| ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷+ noun
Etymology: International Scientific Vocabulary phenyl + alanine
: a crystalline alpha-amino acid C 6 H 5 CH 2 CH(NH 2 )COOH that is obtained in its levorotatory l form by the hydrolysis of proteins (as lactalbumin), that is essential in the nutrition of man and lower animals, and that is converted in the normal body to tyrosine; α-amino-beta-phenyl-propionic acid — compare phenylketonuria , phenylpyruvic acid