Classification of Amino Acids
Amino acids are classified based on various criteria such as structure, polarity, nutritional requirement, and metabolic fate. Below is a detailed classification with a chart and multiple-choice questions (MCQs).
1.Classification Based on Structure (R-group)
| Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Aliphatic (Non-polar) | Glycine, Alanine, Valine, Leucine, Isoleucine |
| Aromatic | Phenylalanine, Tyrosine, Tryptophan |
| Sulfur-containing | Cysteine, Methionine |
| Hydroxy-containing | Serine, Threonine |
| Acidic (Negatively Charged) | Aspartic acid, Glutamic acid |
| Basic (Positively Charged) | Lysine, Arginine, Histidine |
| Amide-containing | Asparagine, Glutamine |
2. Classification Based on Polarity
| Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Non-Polar (Hydrophobic) | Glycine, Alanine, Valine, Leucine, Isoleucine, Phenylalanine, Methionine, Proline, Tryptophan |
| Polar (Uncharged) | Serine, Threonine, Asparagine, Glutamine, Tyrosine, Cysteine |
| Polar (Charged, Acidic) | Aspartic acid, Glutamic acid |
| Polar (Charged, Basic) | Lysine, Arginine, Histidine |
3. Classification Based on Nutritional Requirement
| Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Essential Amino Acids (Cannot be synthesized by the body) | Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan, Valine |
| Non-Essential Amino Acids (Synthesized by the body) | Alanine, Asparagine, Aspartic acid, Glutamic acid |
| Conditionally Essential Amino Acids (Essential under certain conditions) | Arginine, Cysteine, Glutamine, Glycine, Proline, Tyrosine |
4. Classification Based on Metabolic Fate
| Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Ketogenic (Forms ketone bodies) | Leucine, Lysine |
| Glucogenic (Forms glucose) | Alanine, Arginine, Aspartate, Cysteine, Glutamate, Glutamine, Glycine, Histidine, Methionine, Proline, Serine, Valine |
| Both Glucogenic & Ketogenic | Isoleucine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan, Tyrosine |
Amino Acid Classification
┌────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────┬───────────────────┐
│ Structure │ Polarity │ Metabolic │
│ (R-group) │ │ Fate │
├────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────┼───────────────────┤
│ Aliphatic (Gly, Ala, │ Non-polar (Gly, Ala, │ Glucogenic (Ala, │
│ Val, Leu, Ile) │ Val, Leu, Ile, Phe) │ Arg, Asp, Cys…) │
│ Aromatic (Phe, Tyr, │ Polar Uncharged (Ser, Thr,│ Ketogenic (Leu, │
│ Trp) │ Asn, Gln, Tyr, Cys) │ Lys) │
│ Sulfur-containing │ Polar Acidic (Asp, Glu) │ Both (Ile, Phe, │
│ (Cys, Met) │ Polar Basic (Lys, Arg, His) │ Thr, Trp, Tyr) │
└────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────┴───────────────────┘
MCQs on Amino Acid Classification
1. Which of the following amino acids is sulfur-containing?
a) Serine
b) Methionine
c) Histidine
d) Valine
Answer: b) Methionine
2. Which amino acid is both glucogenic and ketogenic?
a) Valine
b) Leucine
c) Isoleucine
d) Arginine
Answer: c) Isoleucine
3. Which of the following amino acids is essential?
a) Glycine
b) Proline
c) Leucine
d) Aspartic acid
Answer: c) Leucine
4. Which amino acid is classified as an aromatic amino acid?
a) Alanine
b) Cysteine
c) Phenylalanine
d) Serine
Answer: c) Phenylalanine
5. Which of the following is a non-polar amino acid?
a) Serine
b) Asparagine
c) Leucine
d) Glutamine
Answer: c) Leucine
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