MCQs on Amino Acids – Introduction, Importance, and Types

Table of Contents

What are Amino Acids?

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. Proteins are essential for the body to perform many of its functions, including repairing cells and tissues, making hormones, and functioning as enzymes. There are 20 different amino acids that the body uses to make proteins. Some of these amino acids can be made by the body, but others must be obtained from food. The body assembles the amino acids into proteins based on the genetic instructions encoded in DNA.

List of 20 Amino Acids

There are 20 standard amino acids that make up proteins in the body. They are: alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartate, cysteine, glutamate, glutamine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine.

Properties of Amino acid

Protein is made up of amino acids. There are 20 amino acids that are found in proteins. These amino acids are classified into two groups: essential and nonessential. Essential amino acids cannot be made by the body and must be obtained from the diet. Nonessential amino acids can be made by the body.

The essential amino acids are:

Histidine

Isoleucine

Leucine

Lysine

Methionine

Phenylalanine

Threonine

Tryptophan

Valine

The nonessential amino acids are:

Alanine

Arginine

Asparagine

Aspartic acid

Cysteine

Glutamine

Glutamic acid

Proline

Serine

Tyrosine

Types of Amino Acids

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. There are 20 different amino acids, which are all encoded by the genetic code. The sequence of amino acids in a protein determines its three-dimensional structure, and its function.

There are two types of amino acids, essential and non-essential. Essential amino acids cannot be synthesized by the body, and must be obtained from food. Non-essential amino acids can be synthesized by the body, and do not need to be obtained from food.

The essential amino acids are: leucine, isoleucine, valine, methionine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, and threonine. The non-essential amino acids are: alanine, aspartic acid, asparagine, cysteine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, proline, serine, and tyrosine.

How Important are Amino Acids

Amino acids are important because they are the building blocks of proteins. Proteins are essential for the body to function properly.

Functions of Essential and Non Essential Amino Acids

There are 20 different types of amino acids that make up a protein. Of these 20, 9 are essential and 11 are non-essential.

Essential amino acids cannot be synthesized by the body and must be obtained from food. Non-essential amino acids can be synthesized by the body and do not need to be obtained from food.

The essential amino acids are histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine. The non-essential amino acids are alanine, arginine, aspartate, cysteine, glutamate, glycine, proline, serine, and tyrosine.