Valine facts

• Valine is an essential amino acid
• Valine functions as a building block of protein in the body
• Valine is part of the 3-branched chain amino acids
• Valine is similar structurally to isoleucine and leucine

Valine is an essential amino acid. This means the body cannot make it at all, or not in sufficient amounts for good health and it needs to be eaten as part of the diet every day.

Valine, just like all the other amino acids, is one of the building blocks of all proteins in the body, which not only include muscles, but also all the other proteins required for normal function of the body.

Valine is part of the three-branched chain amino acid (BCAA), the other two amino acids in this chain are isoleucine and leucine.

Both isoleucine and leucine are also similar to valine. Leucine is almost identical to isoleucine, having the same chemical composition, but a different arrangement of atoms, resulting in different properties and a different amino acid.