Given below are two statements.
Statement I: Arginine and Tryptophan are essential amino acids.
Statement II: Glycine does not have any chiral carbon.
In the light of the above statements, which is the correct option?
Correct Answer :
Both statement-I and statement-II are correct
Solution :
To determine the correct option, let us analyze both statements step-by-step:
Analysis of Statement I:
Essential amino acids are those that the human body cannot synthesize on its own (or in sufficient quantities) to meet its physiological needs, meaning they must be obtained through the diet. The ten essential amino acids are:
Arginine, Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan, and Valine.
Since both Arginine and Tryptophan belong to this category, Statement I is correct.
Analysis of Statement II:
A carbon atom is defined as chiral (or asymmetric) when it is covalently bonded to four different chemical groups. The chemical structure of Glycine, the simplest amino acid, is:
H2N-CH2-COOH
In Glycine, the central alpha-carbon is bonded to:
1. An amino group (-NH2)
2. A carboxyl group (-COOH)
3. A hydrogen atom (-H)
4. Another hydrogen atom (-H)
Because the alpha-carbon is bonded to two identical hydrogen atoms, it does not have four different groups attached to it. Therefore, glycine does not contain a chiral carbon atom and is the only optically inactive naturally occurring amino acid. Thus, Statement II is correct.
Conclusion:
Since both Statement I and Statement II are correct, the correct choice is: Both statement-I and statement-II are correct.
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