Excitation of electronic states below 10 eV and resonant vibrational excitation around 2 eV are investigated in gas phase glycine and D-alanine by electron energy loss spectroscopy. Location of singlet states observed between 5 eV and 10 eV is in good agreement with recent calculations. Vibrational excitation concerns mainly the COOH group and CH stretch modes. Structures in (M-H)(-) cross-sections between 1 eV and 2 eV have been revisited. Dips are clearly observed revealing OH stretch excitation, interpreted as cusps due to competition between decay channels of the resonant state. (M-H)(-) anions and vibrational excitation have also been investigated in propanoic acid for comparison. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.