alanine

n. amino acid

Alanine (abbreviated as Ala or A) is an α-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCH(NH2)CH3. The L-isomer is one of the 20 proteinogenic amino acids, i.e. the building blocks of proteins. Its codons are GCU, GCC, GCA, and GCG. It is classified as a nonpolar amino acid. L-alanine is second only to leucine, accounting for 7.8% of the primary structure in a sample of 1,150 proteins. D-alanine occurs in bacterial cell walls and in some peptide antibiotics.
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Alanine /al·a·nine/ a nonessential amino acid occurring in proteins and also free in plasma. ß-alanine an amino acid not found in proteins but [more]Alanine - Community and Resources

Noun
1. a crystalline amino acid that occurs in many proteins
(hypernym) amino acid, aminoalkanoic acid

n. alanine, amino acid