asparagine

American  

[uh-spar-uh-jeen, -jin] / əˈspær əˌdʒin, -dʒɪn /

noun

1. a white, crystalline, amino acid, NH 2 COCH 2 CH(NH2 )COOH, soluble in water, obtained from certain plants, especially legumes, and used chiefly as a nutrient in culture media for certain bacteria. Asn; N

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asparagine British  

/ -dʒɪn, əˈspærəˌdʒiːn /

noun

1. a nonessential amino acid, a component of proteins

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asparagine Scientific  

/ ə-spăr′ə-jēn′ /

1. A nonessential amino acid. Chemical formula: C ₄ H ₈ N ₂ O ₃ .

2. See more at amino acid

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Etymology

Origin of asparagine

From French, dating back to 1805–15; see origin at asparagus, -ine ²

Example Sentences

"Mechanistically, we found that this was from low expression of asparagine synthetase, a quality that was distinct from other similar types of leukemia."

From Science Daily • Jan. 9, 2024

Rothamsted Research this month applied for a permit to field test wheat edited to contain less asparagine, an amino acid that becomes the carcinogen acrylamide when baked.

From Science Magazine • May 26, 2021

In this way, unlike its obscure co-workers norepinephrine and asparagine, dopamine has become a celebrity molecule.

From The Guardian • Mar. 4, 2018

It is bruise resistant and contains 50 to 70 percent less asparagine, a chemical that is converted to acrylamide, a presumptive carcinogen, when heated to high temperatures.

From Slate • Feb. 6, 2015

Besides solutions containing ammonium salts and urea, I have succeeded in nitrifying solutions of asparagine, milk, and rape cake.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 470, January 3, 1885 by Various