What Is L-Threonine?
Threonine was the 20th amino acid discovered and is the last essential amino acid discovered.
In 1935, W.C. Rose and Mccoy isolated and identified it from fibrin hydrolyzate (cheese).
In 1936, Meger studied its spatial structure. Because its structure is similar to threose, it was named Threonine.
There are four isomers of Threonine. This amino acid occurs naturally and has physiological effects; it is an essential human amino acid. Since Threonine is an essential amino acid, it is an amino acid that the human body cannot synthesize but is very needed, requiring external supplementation. Being an essential amino acid means getting it from your diet. In fact, as long as you maintain a balanced and healthy diet, you are unlikely to be deficient in this amino acid. However, strict vegetarians should consider taking appropriate supplements since meat is the best food source, and grains contain smaller amounts of Threonine.
The main food sources of Threonine in nature include fermented foods (grain products), dairy products, meat, cereals, mushrooms, green leafy vegetables, eggs, chrysanthemum, peanuts, rice, carrots, papaya, alfalfa, etc. Foods with high threonine content include animal liver, brain marrow, meat, eggs, mushrooms, and Ganoderma lucidum.
L-Threonine Benefits
L Threonine is one of the essential amino acids for the human body and an important component of body protein. A lack of Threonine can cause emotional agitation, mental confusion, digestive difficulties, loss of appetite, weight loss, fatty liver, testicular atrophy, and anterior pituitary gland. Symptoms include staining changes in leaf cells, fatty liver, and effects on bone development.
- Supplement with Threonine can support the body in maintaining protein balance.
- It can work for the formation of collagen and elastin.
- Threonine can fight fatty liver when combined with aspartic acid and methionine.
- Threonine is found in the heart, central nervous system, and skeletal muscles and prevents fat accumulation in the liver.
- It boosts the immune system by promoting the production of antibodies.
5 Major Fields Of L-Threonine Applications
L-threonine can be widely used in medicine, nutritional health care, food fortifiers, feed additives, beauty and daily chemicals, and other fields.
Nutritional Supplements
- Threonine is an important food fortifier. Added to food, it can improve the nutritional value of protein and strengthen cereals, pastries, and dairy products.
- Like tryptophan, it can restore human body fatigue, promote growth and development, and make food nutrients more adequate and reasonable.
- The co-heating of Threonine and glucose can produce caramel and chocolate aromas with a flavoring effect.
- Together with other amino acids, it is used to fortify cereals, pastries, infant foods, and milk to play an antioxidant role.
Feed Nutritional Supplements
The four major feed additives are Threonine, lysine, methionine, and tryptophan. In recent years, feed additives using Threonine powder have grown rapidly. It is often added to the feed of immature piglets and poultry. It also is the second limiting amino acid in pig feed and the third in poultry feed.
In addition to L-lysine, cereal protein needs to be supplemented with L-threonine. Although L-threonine’s content is relatively high, the combination of Threonine and peptides in the protein is difficult to hydrolyze and is not easy to digest and absorb.
Adding L-threonine to feeds based on wheat, barley, and other grains has the following characteristics.
- It can improve the biological value of feed protein, adjust the amino acid balance of feed, and promote the growth of livestock.
- It can promote protein deposition and improve meat quality.
- It can improve the nutritional value of feeds with low amino acid digestibility.
- It can reduce animal ammonia excretion, reduce environmental pollution, improve feeding conditions, and reduce feed raw material costs.
So, it has been widely used in the feed industry in EU countries, mainly in Germany, Belgium, Denmark, and American countries.
Pharmaceutical Industry
Because the structure of Threonine contains hydroxyl groups, it has a water-holding effect on human skin. Combined with oligosaccharide chains, it plays an important role in protecting cell membranes. It can promote phospholipid synthesis and fatty acid oxidation in the body.
Iron salt of Threonine can be used as an anti-anemia drug. It also has the medicinal effects of promoting human development and anti-fatty liver and is also an intermediate for producing highly effective antibiotic monomycin.
Threonine improves immunity and promotes the differentiation and development of bone marrow T lymphocyte precursors into mature T lymphocytes.
The hydroxyl group of Threonine in membrane proteins can combine with oligosaccharides to protect the cell membrane. Threonine is metabolized to form glycine, providing a one-carbon unit.
It can be used for the adjuvant treatment of peptic ulcers. It can also treat anemia and cardiovascular diseases such as angina pectoris, aortitis, and cardiac insufficiency.
Threonine is also a raw material for manufacturing highly effective and hypoallergenic antibiotics – monomycins.
Nutritional Infusion
Threonine is widely used to prepare amino acid infusions and comprehensive amino acid preparations. It is the main component of 11, 14, 17, 18, and 20 kinds of amino acid infusion. Used for auxiliary treatment before and after surgery, trauma, burns, fractures, malnutrition, and chronic wasting diseases.
Beauty Products
Threonine has a water-holding and moisturizing effect on human skin. The structure of Threonine contains hydroxyl groups, which can retain water and moisturize human skin by hydrating hydrogen bonds.
Threonine helps maintain proper balance in the body. It helps the formation of collagen and elastin to strengthen the skin structure.
The hydroxyl group of Threonine in membrane proteins can combine with oligosaccharide chains, playing an important role in protecting cell membranes. It can promote phospholipid synthesis and fatty acid oxidation in the body.
In addition to the above five major application fields, Threonine is also used in biochemical research and tissue culture media preparation.
Market Prospects: How Does Threonine Powder Apply In The Future?
Due to the wide application of Threonine, the demand for Threonine in the international market continues to grow steadily. It is one of the amino acid species with the fastest growing demand, especially in chemistry and biochemistry, food additives, feed additives, etc. The dosage is growing rapidly. It has largely replaced tryptophan and become the third most rapidly developing amino acid after lysine and methionine.
Conclusion
- Name: L-Threonine
- Abbreviation: Thr or T
- Other names: β-hydroxy-α-aminobutyric acid, L-hydroxybutyric acid, (2S,3R)-2-amino-3-hydroxybutyric acid, L-α-amino-β-hydroxybutyric acid, L-isobutyric acid red seaweed amino acid
- Category: Essential amino acids
- Chemical formula: C4H9NO3
- Molecular weight: 119.12 g/mol
- CAS number: 72-19-5
- Melting point: 253°C
- Water solubility: Easily soluble in water (200g/L, 25℃), insoluble in methanol, ethanol, ether, and chloroform.
- Density (g/mL, 25/4℃): 1.307
- PH value at room temperature: 5.0-6.5, pH value at an isoelectric point is 5.64.
- Properties: White orthorhombic or crystalline powder. It is an odorless, slightly sweet taste.
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