Fish Nutrition & Feed Technology

Unit 3 - Proteins and Amino acids

3.2.Structure and Composition

Proteins are very complex organic compounds of high molecular weight. In common with carbohydrates and lipids, they contain carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O), but in addition also contain about 16 % nitrogen (range 12–19%), and sometimes phosphorus (P) and sulphur (S).

Proteins are complex, organic compounds composed of many amino acids linked together through peptide bonds and cross-linked between chains by sulfhydryl bonds, hydrogen bonds and Van der Waals forces. There is a greater diversity of chemical composition in proteins than in any other group of biologically active compounds. The proteins in the various animal and plant cells confer their biological specificity on these tissues.