Valine

Biochemistry

See Also

Description

Valine is one of the 20 proteinogenic amino acids. Nutritionally, valine is also an essential amino acid. It is named after the plant valerian.

In sickle-cell disease, it substitutes for the hydrophilic amino acid [glutamic acid]? in hemoglobin: Because valine is hydrophobic, the hemoglobin does not fold correctly. Valine is uncharged overall, as its R group is neutral, and the charges from its amino and carboxylic acid groups balance out: a zwitterion.

Foods that are good sources of valine include cottage cheese, fish, poultry, beef, peanuts, sesame seeds, and lentils.

In a 1994 report released by five top cigarette companies, valine is one of the 599 additives to cigarettes. Its use or purpose, however, is unknown, like most cigarette additives. (1)

Links

• Isoleucine and Valine Biosynthesis
• U of Az The Biology Project page

Attribution

• This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Valine".

References