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.
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.