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It is used in the manufacture of food and drink products and sold as a nutritional supplement as it is a direct precursor to the neuromodulator phenethylamine. As an essential amino acid, phenylalanine is not synthesized de novo in humans and other animals, who must ingest phenylalanine or phenylalanine-containing proteins.
Flavonoids are synthesized by the phenylpropanoid metabolic pathway in which the amino acid phenylalanine is used to produce 4-coumaroyl-CoA. [1] This can be combined with malonyl-CoA to yield the true backbone of flavonoids, a group of compounds called chalcones , which contain two phenyl rings.
In plants, the shikimate pathway first leads to the formation of chorismate, which is the precursor of phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan. These aromatic amino acids are the precursors of many secondary metabolites , all essential to a plant's biological functions, such as the hormones salicylate and auxin .
Particularly abundant flavanoids in foods are catechin (tea, fruits), hesperetin (citrus fruits), cyanidin (red fruits and berries), daidzein , proanthocyanidins (apple, grape, cocoa), and quercetin (onion, tea, apples). [2] Phenolic acids include caffeic acid; Lignans are polyphenols derived from phenylalanine found in flax seed and other cereals.
The enzyme phenylalanine ammonia lyase (EC 4.3.1.24) catalyzes the conversion of L-phenylalanine to ammonia and trans-cinnamic acid.: [1] L -phenylalanine = trans -cinnamate + NH 3 Phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) is the first and committed step in the phenyl propanoid pathway and is therefore involved in the biosynthesis of the polyphenol ...
In plants, all phenylpropanoids are derived from the amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine. Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL, a.k.a. phenylalanine/tyrosine ammonia-lyase) is an enzyme that transforms L-phenylalanine and tyrosine into trans-cinnamic acid and p-coumaric acid, respectively.
Like all protein-rich foods, spirulina contains the essential amino acid phenylalanine (2.6–4.1 g/100 g), [5] which should be avoided by people who have phenylketonuria, a rare genetic disorder that prevents the body from metabolizing phenylalanine, which then builds up in the brain, causing damage. [52]
Tyrosine, which can also be synthesized in the body from phenylalanine, is found in many high-protein food products such as meat, fish, cheese, cottage cheese, milk, yogurt, peanuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, soy protein and lima beans.