PROTeenies Flashcards
3 primary functions of dietary proteins
- functional proteins in the body (enzymes, actin and myosin, collagen, fibrin, transport proteins, some hormones, antibodies, etc)
- essential amino acids for protein synthesis
- energy (10-15% of ATP)
RDA for dietary protein
- 8g/kg body weight/day
- increases during growth periods: infants, kids, teens, pregnancy, lactation, athletes. also for people suffering wasting from old age or end-stage cancer
protein AMDR
10-35% daily energy intake
how many proteinogenic amino acids are there in humans (the important ones)?
20
what is the chemical structure of an amino acid? (3 parts) which parts make up the carbon skeleton?
- an amino group (NH2)
- an acid group (COOH)
- a unique side chain
carbon skeleton: the acid group and side chain
how is protein quality determined?
determined by whether a given dietary protein provides all the essential amino acids in adequate amounts
how many essential amino acids are there?
9
what is a complete protein?
a protein that provides all 9 essential amino acids (can be combos of foods like rice and beans)
what are examples of complete plant proteins?
soy, quinoa, hemp seeds, buckwheat, chia seeds
what are incomplete proteins?
foods that lack one or more EAA (most plant proteins are incomplete)
what is primary protein structure?
amino acid chain
what is secondary protein structure?
folding of polypeptide chain into helices or sheets
what is tertiary protein structure?
three dimensional folding of the chain with side-chain interactions
what is quaternary protein structure?
protein consisting of more than one amino acid chain (functional protein)
what are the links between amino acids called?
peptide bonds
two amino acids linked together
dipeptide
three amino acids linked together
tripeptide
4 or more amino acids linked together (up to several thousand)
polypeptide
what happens to proteins in the mouth?
not much: just chewing them and moistening them
what happens to proteins in the stomach?
HCl denatures proteins (unravels them). HCl also activates the inactive proenzyme pepsinogen, to make pepsin. pepsin breaks up denatured proteins into smaller polypeptides and some amino acids. it also inhibits further pepsinogen synthesis.
what happens to proteins in the small intestine?
When polypeptides enter the small intestine, small intestine enterocytes release the hormone cholecystokinin (CKK). CKK in turn stimulates the release of inactive pancreatic proteases trypsinogen and chymotrypsinogen from the pancreas into the small intestine. then enterocytes release enteropeptidase in order to activate the proteases into trypsin and chymotrypsin. these proteases then break up polypeptides even more: into tripeptides, dipeptides and amino acids. these three kinds of peptides can then be absorbed into the enterocytes.
pepsinogen
the inactive form of pepsin. needs HCl in the stomach to be activated.
pepsin
the active form of pepsinogen. breaks down denatured proteins in the stomach into smaller polypeptides.
cholecystokinin
(CKK). a hormone released by small intestine enterocytes when proteins enter the small intestine.
-stimulates the release of pancreatic proteases (trypsinogen and chymotrypsinogen: inactive forms) into the small intestine