An amino acid found abundantly in asparagus and other plants; one of the first amino acids to be discovered and isolated.
From 'asparagus' + '-in' (chemical suffix). Asparagin was first discovered in 1806 by French chemist Louis-Nicolas Vauquelin, isolated from asparagus juice by crystallization.
Asparagin is the reason why eating asparagus makes your urine smell distinctive—your body breaks it down and the sulfur compounds are what create that unmistakable odor. This little-known amino acid became a famous example that not all vegetables treat our bodies the same way.
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