Leucine ((s)-2-Amino-4-methylpentanoic acid) is a non-polar, alpha-amino acid. It is a branched-chain amino acid with an isobutyl sidechain.

Leucine is an essential amino acid for humans. It is one of the strictly ketogenic amino acids and plays a role in protein synthesis, glucose consumption and regulation of energy balance.

In plants, leucine-rich repeat proteins confer protection from plant pathogens. Maize protein, soy protein and pea protein are among plant protein sources of leucine.

Leucine is an approved flavour enhancer in food formulations indicated by E641. Dietary supplementation of leucine is deemed useful for improving muscle mass and athletic performance. In the elderly, a leucine-rich diet is implicated in preventing age-related muscle loss.

Commercially, leucine is produced by animal/plant protein hydrolysis. Microbial fermentation using Corynebacterium glutamicum strain is also a promising method for commercial level production of leucine.

Leucine was reported as one of the predominant essential amino acids in some red algal species.

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Analysis Packages for Leucine

The Celignis Analysis Package(s) that determine this constituent are listed below:

P17   Biomass Amino Acids
Alanine, Arginine, Aspartic Acid, Cystine, Glutamic Acid, Glycine, Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Proline, Serine, Threonine, Tyrosine, Valine Further Details

P72   Seaweed Amino Acids
Alanine, Arginine, Aspartic Acid, Cystine, Glutamic Acid, Glycine, Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Proline, Serine, Threonine, Tyrosine, Valine Further Details

Equipment Used for Leucine Analysis

Additional Material

We can determine the Leucine content of biomass, click here to learn more about our various biomass analysis methods.

We can determine the Leucine content of seaweed, click here to learn more about our various methods for analysing seaweed.