These notions are essential to say the least not only from a biological point of view, but also from a sporting point of view, since in athletes and bodybuilders, protein synthesis is the basis of muscle recovery and growth.
(N). In nutrition, the latter are considered energetic macronutrients - since through various processes it is possible to obtain 4 kcal / g - but, from a biological point of view, in their entirety the proteins boast numerous and specific functions.Amino acids contain different functional groups, including an amino group (NH2) and a carboxylic acid group (COOH). In nature there are about twenty amino acids which, combining differently, can form tens of millions of different proteins, just like the letters of the alphabet form countless words. The amino acids present in nature are all α-amino acids and have at least one chiral carbon (ie linked to functional groups all different from each other).
Some amino acids, called essential (AAE), cannot be synthesized by the body and therefore must be supplied exogenously through the diet.
The chemical bond between the amino acids, called peptide, is established between the COOH of one and the NH2 of the other, with condensation and loss of a water molecule. If the number of amino acids is less than 10 this chain is an oligopeptide; 10-50 polypeptide; over 50 a proper protein.
The peptide chains, under particular conditions, can be broken by separating the amino acids of which they were composed. This demolition process is called hydrolysis and can be of a chemical or enzymatic type; it can occur during digestion, making amino acids absorbable via the intestine, or in cellular catabolism. Each protein acquires specific properties based on the spatial arrangement it assumes that it is genetically determined.
