L-Serine

L-Serine is the L-enantiomer of 2-amino-3-hydroxypropanoic acid, CAS 56-45-1, molecular formula C3H7NO3 and molecular weight 105.09. It is a small, uncharged polar proteinogenic amino acid that carries a primary hydroxyl group on its side chain, and that hydroxyl is what distinguishes it commercially and analytically from the simpler aliphatic amino acids: it makes the molecule freely water soluble at roughly 425 g/L at 25 degrees C, it gives L-Serine its characteristic dextrorotatory rotation of +13.6 to +16.0 degrees on the dried basis, and it is also the reason the material classifies away from the ordinary amino acid tariff lines. Thovek supplies the material as a white to off-white crystalline powder held to the Ph. Eur. and USP content range of 98.5 to 101.0 percent on the dried substance, with identity confirmed by infrared absorption and by optical rotation against a reference standard. Biochemically, L-Serine is dietarily non-essential in humans, meaning it is formed endogenously from 3-phosphoglycerate through the phosphorylated pathway rather than being required from food. In intermediary metabolism it is the principal donor of one-carbon units to the folate pool through serine hydroxymethyltransferase, and it is the backbone from which phosphatidylserine and the sphingoid bases are assembled, which is why formulators handle it as a precursor material rather than as a bulk protein filler. This is a description of composition and established metabolic function only; Thovek makes no therapeutic or disease claim for the ingredient, and finished-product claims remain the responsibility of the brand owner under the rules of the destination market. Origin is a live commercial question with this particular amino acid, because the Ph. Eur. monograph permits L-Serine obtained either by fermentation or by protein hydrolysis, and the historical hydrolysis route runs on silk sericin, which is an insect-derived protein. Thovek supplies only material made by microbial fermentation of plant-derived glucose or by enzymatic synthesis from glycine and methanol, so the product is vegan and vegetarian suitable and carries no animal, bovine, porcine or marine input. It is free from milk, egg, soy, fish, crustacean, gluten, peanut and tree nut. Buyers cross-referencing offers from other sources should confirm the route explicitly, since a hydrolysate-derived lot would change the vegan and allergen declaration on their own label. Full documentation travels with every shipment: batch CoA, MSDS, allergen and origin statement, non-GMO declaration, and Kosher and Halal certificates where required.