Research Biomarker Category Genova Amino Acids Analysis, Urine

Genova Amino Acids Analysis, Urine

Amino acid nutritional testing aids in the identification of the following:

- dietary protein adequacy

- amino acid balance

- gastrointestinal dysfunctions

- forms of protein intolerance

- vitamin and mineral deficiencies

- renal and hepatic dysfunction

- psychiatric abnormalities

- susceptibility to inflammatory response and oxidative stress

- reduced detoxification capacity

... and many other inherent and acquired disorders in amino acid metabolism.

Plasma vs. Urine Analysis:

Plasma is traditionally used to assess the status of essential amino acids while urine analysis provides more information regarding admino acid wasting and aberrant metabolism associated with co-factor insufficiencies.

Plasma amino acid nutritional testing measures what is being transported at the time of sampling. The specimen should be collected after an overnight fast to reduce the influence of dietary protein. Abnormalities are deduced by comparison of measured levels with an established reference range.

The 24-hour urine amino acid analysis has the highest probability of detecting abnormalities if renal function is normal. The 24-hour test indicates what is high and low over the course of a day, reflects blood and tissue amino acid pools, and is not affected by circadian rhythm. Healthy kidneys efficiently conserve essential amino acids. Therefore, urine levels of amino acids decrease first and tend to give an earlier indication of inadequacy than do plasma levels.

A first morning void urine (FMV) amino acid analysis, with results normalized per gram creatinine, provides an alternative when a complete 24-hour collection is not a viable option. The FMV analysis is excellent for identification of marked abnormalities, particularly with respect to gastrointestinal health, inherited disorders in amino acid metabolism and renal function, and can be used for protein challenge testing.

1-Methylhistidine (Urine)

Optimal range: 38 - 988 micromol/g creatinine

It is a component of the dietary peptide anserine. Anserine is beta-alanyl-1-methyl-L-histidine, and it is known to come from chicken, turkey, duck, rabbit, tuna and salmon.

3-Methylhistidine (Urine)

Optimal range: 44 - 281 micromol/g creatinine

3-Methylhistidine is an amino acid which is excreted in human urine.

The measurement of 3-methylhistidine provides an index of the rate of muscle protein breakdown. 3-Methylhistidine is a biomarker for meat consumption, especially chicken. It is also a biomarker for the consumption of soy products.

a-Amino-N-butyric Acid (Urine)

Optimal range: 2 - 25 micromol/g creatinine

Alpha-Amino-n-butyric acid (A-ANB/α-Amino-N-butyric acid) is an intermediate occurring in the catabolism of two essential amino acids, methionine, and threonine.

a-Aminoadipic (Urine)

Optimal range: 2 - 47 micromol/g creatinine

Alpha-aminoadipic acid (a-Aminoadipic acid) is an intermediary metabolite of lysine (primarily) and tryptophan.

Alanine (Urine)

Optimal range: 26 - 275 micromol/g creatinine

Alanine is a non-essential amino acid and helps the body convert the simple sugar glucose into energy and eliminate excess toxins from the liver.

Anserine (dipeptide)

Optimal range: 0.4 - 105.1 micromol/g creatinine

Anserine is part of a group of Beta-Amino Acids and Derivatives. Anserine is beta-alanyl-1-methyl-L-histidine, and it is known to come from chicken, turkey, duck, rabbit, tuna and salmon.

Arginine (Urine)

Optimal range: 3 - 43 micromol/g creatinine

Arginine is a conditionally essential amino acid that is critical for your cardiovascular health and detoxification functions. The amino acid, arginine, is used to make the powerful blood vessel regulator, nitric oxide. Nitric oxide acts to lower blood pressure.

Asparagine (Urine)

Optimal range: 25 - 166 micromol/g creatinine

Asparagine is a protein amino acid. It is non-essential in humans, meaning the body can synthesize it.

Asparagine is synthesized from aspartate and glutamine.

Asparagine has three major functions:

incorporation into amino acid sequences of proteins
storage form for aspartate (is a required precursor for synthesis of DNA, RNA and ATP)
source of amino groups for production of other dispensable amino acids via Transaminases.

