Alanine is a second simplest amino acid molcule of the 19 essential amino acid molecules found in the body.
It is propanoic acid molecule with an amino group on the second carbon in the three carbon chain.
To be classified as an amino acid, the amino group ( -NH2 ) must always be on the carbon adjacent (#2 carbon in the chain) to the carboxylic acid groop: ( -COOH )