ESSENTIAL AMINO ACID

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does essential amino acid mean? 

• ESSENTIAL AMINO ACID (noun)
  The noun ESSENTIAL AMINO ACID has 1 sense:

1. an amino acid that is required by animals but that they cannot synthesize; must be supplied in the diet

  Familiarity information: ESSENTIAL AMINO ACID used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ESSENTIAL AMINO ACID (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An amino acid that is required by animals but that they cannot synthesize; must be supplied in the diet

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("essential amino acid" is a kind of...):

amino acid; aminoalkanoic acid (organic compounds containing an amino group and a carboxylic acid group)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "essential amino acid"):

arginine (a bitter tasting amino acid found in proteins and necessary for nutrition; its absence from the diet leads to a reduced production of spermatozoa)

histidine (an essential amino acid found in proteins that is important for the growth and repair of tissue)

isoleucine (an essential amino acid found in proteins; isomeric with leucine)

leucine (a white crystalline amino acid occurring in proteins that is essential for nutrition; obtained by the hydrolysis of most dietary proteins)

lysine (an essential amino acid found in proteins; occurs especially in gelatin and casein)

methionine (a crystalline amino acid containing sulfur; found in most proteins and essential for nutrition)

phenylalanine (an essential amino acid found in proteins and needed for growth of children and for protein metabolism in children and adults; abundant in milk and eggs; it is normally converted to tyrosine in the human body)

threonine (a colorless crystalline amino acid found in protein; occurs in the hydrolysates of certain proteins; an essential component of human nutrition)

tryptophan; tryptophane (an amino acid that occurs in proteins; is essential for growth and normal metabolism; a precursor of niacin)

valine (an essential amino acid found in proteins; important for growth in children and nitrogen balance in adults)

 Context examples 

This agent inhibits phosphate-activated glutaminase, a key enzyme for the synthesis of releasable glutamine, depleting cells of this essential amino acid and reducing their capacity to proliferate.

(Diazooxonorleucine, NCI Thesaurus)

Leucine-enhanced essential amino acid nutritional supplement may stimulate the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway, which may promote protein synthesis in muscle cells.

(Leucine-Enhanced Essential Amino Acid Dietary Supplement, NCI Thesaurus)

Methionine is an essential amino acid in humans, whereas selenium is a free-radical scavenging anti-oxidant, essential for the protection of various tissues from the damages of lipid peroxidation.

(L-Selenomethionine, NCI Thesaurus)

The hydrochloride salt form of glutamic acid, a non-essential amino acid.

(Glutamic Acid Hydrochloride, NCI Thesaurus)

A nutritional supplement containing the biologically active L-isomer of the essential amino acid lysine, with potential anti-mucositis activity.

(L-Lysine, NCI Thesaurus)

The semi-essential amino acid L-arginine is a precursor for nitric oxide (NO); Korean ginseng may enhance the conversion of L-arginine into NO by NO synthase; and Ginkgo biloba may promote microvascular circulation.

(L-Arginine/Korean Ginseng/Ginkgo biloba/Damiana-Based Supplement, NCI Thesaurus)

Threonine is an essential amino acid, which animals cannot synthesize.

(Glycine, Serine and Threonine Metabolism Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/KEGG)

L-methionine, an essential amino acid, also may help to maintain the ratio of reduced glutathione to oxidized glutathione in cells undergoing oxidative stress and may provide a source of L-cysteine for glutathione synthesis.

(D-methionine Formulation MRX-1024, NCI Thesaurus)

Endogenous oxitriptan is produced from the essential amino acid L-tryptophan.

(Oxitriptan, NCI Thesaurus)

An essential amino acid in juvenile humans, Arginine is a complex amino acid, often found at active site in proteins and enzymes due to its amine-containing side chain.

(Arginine, NCI Thesaurus)