The building blocks of life

AMINO acids are more than just the building blocks of proteins.

- Sadhvika Srinivas

These tiny organic compounds also act as vital metabolic intermediates, playing a crucial role in plant growth, development, and stress response.

For humans and animals, amino acids in cereal crops like rice serve as a crucial nutritional source, influencing everything from muscle repair to immune function.

Essential vs. Non-Essential Amino Acids

Our body needs 20 different amino acids to function optimally, but they're not all created equal. Nine of these, namely histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine, are known as essential amino acids (EAAs). Since our body cannot make them, they must come directly from our diet.

Other amino acids, such as alanine, glutamic acid, and asparagine, are non-essential, meaning the body can produce them on its own. There's also a middle category: conditionally essential amino acids like arginine, cysteine, glycine, glutamine, proline, serine, and tyrosine. These are usually produced internally, but during illness, stress, or growth spurts, the body may require additional support from food sources.