alanine

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A small chemical that helps make proteins in the body

noun
/ˈæl.ə.niːn/

Specialized

: alanina

Alanine is a crucial amino acid that plays a significant role in alanine synthesis.
alanine aminotransferase
alanine transaminase
alanine aminotransferase levels

So if I replace the phenylalanine with a an alanine, what might happen?

Examples

I'm so glad you asked that question, because keratins are made mostly of alanine and glycine.

Academic text (2007)
Blood samples were collected for leucocyte counting, and measurement of packed-cell volume, serum aspartate and alanine aminotransferases, urea nitrogen, and creatinine.

Academic text (1997)
Finally, the third one has alanine and lysine.
Alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase levels were also tested in 17 patients.

Academic text (2012)
Glycine, serine, alanine, and threonine are all non-essential amino acids.

Academic text (2018)
In the study, researchers measured the levels of alanine in different types of proteins.
Dietary sources of protein often include alanine, which supports various metabolic processes.

Surface Forms

alanine singular

alanines plural

Morphology

alanine = alan + ine

Formed with the chemical suffix '-ine' on a non-lexical combining form 'alan', so learners cannot derive the meaning from familiar English base words.

Etymology

Alanine is the name of an amino acid; the ending -ine is a common ending for chemical names, like caffeine, and the root alan- is the special label for this simple substance. So, alanine means a small 'amino' building block that is found in many proteins and used in the body's energy processes.