Talk:Phenylalanine

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Widely standardized symbols for the 22 amino acids most relevant in humans

Those with any smattering of biology education will remember that the 22 amino acids that are most important to human biology all have both a 3-letter symbol and a 1-letter symbol, which are well standardized^[1] (see them given, for example, at Essential amino acid § Essentiality in humans). Someone recently pointed out in an edit summary that the 1-letter symbols overlap with the chemical element symbols. Yes, that is of course true, but it doesn't mean that biologists don't use the 1-letter symbols or have a movement afoot to stop using them; the key is that they use them within the context of discussions where the meaning is clear, namely, in presenting long protein sequences.^[2] Another edit summary pointed out that the symbol F is not an abbreviation. Yes, that is of course true; all 22 of the 1-letter symbols are just that, symbols, not abbreviations, although most of them reflect the initial of the name of the amino acid (which even F does, echoing φ/ph). Both of those facts are also true of the chemical element symbols. Quercus solaris (talk) 23:29, 5 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

References

^ "Nomenclature and Symbolism for Amino Acids and Peptides". IUPAC-IUB Joint Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature. 1983. Archived from the original on 9 October 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ "Nomenclature and Symbolism for Amino Acids and Peptides: Part 2, Section B: The One-Letter System". IUPAC-IUB Joint Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature. 1983. Retrieved 5 March 2018.

Difference between Phenylalanine and L-Phenylalanine

What's the difference?-- The article doesn't mention it. It just casually starts talking about L-Phenylalanine without mentioning any difference at all, or if there even is one. And all the "L-..." does is redirect here with no explanation.

This is significant, as whenever I'm shopping for the drug, only L-Phenylalanine is mentioned, never Phenylalanine -- so the "L-" version seems like the only one being sold to the public. I'd personally appreciate knowing the difference by reading it in the article, otherwise I won't know what I'm buying. 2600:1002:B00F:C12F:251F:CE4D:D354:3965 (talk) 10:39, 5 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Hi IP-user,

The article does mention the difference, starting with words "The stereoisomer D-phenylalanine (DPA) can be produced by..." i.d. the difference is in stereoisomerism. Tosha Langue (talk) 03:07, 29 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

[1] "Nomenclature and Symbolism for Amino Acids and Peptides". IUPAC-IUB Joint Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature. 1983. Archived from the original on 9 October 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

[2] "Nomenclature and Symbolism for Amino Acids and Peptides: Part 2, Section B: The One-Letter System". IUPAC-IUB Joint Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature. 1983. Retrieved 5 March 2018.

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