Norvaline (abbreviated as Nva) is an

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although over 500 amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the 22 α-amino acids incorporated into proteins. Only these 22 a ...

with the formula CH₃(CH₂)₂CH(NH₂)CO₂H. The compound is a

structural analog A structural analog, also known as a chemical analog or simply an analog, is a chemical compound, compound having a chemical structure, structure similar to that of another compound, but differing from it in respect to a certain component. It can ...

valeric acid Valeric acid or pentanoic acid is a straight-chain alkyl carboxylic acid with the chemical formula . Like other low-molecular-weight carboxylic acids, it has an unpleasant odor. It is found in the perennial flowering plant '' Valeriana offici ...

and also an

isomer In chemistry, isomers are molecules or polyatomic ions with identical molecular formula – that is, the same number of atoms of each element (chemistry), element – but distinct arrangements of atoms in space. ''Isomerism'' refers to the exi ...

of the more common amino acid

valine Valine (symbol Val or V) is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. 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 deproton ...

. Like most other

α-amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although over 500 amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the 22 α-amino acids incorporated into proteins. Only these 22 a ...

s, norvaline is

chiral Chirality () is a property of asymmetry important in several branches of science. The word ''chirality'' is derived from the Greek language, Greek (''kheir''), "hand", a familiar chiral object. An object or a system is ''chiral'' if it is dist ...

. It is a white, water-soluble solid.

Occurrence

Norvaline is a non-proteinogenic unbranched-chain amino acid. It has previously been reported to be a natural component of an antifungal peptide of ''

Bacillus subtilis ''Bacillus subtilis'' (), known also as the hay bacillus or grass bacillus, is a gram-positive, catalase-positive bacterium, found in soil and the gastrointestinal tract of ruminants, humans and marine sponges. As a member of the genus ''Bacill ...

''. Norvaline and other modified unbranched chain amino acids have received attention because they appear to be incorporated in some recombinant proteins found in ''

E. coli ''Escherichia coli'' ( )Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. is a gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escherichia'' that is commonly foun ...

''. Its

biosynthesis Biosynthesis, i.e., chemical synthesis occurring in biological contexts, is a term most often referring to multi-step, enzyme-Catalysis, catalyzed processes where chemical substances absorbed as nutrients (or previously converted through biosynthe ...

has been examined. The incorporation of Nva into peptides reflects the imperfect selectivity of the associated

aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase An aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (aaRS or ARS), also called tRNA-ligase, is an enzyme that attaches the appropriate amino acid onto its corresponding tRNA. It does so by catalyzing the transesterification of a specific cognate amino acid or its pre ...

. In

Miller–Urey experiment The Miller–Urey experiment, or Miller experiment, was an experiment in chemical synthesis carried out in 1952 that simulated the conditions thought at the time to be present in the Prebiotic atmosphere, atmosphere of the early, prebiotic Earth ...

s probing prebiotic synthesis of amino acids, norvaline, but also

norleucine Norleucine (abbreviated as Nle) is an amino acid with the formula CH3(CH2)3CH(NH2)CO2H. A systematic name for this compound is 2-aminohexanoic acid. The compound is an isomer of the more common amino acid leucine. Like most other α-amino acids, ...

, are produced.

Nomenclature

Norvaline and

(one hydrocarbon group longer) both possess the nor- prefix for historical reason, despite current conventional usage of the prefix to denote a missing hydrocarbon group (under which they would theoretically be called "dihomoalanine" and "trihomoalanine"). The name is not systematic, and the IUPAC/IUB Joint Commission on Nomenclature recommends that this name should be abandoned and the systematic name should be used.

Potential uses

Norvaline is used as a dietary supplement for bodybuilding. Recently, it was suggested in the treatment of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

.Polis, B., Srikanth, K. D., Gurevich, V., Gil-Henn, H., & Samson, A. O. (2019). L-Norvaline, a new therapeutic agent against Alzheimer’s disease. Neural regeneration research, 14(9), 1562.

References

{{Non-proteinogenic amino acids Alpha-Amino acids Biochemistry Non-proteinogenic amino acids