AMINO ACIDS

Amino acids are molecules that contain a basic amino (NH2) group, an acidic carboxyl (COOH) group, and a side chain attached to an alpha carbon atom.

Amino acids are very important to life as they make up 75% of the human body.  They are essential to nearly every bodily function, and contain many functions in metabolism.  One particularly important function is to serve as the building blocks of proteins, which are linear chains of amino acids.  Amino acids can be linked together in varying sequences to form a vast variety of proteins. The sequences of amino acids in a protein are determined by the genetic code in the DNA. Every chemical reaction that takes place in your body depends on amino acids and the proteins that they build.

The 20 amino acids that are found within proteins convey a vast array of chemical versatility. The 20 amino acids are alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, and valine. The essential amino acids must be ingested every day.  Failure to get enough of even one of the 10 essential amino acids can result in protein degradation. The human body simply does not store amino acids for later use, as it does with fats and starches.

Dr. Burzynski discovered naturally occurring peptides and amino acid derivatives in the human body that control cancer, not by destroying cancer cells but by correcting them. He observed that cancer patients typically had deficiency of certain peptides in their blood as compared to healthy individuals.  He named these substances antineoplastons. Chemically, the Antineoplastons include peptides, amino acid derivatives and organic acids. They occur naturally in blood and urine, and they are reproduced synthetically for medicinal use. The name of Antineoplastons comes from their functions in controlling neoplastic, or cancerous, cells (anti-neoplastic cells agents).