Consider the following statements regarding the molecules obtained from the complete acidic hydrolysis of naturally occurring proteins: I. They are exclusively -amino acids. II. All of the obtained amino acids are optically active. III. The chiral amino acids obtained belong to the L-series. Which of the given statements are correct?

Step-by-step solution

Statement I is correct: Naturally occurring proteins are polymers of -amino acids, so their complete hydrolysis yields exclusively -amino acids. Statement II is incorrect: Glycine ( H ₂ N - CH ₂- COOH ) is one of the amino acids obtained from proteins, but it is achiral (since the -carbon is attached to two identical hydrogen atoms) and therefore optically inactive. Statement III is correct: All naturally occurring chiral amino acids found in proteins belong to the L-series (having the - NH ₂ group on the left in t