Protein -- The Real Thing

From the Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:

protein

Any of numerous organic compounds, complex polymers of amino acids that are involved in nearly every aspect of the physiology and biochemistry of living organisms. Twenty different amino acids are common to proteins, linked in chains of hundreds to thousands of units. An active protein molecule has three important levels of structure: primary (the amino acid sequence), determined by the genes; secondary (the geometric shape, often a helix), determined by the angles of the covalent bonds between and within amino acids; and tertiary (the looped and folded overall shape), determined largely by attraction between oppositely charged groups (and repulsion between like charged groups) on amino-acid side chains and especially by hydrogen bonding. The tertiary structure, which can be globular or sheetlike with ridges, crevices, or pockets, often holds the key to a protein's biological activity. Proteins can serve, e.g., as structural material (as in connective tissue and hair; collagen; keratin), as enzymes and hormones, as transporters of essential substances such as oxygen ( hemoglobin), as antibodies, or as regulators of gene expression. Some proteins are simple (amino acids only), some conjugated ( conjugation) to other groups, often vitamins or metal atoms needed in tiny amounts in the diet ( coenzyme; cofactor). Rhodopsin and hemoglobin are conjugated proteins. Proteins may be covalently linked to other atoms or molecules, as to sugars (glycoproteins), phosphate groups (phosphoproteins), or sulfur (sulfoproteins). Proteins are an essential human nutrient, obtained from both plant and animal foods. Their greatest commercial use is in food products; they are also employed in adhesives, plastics, and fibres.

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Protein -- Man Made / Manufactured

 

Intact, unadulterated Protein, such as would be found in the body of animals, is made up of  numbers of amino acids linked in chains of hundreds to thousands of units.  Man made protein, although referred to as "protein" by those who claim to be adding "protein" to food, dietary supplements, and pharmaceuticals, is made up of manufactured individual amino acids, and is not actually Protein at all. 

The indiviaul amino acids should not be confused with the amino acids found in unadulterated proteins.  To begin with, they have all been manufactured.  They may have been freed from (broken out of) Protein through hydrolysis, autolysis, or fermentation; or they may have been generated through bacterial fermentation of genetically modified bacteria that secrete specific amino acids through their cell walls.  In either case, these manufactured individual amino acids bring with them byproducts of manufacture, often referred to as impurities.  At this point in time, industry has not found a way to manufacture individual amino acids without producing impurities.

The impurities found in individual amino acids vary according to the protein source used (the source protein) and the method(s) used to produce the individual amino acids.  We have been told, but do not know for a fact, that D-glutamic acid and pyroglutamic acid are impurities found in all manufactured amino acids.  What we do know for a fact is that when hydrolysis of protein is used to produce glutamic acid, the impurities include carcinogenic mono and dichloro propanols.  (See http://www.truthinlabeling.org/Cancer.html for detail.)

Protein -- The Real Thing

 

From the Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:

protein

Any of numerous organic compounds, complex polymers of amino acids that are involved in nearly every aspect of the physiology and biochemistry of living organisms. Twenty different amino acids are common to proteins, linked in chains of hundreds to thousands of units. An active protein molecule has three important levels of structure: primary (the amino acid sequence), determined by the genes; secondary (the geometric shape, often a helix), determined by the angles of the covalent bonds between and within amino acids; and tertiary (the looped and folded overall shape), determined largely by attraction between oppositely charged groups (and repulsion between like charged groups) on amino-acid side chains and especially by hydrogen bonding. The tertiary structure, which can be globular or sheetlike with ridges, crevices, or pockets, often holds the key to a protein's biological activity. Proteins can serve, e.g., as structural material (as in connective tissue and hair; collagen; keratin), as enzymes and hormones, as transporters of essential substances such as oxygen ( hemoglobin), as antibodies, or as regulators of gene expression. Some proteins are simple (amino acids only), some conjugated ( conjugation) to other groups, often vitamins or metal atoms needed in tiny amounts in the diet ( coenzyme; cofactor). Rhodopsin and hemoglobin are conjugated proteins. Proteins may be covalently linked to other atoms or molecules, as to sugars (glycoproteins), phosphate groups (phosphoproteins), or sulfur (sulfoproteins). Proteins are an essential human nutrient, obtained from both plant and animal foods. Their greatest commercial use is in food products; they are also employed in adhesives, plastics, and fibres.

For more information on protein, visit Britannica.com.

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/protein#ixzz2Onyzepj1