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Amino Acid Induced Orotic Aciduria¹

Department of Food Science, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801

Twenty amino acids were examined for their effects on urinary orotic acid excretion. Except for arginine and ornithine, all of the remaining amino acids tested induced a mild orotic aciduria in rats 2 hours post feeding. Two ammonium salts, and urease also acted as inducers of orotic aciduria. The ammoneogenic properties of the amino acids tested could not solely explain the induced excretion of orotic acid. Only serine, glutamine, NH₄Cl, (NH₄)₂CO₃, and urease increased orotic acid excretion in the 24 hour fasted rat. Administration of 0.5 mmoles of arginine or ornithine ameliorated the mild orotic aciduria induced by either glycine or lysine. Arginine was shown to be more efficacious in preventing glycine induced orotic aciduria than was ornithine. Amino acid induced orotic aciduria is dependent upon the physiological state of the animal, varying with the state of digestion and the supply of arginine.

KEY WORDS: • amino acid • orotic acid • arginine • hyperammonemia • ornithine • urea cycle

¹ Presented in part at the annual meetings of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. Federation Proc. 36, 1180. Partially supported by Illinois Agriculture Research Station Grant No. 30-15-50-365, and HEW PHS AM 9294.

Manuscript received 3 October 1977.