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

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

• Essential amino acids: must be supplied through food - a Undersupply cannot be compensated
• 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 (Glycocoll)
• Serin
• proline
• ornithine
• taurine
• hydroxyproline
• citrulline
• 3-methylhistidine
• L-theanine
• glutamine
• Glycine (Glycocoll)
• Serin
• proline
• ornithine
• taurine
• hydroxyproline
• citrulline
• 3-methylhistidine
• L-theanine
• and much more

Amino acids have three central functions in our body:

• Structural tasks (anabolic function), i.e. the construction 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. By means ofEnzymatic hydrolysis releases the amino acids from the natural food proteins, which are a mixture of amino acids.

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