Posts Tagged ‘Non- essential amino acids’

Non-Essential Amino Acids – Ornithine, Proline, Taurine, Tyrosine

Ornithine is a non essential amino acid. It is an important constituent of the urea cycle. It is also the precursor of other amino acids such as citrulline, glutamic acid, and proline. It enhances the functioning of the liver and is used to treat hepatic coma. The immune system is simulated improving the immunity to bacteria, viruses, and tumors but still there is no proven ability.

Proline is a non essential amino acid is one of the main components of collagen, the cementing substance that binds and supports the cells. Its effectiveness is enhanced when combined with vitamin C.

Taurine is a non essential amino acid that is manufactured in the body and is present in animal protein. Its synthesis occurs in the human body with the help of amino acids methionine, cysteine, and vitamin B6. Women seem to require a higher dietary intake of taurine since the female hormone estradiol suppresses the formation of taurine in the liver. It plays a role as a neurotransmitter. It also maintains the correct composition of bile and the solubility of cholesterol. Taurine also protects the heart muscle when there is calcium and potassium loss from the body. Heart disorders, physical or emotional stress, metabolic disorders, high alcohol consumption and zinc deficiency are factors that result in high levels of taurine being excreted in the urine.

Tyrosine is a non essential amino acid and is popularly called the anti-stress amino acid. It is derived from phenylalanine, an essential amino acid. It is an essential component of the thyroid hormone. Tyrosine provides raw material from which the body makes the hormones thyroxine and adrenaline. The pigment of the skin and hair, melanin is also derived from tyrosine. Deficiency of tyrosine can lead to low body temperature, low blood pressure and a restless feeling in the legs. It is also beneficial in the treatment of depression. The main sources are rice, leafy vegetables, curd, cheese and milk.

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Amazing Power of amino acids cont…

Amino acid deficiency may be the result of protein malnutrition. Such deficiency is generally associated with a faulty diet, failure to digest or absorb adequately, stress conditions, infection, trauma, use of drugs, deficiency of other nutrients such as vitamins and minerals, and dysfunctions connected with the ageing process. Since amino acids perform such a major role in the structure and function of the body, in both health maintenance and disease, the importance of available tests to assess their relative presence cannot be underestimated. Tests not only disclose the nutritional and metabolic status of the patient, they also discover the effect of factors such as stress, trauma, and other drugs.
The deficiency conditions resulting from any of these causes can be corrected by supplementation of appropriate amino acids.

Amazing power of amino acids cont…

There are 23 amino acids. Eight of them are strictly dietary essentials and cannot be synthesized at all by the body. These are isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine. In addition to these strictly essential amino acids, two other amino acids, namely, arginine and histidine, are essential for infants and young persons, as the capacity for their synthesis in the body is not adequate to meet the needs for growth.

In addition to the ten essential amino acids, there are thirteen non-essential amino acids. They are proline, carnitine, tyrosine, glutamic acid and glutamine, cysteine and cystine, glycine, alanine, b-alanine, aspartic acid, taurine, ornithine, citrulline, and gama-aminobutyric acid (GAMA). Under special conditions, the demand for some of the non-essential amino acids may be greater than the synthetic capacity, and therefore, they too can become dietary essentials.

About 75% of the amino acids entering the bloodstream through the liver from the gastro-intestinal tract after a meal, are metabolized in the liver, and only about 25% enter the general circulation. Out of the intake of amino acids in excess of immediate requirements, upto 50% are catabolized for energy-yielding metabolism, and non-essential amino acids that have not been ingested in adequate amounts are synthesized for transport to other tissues. The nitrogen from this amino acid catabolism is not excreted immediately, but a considerable amount of urea is recirculated through the gastro-intestinal tract and reabsorbed as ammonia.