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Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid, which means that it is essential to human health but cannot be manufactured by the body. For this reason, phenylalanine must be obtained from food. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. It is available in three chemical forms: L-phenylalanine, the natural form of phenylalanine found in proteins throughout the body; (2) D-phenylalanine, a mirror image of L-phenylalanine that is synthesized in a laboratory; and (3) DL-phenylalanine, a combination of the previous two forms.

The body converts phenylalanine into tyrosine, another amino acid essential for making proteins, certain brain chemicals, and thyroid hormones. Symptoms of phenylalanine deficiency include confusion, lack of energy, decreased alertness, decreased memory, and diminished appetite.

On the other hand, a rare metabolic disorder called phenylketonuria (PKU) occurs in people who are missing an enzyme that is needed to properly metabolize phenylalanine. Symptoms of PKU, which tend to appear between three and six months of age, include eczema, developmental delay, an abnormally small head, and hyperactivity. If it is not treated before three weeks of age, PKU can cause severe, irreversible mental retardation. In the United States, newborns are tested for PKU during the first 48 to 72 hours of life.

People with PKU must eat a phenylalanine-restricted, tyrosine-supplemented diet to have optimum brain development and growth. Rarely, over-restriction of phenylalanine in the diet can lead to deficiency of this amino acid, with the same symptoms described above.

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