Alanine facts for kids

Alanine (often shortened to Ala or just A) is a special kind of building block called an amino acid. Think of amino acids as tiny LEGO bricks that connect together to build much larger structures called proteins. Alanine has a simple chemical formula: CH₃CH(NH₂)COOH.

What is Alanine?

Alanine is one of the most common amino acids found in proteins. It's considered a "non-polar" amino acid, which means it doesn't mix well with water. This property is important for how proteins fold and work inside our bodies.

There are two main forms of Alanine:

• L-Alanine: This is the type of Alanine that our bodies use to make proteins. It's one of the 20 amino acids that are part of our genetic code. This means that our DNA has instructions to make L-Alanine and use it to build all sorts of important proteins. In fact, L-Alanine makes up about 7.8% of the proteins in our bodies, making it one of the most common amino acids!
• D-Alanine: This form of Alanine is not usually found in human proteins. Instead, it's often found in the cell walls of bacteria and in some special medicines called peptide antibiotics.

L-Alanine, a common building block for proteins.

Properties of Alanine

Alanine is a white powder at room temperature. It's quite dense, meaning a small amount of it weighs a lot. It can dissolve in water, which is important for its role in living things.

Images for kids

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  (S)-Alanine (left) and (R)-alanine (right) in zwitterionic form at neutral pH

See also

In Spanish: Alanina para niños