What is orotic acid used for?
Orotic acid is a drug used to manage uncomplicated liver dysfunction in combination with xanthine.
How orotic acid is formed?
Orotic acid, first discovered in ruminant milk, is an intermediate in the pyrimidine biosynthesis pathway of animal cells. Its synthesis is initiated by the formation of carbamoyl phosphate (CP) in the cytoplasm, with ammonia derived from glutamine.
Where does orotic acid come from?
4.1. 8 Orotic acid (2,6-dioxo-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyrimidine-4-carboxylic acid) Orotic acid (971) has a chequered history. It was isolated in 1905 from the whey of cows’ milk in Italy and it was subsequently synthesized in the United States in 1907.
Is orotic acid soluble in water?
Solubility : Soluble in water (1.7 mg/ml), and ammonium hydroxide.
What is vitamin b13 called?
Individual B vitamin supplements are referred to by the specific number or name of each vitamin, such as B1 for thiamine, B2 for riboflavin, and B3 for niacin, as examples. Some are more commonly recognized by name than by number: niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin and folate.
What causes high levels of orotic acid?
Hereditary orotic aciduria is caused by variations in the uridine monophosphate synthetase (UMPS) gene. Genes provide instructions for creating proteins that play a critical role in many functions of the body. When a mutation of a gene occurs, the protein product may be faulty, inefficient, absent, or overproduced.
What is the role of synthesis of orotic acid?
In humans and other organisms, orotic acid is synthesized by the enzyme dihydroorotate dehydrogenase which converts dihydroorotate to orotic acid [3]. It has been found that orotic acid improves the metabolism of folic acid and vitamin B12.
What contains orotic acid?
Orotic acid is a minor dietary constituent (1). Indeed, until it was realized that it could be synthesized by humans, orotic acid was known as vitamin B-13 (2). The richest dietary sources are cow’s milk and other dairy products (3) as well as root vegetables such as carrots and beets (1).
Is orotic acid safe?
Orotic acid has a low acute toxicity. In repeated doses orotic acid induces fatty livers in the rat, but not in other species tested. No data were submitted on reproductive and developmental toxicity and only irrelevant data on genotoxicity.
Why does orotic acid cause megaloblastic anemia?
Orotic aciduria is associated with megaloblastic anemia due to decreased pyrimidine synthesis, which leads to decreased nucleotide-lipid cofactors needed for erythrocyte membrane synthesis in the bone marrow.
What is the medical definition of orotic acid?
Medical Definition of orotic acid. : a crystalline acid C4H4N2O4 that occurs in milk and is a growth factor for various microorganisms (as Lactobacillus bulgaricus) and a precursor of the pyrimidine bases of nucleotides.
How is dihydroorotate synthesized to orotic acid?
Synthesis. Dihydroorotate is synthesized to orotic acid by the enzyme dihydroorotate dehydrogenase, where it later combines with phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate (PRPP) to form orotidine-5′-monophosphate (OMP). A distinguishing characteristic of pyrimidine synthesis is that the pyrimidine ring is fully synthesized before being attached to…
What happens when orotic acid is left untreated?
When untreated, affected infants can develop a blood (hematologic) disorder called megaloblastic anemia as well as failure to thrive, susceptibility to infection, and orotic acid crystals in the urine (crystalluria) resulting from excretion of orotic acid in the urine.
When does orotic acidosis occur in the body?
Orotic acid is an organic acid. Abnormally high levels of organic acids in the blood (organic acidemia), urine (organic aciduria), the brain, and other tissues lead to general metabolic acidosis. Acidosis typically occurs when arterial pH falls below 7. 35.