nutrient
Tyrosine
An amino acid made from phenylalanine and used to make specialised molecules.
Educational draft · Human scientific and editorial review pending. About review status
Tyrosine is incorporated into proteins and supplies precursor material for catecholamine, thyroid-hormone and melanin pathways.
How it works
A precursor with several routes
Phenylalanine can be converted to tyrosine. Enzymes then direct tyrosine into separate pathways for catecholamines, thyroid hormones or melanin.
Related topics
Tyrosine is used to build Protein
Tyrosine is one of the amino acids used to assemble proteins.
Evidence: Established · Source checked 2026-09-05 · Sources: NIH National Library of Medicine: Biochemistry, Essential Amino Acids
Worth knowing
The body can make it from phenylalanine. Tyrosine is generally non-essential because phenylalanine can supply it, although the conversion depends on enzyme activity and physiological state.
A closer look
Its pathways are enzyme-directed
The same tyrosine pool can be used for protein synthesis or specialised products, depending on which enzymes are active.
References
Source-checked local draft.
Human editorial review pending.
Take it into the kitchen
Explore this nutrient in simple meals. Recipe pages show estimated amounts and missing data.
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