α-Aminoadipic acid has a stereogenic center and can appear in two enantiomers, L-α-aminoadipate and D-α-aminoadipate.

The L-enantiomer appears during lysine biosynthesis and degradation, whereas the D-enantiomer is a part of certain antibiotics.

[2] Allysine is oxidized by aminoadipate-semialdehyde dehydrogenase:[2] α-Aminoadipate is then transaminated with α-ketoglutarate to give α-ketoadipate and glutamate, respectively, by the action of 2-aminoadipate transaminase:[2] α-Aminoadipate appears during biosynthesis of lysine in several yeast species, fungi, and certain protists.

[3][4][5][6] During this pathway, which is named after α-aminoadipate, the same steps are repeated in the opposite order as in the degradation reactions, namely, α-ketoadipate is transaminated to α-aminoadipate, which is then reduced to allysine, allysine couples with glutamate to give saccharopine, which is then cleaved to give lysine.

[7] A 2013 study identified α-aminoadipate as a novel predictor of the development of diabetes and suggested that it is a potential modulator of glucose homeostasis in humans.