L-pipecolic acid (L-PA) is the higher homolog of proline. It occurs naturally in
many organisms, including primates, as an intermediate in lysine degradation. The
pathway by which lysine is converted into L-pipecolic acid employs the enzyme Lpipecolate
oxidase (L-PO), and appears to be tissue specific to the central nervous system...
In 1959 Kitagawa discovered and isolated the amino acid,
canavanine. Since its discovery much interest has been centered on
this amino acid because of its biological aspects; e.g. canavanine has
been shown to inhibit the growth of bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and
cancer cells.
The occurrence of canavanine is widespread in...
Independent systems theory has been used to interpret the
circular dichroism (CD) spectra in the vacuum uv of three cyclic
dimers of amino acids. First, the theory for rotational strengths is
developed in terms of degenerate and nondegenerate group functions.
All terms to first order in perturbation theory are kept....