There are different classes when it comes to the construction of Amino acids goes. It should be noted that all amino acids contain at least two carbon atoms. The carbon atom on which the amino group is located ultimately determines the amino acid class.

Here are listed the different class of amino acids:

Alpha-amino acid: The so-called alpha-amino acids are found most frequently in nature. In this amino acid, the amino group is bonded to the second carbon atom, which in turn is closest to the carboxyl group.

The special thing about this class of amino acids is that the human body can only use the alpha amino acids meaningfully, such as for building proteins. The simplest representative of the alpha amino acids is Glycine. When talking about amino acids, one usually always refers to alpha amino acids.

Beta-amino acid: The amino group of the beta amino acid, on the other hand, is located on the third carbon atom. The simplest representative here is beta-alanine. However, beta amino acids are relatively rare. Among other things, they are occasionally found in antibiotics.

Gamma amino acid: The amino group of the gamma-amino acid, in turn, is located at the fourth carbon atom with the simplest representative, the gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA)