Glycine is another nonessential amino acid, vital in the body’s construction of proteins. First isolated in 1820, glycine is the simplest of all 22 naturally-occurring amino acids. In comparison to the other amino acids, glycine remains the second most common amino acid found in both enzymes and proteins. This sweet tasting amino is significant in the synthesis of nucleic acids, bile acids, and other amino acids in the human body.

Physiologically, glycine (like GABA and glutamic acid) acts as an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain and spinal cord. It also plays important roles in the process of prevention for muscular degeneration, improvement of glycogen storage, and for the reparation of damaged tissues located throughout the body. An important amino acid, glycine will be synthesized and converted from serine and threonine to fulfill its physiological processes, if needed.