Glycine

Absorption

Absorbed from the small intestine via an active transport mechanism.

Toxicity

ORL-RAT LD50 7930 mg/kg, SCU-RAT LD50 5200 mg/kg, IVN-RAT LD50 2600 mg/kg, ORL-MUS LD50 4920 mg/kg; Doses of 1 gram daily are very well tolerated. Mild gastrointestinal symptoms are infrequently noted. In one study doses of 90 grams daily were also well tole.

Description

Glycine (abbreviated as Gly or G) is an organic compound with the formula NH₂CH₂COOH. Having a hydrogen substituent as its side-chain, glycine is the smallest of the 20 amino acids commonly found in proteins. Its codons are GGU, GGC, GGA, GGG of the genetic code.
Glycine is a colourless, sweet-tasting crystalline solid. It is unique among the proteinogenic amino acids in that it is not chiral. It can fit into hydrophilic or hydrophobic environments, due to its minimal side chain of only one hydrogen atom. Glycine is also the genus name of the Soybean plant (species name = Glycine max).

Description

Glycine is the smallest possible of the 20 amino acids that are essential for human life. In a seeming contradiction, glycine is called a “nonessential” amino acid because it can be synthesized by the body and therefore does not have to be included in the diet. It is the only achiral amino acid in that the carbon atom bearing the carboxylate and amino groups is not a stereogenic center.
In 1924, Hilda Louise Kingston and Samuel Barnett Schryver at the Imperial College of Science and Technology (London) isolated glycine from the hydrolysis products of gelatin. The following year, two laboratory syntheses of glycine were published in?Organic Syntheses. In the subsequent 30 years, additional biological sources were identified and lab syntheses developed.
Just this year, humble glycine made a big splash in the news. Scientists at the NASA Goddard Space Center (Greenbelt, MD)?found glycine in particles of the comet Wild 2?that were returned to Earth by the?Stardust?spacecraft. This finding confirms some scientists’ belief that biological building blocks may have come to Earth from space, but because the molecule was glycine, the origin of chirality is still murky.

The Uses of Glycine

Glycine is a non-essential amino acid for human development. Glycine is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in spinal cord, allosteric regulator of NMDA receptors.

Background

A non-essential amino acid. It is found primarily in gelatin and silk fibroin and used therapeutically as a nutrient. It is also a fast inhibitory neurotransmitter.

Indications

Supplemental glycine may have antispastic activity. Very early findings suggest it may also have antipsychotic activity as well as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.

What are the applications of Application

Glycine is a widely used buffer used for polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, Western blots and for the preparation of TG buffers

Pharmacokinetics

Helps trigger the release of oxygen to the energy requiring cell-making process; Important in the manufacturing of hormones responsible for a strong immune system.

Metabolism

Hepatic