Amino Acids Summary Table

Amino Acid

Amino Acids Summary Table

The following amino acid summary chart lists the 8 Essential amino acids, as well as the 12 Non-essential amino acids, along with amino acid symbol, amino acid abbreviation, acid or base, number of pathways, etc.

Other important amino acid precursors are also listed, plus their pathways.

Essential Amino Acids (Body cannot make these amino acids, they must come from food or amino acid supplements.)
	Amino Acid	Sym.	Abbr.	Min. Daily mg.	Acid Base Neu.	# of pathways - One Pathway	Generates	Works With (Against)	Augments
1	Isoleucine*	I	Ile	10	n	1 - threonine --> isoleucine			muscles
2	Leucine*	L	Leu	14	n	1 - keto-isovalerate --> leucine			blood, muscle, hormone
3	Lysine	K	Lys	12	B	2 - asparate --> lysine		calcium	herpes, triglycerides
4	Methionine	M	Met	13	n	7 - homoserine --> methionine	cysteine	selenium, zinc	hair, skin, chelator
5	Phenylalanine	F	Phe	14	n	3 - chorismate --> phenylalanine	tyrosine	B6	depression
6	Threonine	T	Thr	7	N	3 - aspartate --> threonine	glycine, serine		collagen, tooth enamel
7	Tryptophan	W	Trp	3.5	n	1 - chorismate --> tryptophan	niacin, seratonin		depression
8	Valine*	V	Val	10	n	1 - pyruvate --> valine			muscles
Food Sources: Fish - meat - poultry - cottage cheese - peanuts - lentils A= acid, B= base, N= Neutral, n= non-polar *= BCAA, Branched-Chain Amino Acids, all important in muscle recovery
Non-Essential Amino Acids (The body can make these amino acids from the above essential amino acids.)
	Amino Acid	Sym.	Abbr.	Min. Daily mg.	Acid Base Neu.	# of pathways - One Pathway	Generates	Works With (Against)	Augments
1	Alanine	A	Ala	-	n	4 - valine pyruvate --> alanine
2	Arginine*	R	Arg	-	B	4 - citrulline --> arginine	polyamines, creatine	zinc (lysine)	immune, healing, muscles
3	Asparagine	N	Asn	-	N	3 - asparate and ammonia			CNS
4	Aspartic Acid	D	Asp	-	A	3 - glutamate --> aspartate			CNS, brain
5	Cysteine	C	Cys	-	N	4 - serine --> cysteine	homocysteine, taurine	B6, Vit.E	skin, hair
6	Glutamic Acid	E	Glu	-	A	3 - ketoglutarate --> glutamate	glutamine, GABA	B6	brain
7	Glutamine	Q	Gln	-	N	2 - glutamate --> glutamine			brain
8	Glycine	G	Gly	-	N	2 - serine --> glycine	glutathione	GABA, taurine	body protein
9	Histidine*	H	His	-	B	1 - histidinol --> histidine	histamine		blood, allergy, sex
10	Proline	P	Pro	-	n	4 - l-glutamine --> proline	hydroxyproline	Vitamin C	collagen, elastin
11	Serine	S	Ser	-	N	1 - phosphoglycerate --> serine	cysteine, glycine	choline	blood sugar
12	Tyrosine	Y	Tyr	-	N	2 - phenylalanine --> tyrosine	thyroxin, melanin	B6	thyroid
* = These are Essential for infants, since they cannot produce them yet.
	Other Amino Acid Factors
	Carnitine	-	Car	-	-	carnitine --> butyrobetaine -->	Lysine, methionine	Vitamin C	fat metabolism
	Citrulline	-	Cit	-	-	argenine --> citrulline --> ornithine	Ornithine	zinc	urea cycle
	Hydroxyproline	-	Hyp	-	-	proline --> hydroxyproline		Vitamin C	collagen
	Ornithine	-	Orn	-	-	argenine --> citrulline --> ornithine			urea cycle
	Taurine	-	Tau	-	-	methionine --> cysteine --> taurine	GABA, glycine	B6	heart, bile
The above are precursors for, or important products of, the 20 "true" amino acids. top of page

Food Summaries
Amino Acid Summary	Magnesium Foods Summary	Vegetable Oils Summary
Fish Oil Supplement Summary	Potassium Foods Summary	Vitamin and Mineral Chart
Herbal Actions Summary

This Vaughns 1-Pagers Amino Acids Summary web page was updated on 2007-04-16.