|
( Phenylalanine)
Phenylalanine (abbreviated as Phe or F)[1] is an a-amino acid with the formula HO2CCH(NH2)CH2C6H5, which is found naturally in the breast milk of mammals and manufactured for food and drink products and are also sold as nutritional supplements for their reputed analgesic and antidepressant effects. This essential amino acid is classified as nonpolar because of the hydrophobic nature of the benzyl side chain. The codons for L-phenylalanine are UUU and UUC. It is a white, powdery solid. L-Phenylalanine (LPA) is an electrically-neutral amino acid, one of the twenty common amino acids used to biochemically form proteins, coded for by DNA. Breast milk from mammals is rich in phenylalanine. It is also produced by plants and most microorganisms from prephenate, an intermediate on the shikimate pathway.[2] Prephenate is decarboxylated with loss of the hydroxyl group to give phenylpyruvate. This species is transaminated using glutamate as the nitrogen source to give phenylalanine and a-ketoglutarate. Phenylalanine uses the same active transport channel as tryptophan to cross the blood-brain barrier, and, in large quantities, interferes with the production of serotonin.
|
Phenylalanine Subcategories
Phenylalanine Articles
|
| 
