Proteins are the fundamental chemical compounds of the protoplasm indispensable for vital life processes. They are complex, large molecules each containing thousands of atoms. proteins contain nitrogen in addition to carbon, hydrogen and oxygen; they usually also contain phosphorus and sulfur. These compounds are polymers of unit structures called amino acids, represented chemically as:

amino acid
-NH2 is an amino group, - COOH is the carboxyl group, ,and R represents the variable chain forming different amino acids. There are 20 diferent of amino acids. The amino acids differ depending on the nature of the R group. Examples of. amino acids are valine, alanine, glutamic acid, tyrosine and histidine.
Two molecules of amino acids are joined by the
carboxyl group of one ammino acid with the amino group of the other by loss of one molecule of water. This process is called
dehydration synthesis and the bond thus formed between two molecules is referred to as the
peptide or peptide bond.

Formation of dipeptide
Click here to enlarge There are 3 types of proteins namely :
(1)
Simple proteins: like albumins and globulins formed by group of amino acids only.
(2)
Derived proteins: like proteose and peptones which are hydrolytic cleavage products of complex proteins.
(3)
Conjugated proteins: like nucleo proteins (Proteins + nucleic acid), lipoproteins (protein + lipid), or glycoproteins (protein + carbohydrates) which are formed by the combination of proteins with some non-protein molecule. This non-protein portion is called
Prosthetic group.
All living things require protein for survival. In fact an organism is constructed by means of proteins. All living things then, in any form - liquid, solid, or plasma - contain proteins. Protein is also seen as a supporting tissue with main tissue. Bone, tendons, muscle, cartilage, ligaments are all formed of protein.
Enzymes are a specified class of proteins. Enzymes act as catalysts in chemical reactions of the body. They are not used up by the reaction, rather they remain chemically unchanged and available to catalyze succeeding reactions