Amino acids are the smallest building blocks of a protein. Proteins are “essential building blocks of life”. But amino acids also fulfill independent functional tasks.

A distinction is made between the essential and non-essential amino acids:

• Essential amino acids: must be supplied through food - a deficiency cannot be compensated for
• Non-essential amino acids: can be formed in the organism by consuming essential amino acids

Essential

• Isoleucine (VK)
• Leucine (VK)
• Lysine
• Methionine (SH)
• Phenylalanine (AAS)
• Threonine
• Tryptophan (AAS)
• Valine (VK)

Semi-Essential

• Arginine
• Histidine (AAS)
• Cystine/Cysteine ​​(SH)
• Tyrosine

Non-essential

• Alanine
• Aspartic acid/
  Asparagine
• Glutamine
• Asparagine
• Glutamic acid
• Glutamine
• Glycine (glycocol)
• Serine
• Proline
• Ornithine
• Taurine
• Hydroxyproline
• Citrulline
• 3-Methylhistidine
• L-Theanine
• Glutamine
• Glycine (glycocol)
• Serine
• Proline
• Ornithine
• Taurine
• Hydroxyproline
• Citrulline
• 3-Methylhistidine
• L-Theanine
• and much more

Amino acids have three central tasks in our body:

• Structural tasks (anabolic function), i.e. the structure of proteins (“proteinogenicity”)
• Energy production (catabolic function)
• Provision of sulfur

Proteins can be classified into the following 7 main functional groups:

The absorption of (digestible) proteins occurs through food. Using eenzymatic hydrolysis, the amino acids are released from the natural food proteins, which represent a mixture of amino acids.

The released amino acids are then available for the anabolic (building, conversion in the organism into the body's own protein) and catabolic metabolism (energy, nitrogen).