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Phenylalanine

What is Phenylalanine?

Phenylalanine also known as L-phenylalanine is an essential amino acid. [1]

Sources

Phenylalanine is densely found in milk but is also produced by plants and micro organisms. [1]

Phenylalanine is found in both naturally occurring (L-phenylalanine) and artificially synthesized (D-phenylalanine) forms. [2]



History

The genetic code for phenylalanine was first discovered by Marshall W. Nirenberg in 1959. He showed that by using m-RNA to insert multiple uracil repeats into the bacterium E. coli, the bacterium produced a new protein consisting solely of repeated phenylalanine amino acids. This discovery lead to the determination of the relationship between RNA and amino acids, which was foundational to the understanding of the Genetic Code. [1]

Other Ingredient Information

Products containing Phenylalanine


The percentage represents the approximate total number of food products from UPC Food Search's data that contain the ingredient, "Phenylalanine".
The data is calculated from UPC Food Search's product data only, and is not meant to reflect all food products regionally or globally.

Source(s) Derived From

 Animal Sources, Plant Sources, Chemical (Synthetic) Sources

Natural or Artificial?

 Both (Can be derived from Natural & Artificial Sources)

References
  1. Phenylalanine - Wikipedia
  2. What Is DL Phenylalanine? - eHow

Aliases (Also Known As)


 D Phenylalanine
DL Phenylalanine
L Phenylalanine

Color Key - (Click/Tap to View) Dash

  • Natural
  • Natural & Possibly Unsafe
  • Artificial
  • Artificial & Possibly Unsafe
  • Both (Can be derived from Natural & Artificial Sources)
  • Both (Can be derived from Natural & Artificial Sources) & Possibly Unsafe

Revision History

Action User Date/Time
Ingredient addedUPC Food SearchJanuary 1, 2009 @ 2:14 AM

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