seasoning AJI-NO-MOTO®.
Name three important roles of amino acids in the body.
- Builds and repairs proteins in the body. Amino acids link together to make up proteins not only to make up our bodies but also regulate most of the essential functions of our bodies. Some common examples of these proteins are collagen, keratin, and hemoglobin.
- Regulates and maintains the body by becoming enzymes and hormones such as thyroid hormone, adrenaline, and insulin.
- Supplies energy to the body. Typically, a healthy body on an average diet uses carbohydrates as a primary source of fuel but proteins and amino acids can be used as a last resort when the primary sources are depleted due to rigorous exercise.
