Protein And The Amino Acids Essay

Proteins are polymers made by joining up small molecules called amino acids. Amino acids and proteins are made mainly of the elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen.

a. Proteins- macromolecules made of amino acids. Proteins have many functions in the body. Some sources of proteins are whole-grain cereals, dark breads,rice, beans, and meat.

Proteins are the metabolic workhorses of the cell; they engage in a variety of essential activities ranging from enzymatically catabolizing macromolecular food sources to serving as structural components that maintain cell stability. Maximizing protein function relies on intricate non-covalent interactions occurring on the secondary, tertiary, and quaternary levels that help determine the overall shape of the protein. In their native states, proteins will assume the most energetically favorable configuration. Occasionally however, cells are exposed to exogenous disruptions such as heat stress. Heat Stress can compromise protein three-dimensional structure. Hydrophobic residues tend to be buried in the interior of the protein but when

Essential amino acids are those required by the body to build proteins whereas nonessential amino acids are not required by the body to build proteins.

But protease is important in terms breaking down complex protein into amino acids (1). The food travels down through the esophagus into the stomach. The stomach plays an important role since it break down proteins with hydrochloric acid and protease. In class, we learned that the strong acid will help break down the peptide bond into amino acids while the protease speeds up and perform hydrolysis of the peptide bond of the proteins. The protein will break down into simpler amino acids. The food content in the stomach will eventually become chyme in which it is a thick, liquified digested food that will travel through small and large intestine (2). As the food travels through the small intestine, the muscular wall moves the food and absorbs the nutrients through the wall into the bloodstreams. The amino acids will be available for cell to build to whatever the body requires.

A protein has multiple existing structures, these are the primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary structures which occur progressively. A protein is essentially a sequence of amino acids which are bonded adjacently, and interact with one another in various ways depending on the R group that the amino acid contains. There are 20 different amino acids which are able to be arranged in any given order, thus giving rise to a potential 2.433x1018 (4.s.f) different combinations, and therefore interactions between the various amino acids.

Amino Acids are essential nutrients that are the primary building blocks of proteins found in meat, dairy products, and legumes. Proteins make up 20 percent of the human body, and the amino acids that make up these proteins play a critical

Proteins are polymeric chains that are built from monomers called amino acids. All structural and functional properties of proteins derive from the chemical properties of the polypeptide chain. There are four levels of protein structural organization: primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary. Primary structure is defined as the linear sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide chain. The secondary structure refers to certain regular geometric figures of the chain. Tertiary structure results from long-range contacts within the chain. The quaternary structure is the organization of protein subunits, or two or more independent polypeptide chains.

Protein Synthesis Protein Synthesis is the process whereby DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) codes for the production of essential proteins, such as enzymes and hormones. Proteins are long chains of molecules called amino acids. Different proteins are made by using different sequences and varying numbers of amino acids. The smallest protein consists of fifty amino acids and the largest is about three thousand amino acids long. Protein synthesis occurs on ribosomes in the cytoplasm of a cell but is controlled by DNA located in the nucleus.

The right combinations of food help to guarantee that the food an individual consumes is complete in its nutritional content of proteins, such as combining vegetables and grains that separately have incomplete proteins but together provide complete proteins (Grosvenor & Smolin, 2012). Out of the 20 amino acids the human body needs, only 11 of those are produced in the liver. The remaining amino acids must come from protein sources. If the consumption of grain and vegetables continues to occur together complete protein will continue to be part of a healthy diet.

The Functions of Proteins Introduction Protein accounts for about three-fourths of the dry matter in human tissues other than fat and bone. It is a major structural component of hair, skin, nails, connective tissues, and body organs. It is required for practically every essential function in the body. Proteins are made from the following elements; carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and often sulphur and phosphorus.

Proteins that can be found in animals are consisting of essential amino acids that are needed; and Non essential amino acids are found in plants.

Campbell and Farrell define proteins as polymers of amino acids that have been covalently joined through peptide bonds to form amino acid chains (61). A short amino acid chain comprising of thirty amino acids forms a peptide, and a longer chain of amino acids forms a polypeptide or a protein. Each of the amino acids making up a protein, has a fundamental design that comprises of a central carbon or alpha carbon that is bonded to a hydrogen element, an amino grouping, a carboxyl grouping, and a unique side chain or the R-group (Campbell and Farrell 61).

Protein synthesis is one of the most fundamental biological processes. To start off, a protein is made in a ribosome. There are many cellular mechanisms involved with protein synthesis. Before the process of protein synthesis can be described, a person must know what proteins are made out of. There are four basic levels of protein organization. The first is primary structure, followed by secondary structure, then tertiary structure, and the last level is quaternary structure. Once someone understands the makeup of a protein, they can then begin to learn how elements can combine and go from genes to protein. There are two main processes that occur during protein synthesis, or peptide formation. One is transcription and

Digestion is the chemical breakdown of food into smaller components that are more easily absorbed. Digestion is a form of catabolism: a breakdown of large food molecules to smaller ones. When food enters into stomach, gastric juice starts protein digestion. Gastric juice mainly contains hydrochloric acid and pepsin. The pH value of hydrochloric in the stomach is 2, as the activity of pepsin is optimal, while it will lose its activity at pH 6.5 and above. However, pepsin will regain its activity at pH of 8. In the range of pH1 to pH6.5, pepsin will be most active at pH2, and starts to decrease its