1.
amino acid
An organic compound that serves as a building block of proteins. Commonly encountered in contexts such as nutrition, health foods, supplements, cosmetics, and biology. Twenty amino acids make up the proteins of the human body, and a subset (必須アミノ酸) must be obtained from food.
肉にはアミノ酸が多く含まれている。
Meat contains a lot of amino acids.
このシャンプーはアミノ酸系なので髪にやさしい。
This shampoo is amino-acid-based, so it's gentle on the hair.
運動後にアミノ酸を摂取すると回復が早いと言われている。
It is said that taking amino acids after exercise speeds up recovery.
人間の体は約20種類のアミノ酸から作られる様々なタンパク質で構成されている。
The human body is made up of various proteins built from about twenty kinds of amino acids.
Loanword compound: the katakana stem アミノ (from 'amino') + the kanji 酸 ('acid'). The katakana portion is a scientific borrowing, and the Japanese word always mixes katakana with the kanji ending.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 必須アミノ酸: essential amino acid
- 非必須アミノ酸: non-essential amino acid
- 遊離アミノ酸: free amino acid
- アミノ酸飲料: amino acid drink (sports drink)
- アミノ酸サプリメント: amino acid supplement
- アミノ酸系シャンプー: amino-acid-based shampoo
- アミノ酸を摂取する: to take in amino acids
- アミノ酸が豊富: rich in amino acids
USAGE:
- A fully naturalized scientific term that appears frequently on food labels, supplement ads, and cosmetics packaging. In advertising copy, it often implies 'natural' or 'body-friendly.'
- In the food industry it is strongly associated with 旨味 ('savoriness'), since glutamic acid (グルタミン{酸}) is the amino acid most responsible for umami taste.
RELATED TERMS:
- タンパク{質} / 蛋白{質}: protein — the macromolecule built from chains of amino acids.
- 酸: acid — the general chemistry term.
- アミノ{酸配列}: amino acid sequence — biological/genetics term.
- 旨味: umami — the savory taste produced by certain amino acids such as glutamic acid.