arginines
|ar-gi-nines|
🇺🇸
/ˈɑɹdʒɪˌniːn/
🇬🇧
/ˈɑːdʒɪniːn/
(arginine)
basic (positively charged) amino acid
Etymology
'arginine' originates from German and French scientific usage, specifically the word 'Arginin', where the suffix '-ine' indicated an amine or alkaloid and 'argin-' was adopted from earlier chemical naming for the substance.
'arginine' changed from the German word 'Arginin' (coined in the late 19th century in chemical literature) and eventually became the modern English word 'arginine'.
Initially, the term referred to the isolated white crystalline substance obtained from protein hydrolysates; over time it came to denote the specific amino acid now known as 'arginine' used in biochemistry.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
plural of arginine: an α-amino acid (symbol Arg or R) used in the biosynthesis of proteins; its side chain contains a guanidino group and is positively charged at physiological pH.
Dietary arginines contribute to nitric oxide production and protein synthesis in the body.
Synonyms
Noun 2
plural of arginine as residues: arginine residues within peptides or proteins (often referred to when discussing sequence composition or post-translational modification sites).
Several arginines in the protein's active site are crucial for substrate binding.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/10/12 11:54