Amino acid
Amino acids are organic compounds containing amine (-NH) and carboxyl (-COOH) functional groups, along with a side chain (R group) specific to each amino acid. The key elements of an amino acid are carbon (C), hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), and nitrogen (N), although other elements are found in the side chains of certain amino acids. About 500 naturally occurring amino acids are known (though only 20 appear in the genetic code) and can be classified in many ways. They can be classified according to the core structural functional groups' locations as alpha- (α-), beta- (β-), gamma- (γ-) or delta- (δ-) amino acids; other categories relate to polarity, pH level, and side chain group type (aliphatic, acyclic, aromatic, containing hydroxyl or sulfur, etc.). In the form of proteins, amino acid residues form the second-largest component (water is the largest) of human muscles and other tissues. Beyond their role as residues in proteins, amino acids participate in a number of processes such as neurotransmitter transport and biosynthesis.
Ribera Alta (comarca)
The orange is the fruit of the citrus sinensis or aurantium, a tree that first appeared in China and other southern areas of the Asian continent. The fruit made its way from the Far East to the European continent, reaching Spain, through Valencia, and spreading throughout the rest of the world. In Greek mythology the "Garden of the Hesperides" is a mythological grove where apples grew tended to by nymphs and a dragon. Hercules, the hero of classical literature, killed the guardian, entered the garden and plucked those golden apples –In later years it was thought that the "golden apples" might have actually been oranges, a fruit unknown to Europe before the Middle Ages. Several scholars defend that the etymology of the word comes from the Sanskrit term narang and the Persian word narensh. When Arabs brought orange farming to the Iberian Peninsula, they called the fruits naranjah. The Region of Valencia maintained the orange-farming tradition after the Arabic period, with references to orange trees in the city of Valencia dating back to the 14th century. In fact, there is an Orange Courtyard inside Valencia’s 15th century Silk Exchange market "(La Llotja de la Seda)", a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The first references to commercial orange plantations date back to the 18th century. At present, there are approximately 150,000 hectares of orange groves in the Region of Valencia producing orange and mandarin varieties including satsumas, clementines, navel oranges, common oranges, blood oranges, and hybrids, as the most important specimens