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Phenylalanine has been around as long as life itself, if not longer. It's not something that someone invented one day. It's like oxygen: no one invented it, it's been here as long as anyone can remember, and far longer! J. Heinrich Matthaei and Marshall W. Nirenberg figured out a way to make a bacterium produce long chains of phenylalanine molecules in 1961.
Definition. Phenylketonuria (fen-ul-ke-toe-NU-re-uh), also called PKU, is a rare inherited disorder that causes an amino acid called phenylalanine to build up in your body. PKU is caused by a defect in the gene that helps create the enzyme needed to break down phenylalanine.Without the enzyme necessary to process phenylalanine, a dangerous buildup can develop when a person with PKU eats foods that are high in protein. This can eventually lead to serious health problems.or the rest of their lives, people with PKU â babies, children and adults â need to follow a diet that limits phenylalanine, which is found mostly in foods that contain protein. Babies in the United States and many other countries are screened for PKU soon after birth.