Table of Contents
Is uric acid soluble?
Water
Uric acid/Soluble in
Uric acid is a purine derivative and an oxidative metabolic product of purine nucleotides in humans and other carnivorous animals. It is a weak acid with a pKa of 5.6 and is sparingly soluble in water.
How is uric acid different from urate?
At physiologic pH, uric acid is a weak acid with a pKα of 5.8. Uric acid exists majorly as urate, the salt of uric acid. As urate concentration increases in blood, uric acid crystal formation increases.
What is the significance of uric acid?
As an important physiological antioxidant, uric acid (UA), mainly as the urate in human body, can scavenge free oxygen radicals and interact other antioxidant systems.
What is uric acid and how is it formed?
Uric acid is a chemical created when the body breaks down substances called purines. Purines are normally produced in the body and are also found in some foods and drinks. Foods with high content of purines include liver, anchovies, mackerel, dried beans and peas, and beer.
How is uric acid excreted?
Approximately two-thirds of uric acid is excreted by the kidneys, while the remaining one-third is excreted by intestinal uricolysis [2]. The renal proximal tubule is responsible for almost all renal urate transport and is where urate re-absorption primarily occurs [3].
Is uric acid soluble in plasma?
Protein-bound uric acid shows plasma solubility that is 70\% higher than in its free state [16].
Are uric acid and urea the same?
Mammals such as humans excrete urea, while birds, reptiles, and some terrestrial invertebrates produce uric acid as waste. Uricothelic organisms tend to excrete uric acid waste in the form of a white paste or powder. Conversion of ammonia into uric acid is more energy intensive than the conversion of ammonia into urea.
Why uric acid is excreted in urine?
Uric acid excretion is involved in calcium and also uric acid stone formation. Uric acid is an end product of purine metabolism, and dietary restriction of purines and animal protein will reduce its urinary excretion.
Where is uric acid reabsorbed in the nephron?
proximal convoluted tubule
Urate is freely filtered at the glomerulus. An active anion-exchange process in the early proximal convoluted tubule reabsorbs most of it. Most urinary uric acid appears to be derived from tubular secretion, possibly from the S2 segment of the proximal tubule.
How does purine become uric acid?
Diet high in purines Purines are natural chemical components of DNA and RNA. When your body breaks them down, they turn into uric acid.
Is uric acid secreted?
Renal excretion of uric acid represents approximately 60–70\% of total uric acid excretion from the body (6, 7). A smaller proportion of uric acid is secreted in the intestine, and is further metabolized by resident gut bacteria in a process termed intestinal uricolysis (7).
Does uric acid come out poop?
Uric acid is produced from the natural breakdown of your body’s cells and from the foods you eat. Most of the uric acid is filtered out by the kidneys and passes out of the body in urine. A small amount passes out of the body in stool.