Disorders of Phenylalanine-Tyrosine Metabolism
Phenylalanine is an amino acid that must be obtained from the diet. It is needed to make tyrosine, an important substance from which the skin pigment melanin, the thyroid hormone thyroxine, and the neurotransmitters catecholamines are made. It is also degraded by conversion to homogentisic acid. The normal phenylalanine-tyrosine metabolic pathway is as follows: Phenylalanine … Disorders of Phenylalanine-Tyrosine Metabolism