Aspartic Acid (Urine)

Optimal range: 0 - 14 micromol/g creatinine

Aspartic acid is a nonessential protein amino acid. Aspartic Acid, also known as aspartate, is an excitatory neurotransmitter in the brainstem and spinal cord. Aspartic acid is the excitatory counterpart to glycine, an inhibitory neurotransmitter.

b-Alanine (Urine)

Optimal range: 0 - 22 micromol/g creatinine

Beta-alanine is a non-essential amino acid.

What are amino acids?

The body can make Non-essential amino acids, so they don’t have to be provided by food. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins.

b-Aminoisobutyric Acid (Urine)

Optimal range: 11 - 160 micromol/g creatinine

Beta-aminoisobutyric acid (BAIB) is an amino acid end product of the pyrimidine metabolism. It is excreted in small quantities into the urine in almost all human beings. Thymine, released when RNA and DNA are degraded, enters a catabolic pathway that leads to Beta-Aminoisobutyric Acid.

Carnosine (dipeptide)

Optimal range: 1 - 28 micromol/g creatinine

Carnosine is a dietary peptide related marker that consists of histidine and beta-alanine. Carnosine is an incompletely digested peptide that is derived primarily from beef and pork.

Citrulline (Urine)

Optimal range: 0.6 - 3.9 micromol/g creatinine

The amino acid citrulline gets its name from its high concentration in the watermelon Citrullus vulgaris. In human kidneys, citrulline and aspartic acid are united by argininosuccinate synthetase (ASS) to produce arginosuccinate. The degradation of arginosuccinate to fumarate and arginine is a primary mechanism for sustaining plasma levels of arginine. The same enzyme acts in liver cells to complete the urea cycle.

Cystathionine (Urine)

Optimal range: 2 - 68 micromol/g creatinine

Cystathionine is an intermediary metabolite that is formed in the sequential enzymatic conversion of methionine (essential amino acid) to cysteine.

Cysteine (FMV urine)

Optimal range: 8 - 74 micromol/g creatinine

Cysteine (FMV Urine) is part of a group of markers that indicates the balance and sufficiency of the methylation/sulfation pathway substrates and co-factors.

Cystine (FMV Urine)

Optimal range: 10 - 104 micromol/g creatinine

Cystine is the oxidized disulfide form of cysteine (Cys) and is the predominant form of cysteine in the blood due to its greater relative stability. Cystine is derived from dietary protein and, end formed endogenously from cysteine.

Ethanolamine (Urine)

Optimal range: 50 - 235 micromol/g creatinine

Ethanolamine is a metabolite of the nonessential amino acid serine. In the presence of adequate levels of functional B-6 (P-5-P) serine is enzymatically converted to ethanolamine.

g-Aminobutyric Acid (Urine)

Optimal range: 0 - 5 micromol/g creatinine

GABA is a neurotransmitter that inhibits nervous system activity, producing a relaxation effect.

Glutamic Acid (Urine)

Optimal range: 4 - 27 micromol/g creatinine

Glutamic acid (or Glutamate) is a major mediator of excitatory signals in the brain and is involved in most aspects of normal brain function including cognition, memory and learning.

Glutamine (Urine)

Optimal range: 110 - 632 micromol/g creatinine

Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the blood and is an important source of energy for many tissues in the body. It is derived from the amino acids histidine and glutamic acid. Glutamine improves immune function, balances ammonia in the body, contributes to biosynthesis of proteins, amino acids, nucleic acids, glutathione, glutamate, and GABA.

Glycine (Urine)

Optimal range: 95 - 683 micromol/g creatinine

Glycine is an amino acid with various important functions within your body, including detoxification, DNA formation, the synthesis of hemoglobin, and as a part of brain neurotransmission pathways. Glycine and serine are interchangeable.

Histidine (Urine)

Optimal range: 124 - 894 micromol/g creatinine

Histidine is the amino acid most necessary during stress. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein in our bodies.

Histidine ameliorates fatigue, promotes clear thinking and concentration, reduces appetite, decreases anxiety, improves sleep and glucose homeostasis, and gives rise to histamine.

Isoleucine (Urine)

Optimal range: 3 - 28 micromol/g creatinine

Isoleucine is one of the three branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) alongside both leucine and valine.

Isoleucine is a common component of proteins, peptides and hormones. Leucine is catabolized as a source of carbon for energy production during exercise in skeletal muscle.

