Original Article of Special Report : Proceeding of the 31st Symposium on Arid Land Technology
The various applications of 5-Aminolevulinic acid (ALA)
2018 Volume 28 Issue 2 Pages 66-72
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2018 Volume 28 Issue 2 Pages 66-72
5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) is a natural amino acid biosynthesized universally by every organism. ALA is a precursor of tetrapyrrole such as heme and chlorophyll. Since tetrapyrrole plays a basic role in biological energy production, ALA is called ‘The source of life’. Physiological effects of ALA in an organism were discovered initially in agricultural research. Recently, applications of ALA in medical and healthcare fields are also making a great progress. In this review, we introduce the current state of the research and applications of ALA in various fields.
