Lecture on Proteins and Amino Acids

Introduction

• Question to Students: What is a protein?
• Common student answers:
  • Proteins are needed for muscle building, health, growth, and tissue repair.
  • Examples include eggs, salmon, chicken, tofu, and nuts.

Understanding Proteins

• Proteins have many functions and are vital for living organisms.
• Every living organism, from bacteria to whales, needs proteins to survive.
• Proteins are made up of amino acids.

Process of Protein Formation

• Photosynthesis in Plants:
  • Takes in carbon dioxide, nitrate ions, and water.
  • Produces amino acids.
• Protein Synthesis:
  • Plants use amino acids to create proteins.
  • Proteins have various functions (growth, enzymes, hormones).

Protein Digestion and Repurposing

• Caterpillar Example:
  • Eats plant proteins.
  • Digestive system breaks proteins into amino acids.
  • Amino acids are used to create caterpillar proteins.
• Chicken Example:
  • Eats caterpillar.
  • Proteins broken down and repurposed into chicken proteins (e.g., muscles).
• Human consumption of chicken follows a similar pattern.

Proteins in Humans

• Common examples of human proteins:
  • Hair (keratin), skin (collagen), enzymes (amylase), blood (hemoglobin), and muscles (actin and myosin).
• Proteins have diverse structures and functions.

Importance of Amino Acids

• Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins.
• Joining different amino acids creates diverse proteins.

Structure of Amino Acids

• 20 different types of amino acids.
• Basic structure:
  • Carbon (C), Carboxylic Acid Group (COOH), Amine Group (NH2), and R Group (side chain).
• R Group varies among amino acids, making them different from each other.

Examples of Amino Acids

• Alanine (Ala): CH3 R group.
• Glycine (Gly): Smallest amino acid, R group is hydrogen.
• Serine (Ser): CH2OH R group.

Conclusion

• Understanding the basics of proteins and amino acids is crucial.
• Proteins are essential for numerous biological functions and processes.