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Leucine

L-leucine is employed as a pharmaceutical, e.g. as a component of infusion solutions based on amino acids. L-leucine is useful for lowering blood sugar, stimulating protein synthesis in muscle, and wound healing of skin and bone. Additionally, L-leucine stimulates protein synthesis in muscle. A pharmaceutical preparation containing three kinds of branched chain amino acids of isoleucine, leucine and valine as active ingredients is an effective therapeutic agent for liver diseases. Leucine aminopeptidase is a hydrolase that acts on a partially hydrolyzed protein, thereby cleaving a peptide bond at the N-terminus of the protein, and this enzyme plays an important role in producing food products such as seasonings.

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