CYSTEINE

Cysteine

Cysteine is an α-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCHCH2SH. It is a semi-essential amino acid, which means that it can be biosynthesized in humans. The thiol side chain in cysteine often participates in enzymatic reactions, serving as a nucleophile. The thiol is susceptible to oxidization to give the disulfide derivative cystine, which serves an important structural role in many proteins. When used as a food additive, it has the E number E920.

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cysteine

Noun

  1. A sulphur-containing nonessential amino acid C3H7NO2S found in most animal proteins; it readily oxidizes to cystine.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: cysteine
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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