noun

• An amino acid which is a constituent of most proteins.

  Alternative name: 2-aminopropanoic acid; chemical formula: CH₃CH(NH₂)COOH. β-alanine, an isomer of this, is 3-aminopropanoic acid, (NH₂)CH₂CH₂COOH

  ‘Other examples of amino acids are alanine, leucine, cysteine, arginine, and tryptophan.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘All of these silks are composed of protein chains in which the amino acids glycine, alanine, and serine dominate.’
  • ‘Also, a combination of the amino acids glycine, alanine and glutamic acid can relieve symptoms of prostatitis.’
  • ‘The neutral amino acids alanine, threonine and valine accumulated in the vesicles by factors of 30-50.’
  • ‘They look like alanine molecules, or amino acids, or like chloroform.’