Although it is a significant metabolic intermediate, glutamic acid does not need to be consumed as part of one’s diet because it is readily biosynthesized in animals during the metabolism of carbohydrates. Nevertheless, the amino acid commonly occurs in plants. In fact, some plant proteins bear nearly half their body weight as glutamic acid, though 10 to 20 percent is more typical. A significant part of the glutamic acid content in plant proteins derives from glutamine, a highly prevalent amino acid that converts to glutamic acid when protein hydrolyzation takes place.