Alanines

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of amino acid that plays a crucial role in protein synthesis and metabolism
2. Referring to any of the variants of the amino acid involved in building proteins and regulating metabolic processes
3. Signifying a key component in biochemical reactions, essential for maintaining cellular function and health

Etymology: Alanine is a case where the name is a sort of chemical shorthand. In 1850, the German chemist Adolph Strecker produced the compound by mixing acetaldehyde, which was then simply called "aldehyde," with ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, and hydrochloric acid. The name took its first half from that starting material and its second half from the "-ine" ending that chemists attached to nitrogen-containing compounds. The "-an-" in the middle is a filler sound, inserted so that the joined syllables were easier to say. The result is "aldehyde" plus "-anine," which gives a name that records what the molecule was made from and that it contains nitrogen. Alanines is simply the plural, used when speaking of more than one form of the compound.

Synonyms: amino acids, protein building blocks, nonpolar amino acids