Amino acids are important components of biological organisms and play a vital role in the phenomena of life. With the progress of biological science, and the human understanding of the physiological functions and metabolic activities in living organisms, the important biological functions of amino acids in living organisms have become more and more clear. Amino acids are the nutrition of living organisms, the very important material for survival and development, and play an important role in material metabolism regulation and information transmission in the living body.

In the past 30 years, significant progress has been made in the research,  development, and application of amino acids, in the discovery of new amino acid types and numbers from about 50 kinds in the 1960s, to now has exceeded 400 kinds. In terms of output, the world’s amino acid production was only 100,000 tons, now has jumped millions of tons, the output of more than 10 billion dollars. But there is a long cry from actual demand, which experts expect to reach $30 billion by 2000. Amino acids are widely used as human nutritional additives, seasoning additives, feed additives, medicine, and so on in the food industry, agriculture, animal husbandry, human health, health care, and many other aspects.

In addition to the rapid progress in the production technology and means of amino acid industry technology in domestic and foreign countries, deep amino acid processing and new product development is another trend. Amino acid products have developed from the traditional protein to including non-protein amino acids, amino acid derivatives, and short peptides, a large class of increasingly important role in human life and production product groups, which provides the further development of amino acid production of a larger market, for amino acids and related industries into new vitality.

In terms of medicine, amino acid derivatives used as clinical drugs are currently quite active, both in the treatment of liver diseases, cardiovascular diseases, ulcerative diseases, ulcerations, neurological diseases, anti-inflammatory aspects, and there are no fewer than hundreds of amino acid derivatives used for treatment. For example, 4-hydroxyproline is very effective in treating chronic hepatitis and preventing cirrhosis. N-acetyl-L-glutamine aluminum, dihydroxyl aluminum-L-histidine, histidine-vitamin u-methionine, N-acetyltryptophan aluminum, titanium, bismuth are all effective drugs for the anti-ulcerative disease. N-diethyline-ethyl-N-acetylglutamatergic restores fatigue, treating and motor dysregulation caused by depression and cerebrovascular disorders. The syngoguses of L-a-methyl- β tyrosine with callose phenylalanine dehydroxylase, D-3-sulfhydryl-2-methyl acetyl-L proline, and diuretics, are all good intensives. Arginine aspirin, lysine aspirin, both maintain the aspirin analgesic effect, but also can reduce the side effects. N-acetylcysteine hydrochloride has excellent efficacy on bronchitis. Amino acid polymers are now becoming a new surgical material being used in clinical trials. For example, with a layered wound wrap imitating the natural skin formed by copolymerization of leucine and esterified glutamate or aspartate acid, the wound can be bandaged without further unwinding and become a part of the skin.

Peptide drugs are also an important aspect of amino acid drug applications, such as glutathione is an effective drug for treating liver disease, drug poisoning, allergic diseases, and preventing cataracts. Vasopressin, combined with 9 amino acids, promotes blood pressure in fine arteries and capillaries and also has an anti-diuretic effect.

Amino acid derivatives can also serve as antibiotics and antimicrobial synergists. For example, N-acylated amino acids made by long-chain fatty acids, amino acids esters made by high alcohols through esterification, and N-acyl amino acid esters acylated amino acids with low alcohols have a broad spectrum of antibacterial activities on gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, and also act on mold, and are widely used as active agents and preservatives. For another example, with the addition of amino acid derivatives to penicillin G and lysozyme, and especially to add amino acid esters, penicillin G and lysozyme show strong antimicrobial and glycolytic forces.

Amino acid derivatives have been widely used as anti-antitumor drugs such as (1) anti-neoplastic drugs with amino acids as carriers, such as phenylalanine mustard gas, L-valine, L-glutamate, L-lysine conjugate with phenylenediamine nitrogen mustard. (2) Use amino acid derivatives as structural analogs of amino acids required for tumor cells to achieve anti-tumor purposes, such as S-amino acid-L-cysteine. (3) Anti-tumor drugs of amino acid derivatives acting as enzyme inhibitors. For example, N-phosphoacetyl-L-aspartate is a transition status inhibitor of aspartate transaminophenase, which can interrupt the pyrimidine nucleotide synthesis pathway to achieve anti-tumor purposes. (4) Amino acid derivatives act as tumor inhibitors of intermediates. (5) Amino-acid derivatives that reverse cancer cells.

Amino acids and their derivatives for application:

(1) amino acids and their derivatives

Natural amino and amino acids and derivatives. Methionine can prevent hepatitis, liver necrosis, and fatty liver, and glutamate can be used to prevent liver coma, neurasthenia, and epilepsy.5-hydroxytryptophan.

(2) polypeptides and protein drugs

Chemical nature is the same, with differences in molecular weight. Protein drugs: serum albumin, species C. globulin, insulin; polypeptide drugs: oxytocin, glucagon.

(3) enzymes and coenzyme drugs

Enzyme drugs are divided into digestive enzymes (pepsin, trypsin, malamylase), anti-inflammatory enzymes (lysozyme, trypsin), cardiovascular disease treatment enzyme (kinin release enzyme dilate blood vessels to reduce blood pressure), etc. The roles of coenzymes in delivering hydrogen, electron, and groups in enzymatic reactions have been widely used in the treatment of liver disease and coronary heart disease.

(4) nucleic acids and their degraders and derivatives

DNA can be used for the treatment of mental retardation, weakness, and radiation resistance, RNA is used for adjuvant therapy for chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer, and polynucleotides are inducers of interferon.

(5) sugars drugs

Anticoagulant, lipid-lowering, antiviral, anti-antitumor, enhanced immune function, and anti-aging.

(6) lipid drug

Phospholipids: Nepholipid, lecithin can be used to treat liver disease, coronary heart disease, and neurasthenia. Fatty acids reduce blood fat, blood pressure, and anti-fatty liver.

(7) cell growth factor

Interferons, interleukin, tumor necrosis factor, etc.

(8) Bioproducts class

Direct preparation from microorganisms, parasites, animal and human materials or made of modern biotechnology, chemical methods as a preparation for the prevention, treatment, diagnosis of specific infectious diseases or other diseases