L-leucine
Sign in to savethumb|Leucine ball and stick model spinning Leucine or leucin (symbol Leu or L) is an essential amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. Leucine is an α-amino acid, meaning it contains an α-amino group (which is in the protonated −NH3+ form under biological conditions), an α-carboxylic acid group (which is in the deprotonated −COO− form under biological conditions), and a side chain isobutyl group, making it a non-polar aliphatic amino acid. It is essential in humans, meaning the body cannot synthesize it; it must be obtained from the diet. Human dietary sources are foods that
AI overview
L-leucine is an essential amino acid—a building block that your body uses to make proteins but cannot produce on its own, so you must get it from food. Because your body cannot synthesize it, obtaining leucine through your diet is necessary for proper protein biosynthesis and other biological functions.
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Research
99,886 papers- N-Acetyl-l-Leucine and Neurodegenerative Disease.The New England journal of medicine · 2024
- Therapeutic potential of acetyl-DL-leucine and its L-enantiomer in posterior fossa syndrome: Mechanistic insights.Drug discovery today · 2025
- Metabolic engineering of l-leucine production in Escherichia coli and Corynebacterium glutamicum: a review.Critical reviews in biotechnology · 2019
- L-leucine promotes axonal outgrowth and regeneration via mTOR activation.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2021
- Does L-leucine supplementation cause any effect on glucose homeostasis in rodent models of glucose intolerance? A systematic review.Amino acids · 2018
via PubMed
Article
14 sectionsContents
- Dietary leucine
- Requirements
- Sources {{Anchor|Dietary sources}}
- Health effects
- Safety
- Pharmacology
- Pharmacodynamics
- Metabolism in humans
- Synthesis in nonhuman organisms
- Chemistry
- See also
- Notes
- References
- External links
thumb|Leucine ball and stick model spinning Leucine or leucin (symbol Leu or L) is an essential amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. Leucine is an α-amino acid, meaning it contains an α-amino group (which is in the protonated −NH3+ form under biological conditions), an α-carboxylic acid group (which is in the deprotonated −COO− form under biological conditions), and a side chain isobutyl group, making it a non-polar aliphatic amino acid. It is essential in humans, meaning the body cannot synthesize it; it must be obtained from the diet. Human dietary sources are foods that contain protein, such as meats, dairy products, soy products, and beans and other legumes. It is encoded by the codons UUA, UUG, CUU, CUC, CUA, and CUG. Leucine is named after the Greek word for 'white': λευκός (leukós 'white'), after its common appearance as a white powder, a property it shares with many other amino acids.
Like valine and isoleucine, leucine is a branched-chain amino acid. The primary metabolic end products of leucine metabolism are acetyl-CoA and acetoacetate; consequently, it is one of the two exclusively ketogenic amino acids, with lysine being the other. It is the most important ketogenic amino acid in humans.