Alpha-Alanine

October 3, 2020

Overview

Alpha-alanine is a non-essential amino acid. Non-essential amino acids can be made by the body, so they don’t have to be provided by food. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins.

You may see the terms “L-alpha-alanine” and “D-alpha-alanine.“ The “L” refers to the “left-handed” chemical form of the alpha-alanine molecule. The “D” refers to the “right-handed” chemical form of the molecule. The L and D forms are mirror-images of each other.

Alpha-alanine is used for low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), diarrhea-related dehydration, liver disease, enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hypertrophy, BPH), fatigue, stress, and certain inherited disorders including glycogen storage disease and urea cycle disorders.

Classification

Is a Form of:

Non-essential amino acids

Primary Functions:

low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), diarrhea-related dehydration, liver disease

Also Known As:

Acide Alpha-aminopropionique, Acide Aminé Alanine, Acide Aminé Non Essentiel, Ala

How Does It Work?

Alpha-alanine is an amino acid. It can affect blood sugar levels.

Uses

Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in people with type 1 diabetes.Some research shows that taking L-alpha-alanine by mouth can raise blood sugar levels after a “blood sugar low” due to taking too much insulin. L-alpha-alanine can also prevent blood sugar from dropping too low overnight.

Recommended Dosing

The following doses have been studied in scientific research:

BY MOUTH:

For treating low blood sugar in people with type 1 diabetes due to too much insulin: 20-40 grams of L-alpha-alanine.
For preventing low blood sugar at night in people with type 1 diabetes: 40 grams of L-alpha-alanine at bedtime along with 10 grams of glucose (sugar).

Alpha-Alanine Supplements Frequently Asked Questions

What is L alanine good for?

L-Alanine is a non-essential amino acid that occurs in high levels in its free state in plasma. It is produced from pyruvate by transamination. It is involved in sugar and acid metabolism, increases immunity, and provides energy for muscle tissue, brain, and the central nervous system.

What enzyme converts pyruvate to alanine?

enzyme alanine transaminase

When muscles degrade amino acids for energy needs, the resulting nitrogen is transaminated to pyruvate to form alanine. This is performed by the enzyme alanine transaminase (ALT), which converts L-glutamate and pyruvate into α-ketoglutarate and L-alanine.

Does beta alanine cause erectile dysfunction?

Some people have reported tingling of the skin after taking large doses of beta-alanine. Beta-alanine may interact with some heart medications and with drugs for erectile dysfunction.

What is the difference between L alanine and D alanine?

Amino acids can occur in L- and D-forms, but only L-forms are used by cells. Only L-amino acids are manufactured in cells and incorporated into proteins. Some D-amino acids are found in the cell walls of bacteria, but not in bacterial proteins.

Can alanine be converted to pyruvate?

At the liver, alanine is taken up and converted into pyruvate. This involves the removal of an amino group, catalyzed by alanine transaminase (ALT) working in reverse. The amino groups are transferred to α-ketoglutarate, producing glutamate.

Is alanine A amino acid?

Alanine is a glucogenic amino acid that constitutes a high percentage of the amino acids in most proteins. Also, other amino acids, in particular, branched chain amino acids (BCAA), such as valine, leucine, and isoleucine can be converted to alanine.

What can alanine be converted to?

The amino group of alanine is converted to urea, by the urea cycle, and excreted. The glucose formed in the liver from alanine may then enter the skeletal muscle again through the bloodstream and serve as an energy supply.

Where is alanine found?

alanine; Alanine is a nonessential amino acid and does not need to be directly obtained from the diet. It is found in a variety of foods such as dairy products, meat, nuts, soy, and whole grains. Alanine is one of the simplest non-polar amino acids.

What foods contain alanine?

As with the other amino acids , excellent sources of alanine include meat and poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy products. Some protein-rich plant foods also supply alanine.

What are basic amino acids?

There are three amino acids that have basic side chains at neutral pH. These are arginine (Arg), lysine (Lys), and histidine (His). Their side chains contain nitrogen and resemble ammonia, which is a base. Their pKa's are high enough that they tend to bind protons, gaining a positive charge in the process.

Why is alanine used for amino acid substitution?

Alanine is used because of its non-bulky, chemically inert, methyl functional group that nevertheless mimics the secondary structure preferences that many of the other amino acids possess.

Is alanine essential or nonessential?

Nonessential means that our bodies produce an amino acid, even if we do not get it from the food we eat. Nonessential amino acids include: alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, proline, serine, and tyrosine.

Is alanine a Zwitterion?

CHEBI:66916 - alanine zwitterion

An amino acid zwitterion arising from transfer of a proton from the carboxy to the amino group of alanine; major species at pH 7.3.

How is alanine different from other amino acids?

Alanine is an aliphatic amino acid, because the side-chain connected to the α-carbon atom is a methyl group (-CH₃); alanine is the simplest α-amino acid after glycine. The methyl side-chain of alanine is non-reactive and is therefore hardly ever directly involved in protein function.

Why is alanine scanned?

In molecular biology, alanine scanning is a site-directed mutagenesis technique used to determine the contribution of a specific residue to the stability or function of a given protein. This technique can also be used to determine whether the side chain of a specific residue plays a significant role in bioactivity.

Can alanine be phosphorylated?

Serine is often mutated to glutamic acid (sometimes aspartic acid) to mimic phosphorylation of the serine residue. Conversely, mutating serine to alanine prevents potential phosphorylation.

Why is alanine soluble in water?

Amino acids are generally soluble in water and insoluble in non-polar organic solvents such as hydrocarbons. This again reflects the presence of the zwitterions. In water, the ionic attractions between the ions in the solid amino acid are replaced by strong attractions between polar water molecules and the zwitterions.

What is alanine scanning mutagenesis?

In molecular biology, alanine scanning is a site-directed mutagenesis technique used to determine the contribution of a specific residue to the stability or function of a given protein. This is usually accomplished by site-directed mutagenesis or randomly by creating a PCR library.