Meaning of AMINO ACID

Pronunciation:			u'meenow'asid
WordNet Dictionary
	Definition:		[n]  organic compounds containing an amino group and a carboxylic acid group; "proteins are composed of various proportions of about 20 common amino acids"
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	Synonyms:		aminoalkanoic acid
	See Also:		alanine, asparagine, aspartic acid, canavanine, citrulline, creatin, creatine, cysteine, cystine, dihydroxyphenylalanine, dopa, essential amino acid, GABA, gamma aminobutyric acid, glutamic acid, glutamine, glutaminic acid, glycine, hydroxyproline, iodoamino acid, organic compound, ornithine, proline, protein, sarcosine, serine, thyronine, tyramine, tyrosine
Medical Dictionary
	Definition:		A class of organic chemical compounds that combine to build proteins; 20 basic amino acids in various combinations make up all the proteins in the human body. The body produces many amino acids; those it needs but cannot synthesize are known as essential amino acids and must be obtained through the diet.
Biology Dictionary
	Definition:		Any of a class of 20 molecules that are combined to form proteins in living things. The sequence of amino acids in a protein and hence protein function are determined by the genetic code.
Glossary
	Definition:		Any of 20 basic building blocks of proteins-- composed of a free amino (NH2) end, a free carboxyl (COOH) end, and a side group (R). Any of a class of 20 molecules that are combined to form proteins in living things. The sequence of amino acids in a protein and hence protein function are determined by the genetic code. a type of molecule that forms the basic building block of proteins.
Thesaurus Terms
	Related Terms:		alanine, albuminoid, arginine, chromoprotein, dipeptide, glycine, glycoprotein, leucine, lipoprotein, lysine, methionine, nucleoprotein, peptide, phenylalanine, phosphoprotein, proteid, protein, protide, sarcosine, serine, threonine, valine