Carbon is an extraordinary element. It occurs in more different forms than any other element in the periodic table. The periodic table is a chart that shows how chemical elements are related to each other. More than ten million compounds of carbon are known. No other element, except for hydrogen, occurs in even a fraction of that number of compounds. As an element, carbon occurs in a striking variety of forms. Coal, soot, and diamonds are all nearly pure forms of carbon. Carbon also occurs in a form, discovered only recently, known as fullerenes or buckyballs. Buckyball carbon holds the promise for opening a whole new field of chemistry (see accompanying sidebar).
A branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) is an amino acid having aliphatic side-chains with a branch (a central carbon atom bound to three or more carbon atoms).Among the proteinogenic amino acids, there are three BCAAs: leucine, isoleucine and valine.Non-proteinogenic BCAAs include norvaline and 2-aminoisobutyric acid.ietary BCAA supplementation has been used clinically to aid in the recovery of burn victims. A 2006 paper suggests that the concept of nutrition supplemented with all BCAAs for burns, trauma, and sepsis should be abandoned for a more promising leucine-only-supplemented nutrition that requires further evaluation.
While there are plenty of other proposed side effects of BCAA supplementation such as headaches, rashes, diarrhea and tingling, there really isnât any basis to these claims. The only other side effects may be fatigue and loss of motor coordination, but this only occurs in people with pre-existing medical conditions.