Some, in the form of antibodies, protect us from diseases like viruses. Some are responsible for the transport of vital materials from outside of the cell to its inside. They provide many of the structural elements of a cell, and they help to bind cells together into tissues. They catalyze the majority of chemical reactions in our body or to be more specific in a cell of living organism like humans or….cats. Proteins play a primary role in life on Earth. Why then are amino acids so important to all of us? They are probably one of the most important chemical molecules on earth because they are the building blocks of proteins, which we have also all heard about. We also know that there are different amino acids and they differ from each other in the chemical structure of the R group.

But because amino acids are so important and play such a significant role in any living organism I think it is worth knowing not least because so many of us have heard about them. In general, we don’t have to know the structure of this compound. The remaining two bonds of the carbon atom are generally satisfied by a hydrogen (H) atom and the R group. Each molecule contains a central carbon (C) atom, to which both an amino and a carboxyl group are attached.

The term amino acid is short for α-amino carboxylic acid. So before we start to talk about it, let us talk about what amino acids are.Īmino-acids are organic compounds, in chemical terms it is a group of organic molecules that consist of a basic amino group (―NH2), an acidic carboxyl group (―COOH), and an organic R group (or side chain) that is unique to each amino acid. We all know that taurine is needed but really, there is much more to it than selecting the food that has the highest amount. Every cat owner knows to look at the cat food label and check for taurine, or at least everyone should do. Many of us have heard of taurine as an ingredient in energy drinks for humans.

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