Oxytocin-sold under the trade name pitocin, is a naturally occurring hormone is a nonapeptide which is used to stimulate uterine contraction. It contain number of amide functional groups. How many are `2^(@)` - amides in oxytocin.

Explanation

To determine the number of secondary amides in oxytocin, we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Understand the Structure of Oxytocin
Oxytocin is a nonapeptide, which means it consists of nine amino acids linked together by peptide bonds. Each peptide bond can be considered as an amide functional group.

**Hint:** Recall that a peptide bond is formed between the carboxyl group of one amino acid and the amino group of another, resulting in an amide linkage.

### Step 2: Identify the Types of Amides
In the context of peptides, amides can be classified as:
- **Primary Amides:** These have one carbon atom attached to the nitrogen atom.
- **Secondary Amides:** These have two carbon atoms attached to the nitrogen atom.
- **Tertiary Amides:** These have three carbon atoms attached to the nitrogen atom.

In oxytocin, the peptide bonds formed between the amino acids will generally be classified as secondary amides, as they involve the nitrogen of the amino group being bonded to two carbon atoms (one from the amino acid before and one from the amino acid after).

**Hint:** Remember that the classification of amides depends on the number of carbon atoms attached to the nitrogen atom.

### Step 3: Count the Peptide Linkages
Oxytocin has a total of 9 amino acids, which means there are 8 peptide linkages (since the number of peptide linkages is always one less than the number of amino acids).

**Hint:** To find the number of peptide linkages, subtract one from the total number of amino acids.

### Step 4: Determine the Number of Secondary Amides
Out of the 8 peptide linkages in oxytocin:
- 7 of these are classified as secondary amides.
- 1 of these is classified as a tertiary amide.

**Hint:** Pay attention to the specific classification of each linkage to identify how many are secondary versus tertiary.

### Step 5: Conclusion
Thus, the total number of secondary amides in oxytocin is **7**.

**Final Answer:** The number of secondary amides in oxytocin is 7.