Good Essay About Amino Acids

Amino acids are compounds that are organic in nature and contain a carboxy and a minimum of one amino group (D’Mello, 2003). In the bodies of humans, 20 amino acids are usually created to build proteins in the body and they are therefore referred to as proteinogens. Besides the 20 amino acids that are used in the formation of proteins, there are 250 other amino acids in the body that are for example used to form sugar. There are 8 amino acids that cannot be formed in the body. Our bodies have to obtain them externally. They are methionine, isoleucine, lysine, leucine, threonine, phenylalanine, valine and tryptophan. I will discuss methionine which is one of these amino acids.

Methionine

When in its natural L- form, this amino acid is a proteinogen. It is an essential amino acid that cannot be synthesized by the body itself. It is therefore very important to consume this amino acid in the diet. If not consumed in the diet, it should be taken as a diet supplement. Besides cysteine this amino acid is the only amino acid that5 contain sulphur. Sulphur compounds in living organisms have several important functions. Methionine helps in the synthesis of other proteins like melatonine or carnitine (Engstrom & Mark, 1981). Due to its fat dissolving effect, methionine prevents accumulation of fat in the liver by dissolving the fat.
Figure 1.0: The amino acid structure of methionine

Methionine as a crucial cartilage forming substance

Cartilages found in the joints require sulphur as an ingredient for their production ( Shils & Maurice, 2005). In case there is insufficient sulphur in the body, this can have very negative effects on the health of an individual. Individuals who suffer from diseases like arthritis experience these negative effects for example prolonged healing processes for damaged tissues in case there was a sulphur deficiency in the body when the tissue was damaged. Research has revealed that cartilages from healthy people contain three times more sulphur than cartilages from arthritic people. Lately, several arthritis treatments are connecting sulphur in the body. These are the salts in sulphuric acid. The demand of sulphur in the body has been increasing more than ever before. Therefore, methionine is really important because it increases the presence of sulphur in the human body (D’Mello, 2003). It is practically imposiible to boost sulphur levels in the body. It is impossible to take sulphur in a tablet or dietary form. The best method is to increase the levels of methionine in the body. This proves very important to the body because in combination with the B vitamins, sulphur- containing connections can be produced inside the body. Methionine is very important to the body in three major ways:

Stimulates formation of the cartilage tissue

It has anti- inflammatory properties
It is a pain reliever
Methionine combats hair loss and strengthens human nails
The amino acid is able to strengthen the structures of nails and hair owing to its ability to form chains of sulphur that in turn for connections with each other. People who have taken the amino acid methionine as a dietary supplement have better hair growths and stronger nails. This is contained in a published study that resulted from a dermatology congress in Florence in the year 2006. The congress found that the volume and amount of hair in the growth phase for people who had taken methionine was higher than in people who had not taken the amino acid as a dietary supplement.
Methionine is a very important amino acid to the human body (Jez & Joseph, 2008). It is healthy to make sure that we consume substantial amounts of the amino acid to stay healthy.

Works cited:

D'Mello, J P. F. Amino Acids in Animal Nutrition. Wallingford: CAB International, 2003. Internet resource.
Engstrom, Mark A. Quantitative Importance of an Alternative Route for Methionine Catabolism. , 1981. Internet resource.
Shils, Maurice E. Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease. Philadelphia, Pa. [u.a.: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2005. Print.
Jez, Joseph M. Sulfur: A Missing Link between Soils, Crops, and Nutrition. Madison, WI: American Society of Agronomy, 2008. Print.