A nonessential amino acid which is responsible for the synthesis of glycoproteins. Asparagine is a fairly significant amino acid, composing an average of 4.4 percent of most proteins.

structural formula for asparagine:

                 H   H
                  \ /
     O         H   N    O -- H
      \\        \ /    / 
       C -- C -- C -- C
      /    / \         \\      asparagine
H -- N    H   H         O      (C4H8N2O3)
    /
   H