Glutamic acid (abbreviated as Glu or E) is one of the 20 proteinogenic amino acids, and its codons are GAA and GAG. It is a non-essential amino acid. The carboxylate anions and salts of glutamic acid are known as glutamates.
Glutamate is a key molecule in cellular metabolism. In humans, dietary proteins are broken down by digestion into amino acids, which serves as metabolic fuel for other functional roles in the body. A key process in amino acid degradation is transamination, in which the amino group of an amino acid is transferred to an α-ketoacid, typically catalysed by a transaminase.
| Product name | glutamic acid |
| Molecular formula | C5H9NO4 |
| Molar mass | 147.13 g mol−1 |
| Structure and properties |
n, εr, etc. |
| Thermodynamic data | Phase behaviour Solid, liquid, gas |
| Spectral data | UV, IR, NMR, MS |