Leucine (Urine)

Optimal range: 4 - 46 micromol/g creatinine

Leucine, together with isoleucine and valine, are essential amino acids that are referred to as branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs).

Leucine is nutritionally essential and is required for formation of body proteins, enzymes and some hormones. Leucine itself has a hormone-like activity which is stimulation of pancreatic release of insulin. The branched-chain structure of leucine makes it very important for the formation of flexible collagen tissues, particularly elastin in ligaments. Leucine is relatively abundant in all protein foods.

Lysine (Urine)

Optimal range: 11 - 175 micromol/g creatinine

Lysine is found in great quantities in muscle tissues, stimulates calcium absorption, carnitine synthesis, and growth and repair of muscle tissue.

Methionine (Urine)

Optimal range: 2 - 18 micromol/g creatinine

Methionine is an essential amino acid, meaning we need to get it from our diet as our body does not produce it. Methionine is a unique sulfur-containing amino acid that can be used to build proteins and produce many molecules in the body.

Ornithine (Urine)

Optimal range: 3 - 17 micromol/g creatinine

Ornithine is a urea cycle metabolite.

Ornithine can stimulate the release of growth hormone. Growth hormone is necessary for tissue repair and growth. Growth hormone is often low in patients with fibromyalgia.

Phenylalanine (Urine)

Optimal range: 8 - 71 micromol/g creatinine

Phenylalanine is a precursor for the amino acid tyrosine, which is essential for making neurotransmitters (e.g. epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine) and thyroid hormone. Neurotransmitters are the chemicals that communicate between nerve cells in the brain. It can relieve pain, alleviate depression, and suppress the appetite. Low levels may indicate a stressful lifestyle, leading to memory loss, fatigue, and depression.

Phosphoethanolamine (Urine)

Optimal range: 1 - 13 micromol/g creatinine

Phosphoethanolamine together with Ethanolamine and Phosphoserine are amino acids that are closely related structurally and they share principal roles in phospholipid metabolism.

Phospholipids are a class of lipids that are important components of cell membranes. Phospholipids are found in high concentrations in the membrane of practically every cell of the body.

Phosphoserine (Urine)

Optimal range: 0 - 13 micromol/g creatinine

Phosphoserine is a product of glycolysis and is formed by amino group transfer from glutamic acid to phosphohydroxypyruvic acid.

Proline (Urine)

Optimal range: 1 - 13 micromol/g creatinine

Proline is a nonessential amino acid, which means that it is manufactured from other amino acids in the liver; it does not have to be obtained directly through the diet.

Proline is the precursor to hydroxyproline, which is a major amino acid found in the connective tissue of the body – collagen.

Sarcosine (Urine)

Optimal range: 0 - 1.1 micromol/g creatinine

Sarcosine is also known as N-methylglycine. It is an intermediate and byproduct in the glycine synthesis and degradation. Sarcosine is metabolized to glycine by the enzyme sarcosine dehydrogenase, while glycine-N-methyl transferase generates sarcosine from glycine.

Serine (Urine)

Optimal range: 40 - 163 micromol/g creatinine

Serine can be used as an energy source. Formed from threonine and phosphoserine (requiring B6, manganese, and magnesium), serine is necessary for the biosynthesis of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter used in memory function.

Taurine (Urine)

Optimal range: 21 - 424 micromol/g creatinine

Taurine is a sulfur-containing amino acid required for bile formation.

Threonine (Urine)

Optimal range: 17 - 135 micromol/g creatinine

Threonine is an essential amino acid, i.e., it is vital for your health, but it cannot be synthesized by your body and therefore has to be obtained from a diet.

Tryptophan (Urine)

Optimal range: 5 - 53 micromol/g creatinine

Tryptophan is an essential amino acid required for the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin.

Tyrosine (Urine)

Optimal range: 11 - 135 micromol/g creatinine

Tyrosin is the non-essential amino acid precursor for dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine. Tyrosine hydroxylase converts tyrosine into the dopamine precursor L-DOPA; BH4, Vitamin D and iron are cofactors for that enzymatic activity.

Urea (Urine)

Optimal range: 168 - 465 mmol/g creatinine

Urea is the principal nitrogenous waste product of metabolism and is generated from protein breakdown.

Valine (Urine)

Optimal range: 7 - 49 micromol/g creatinine

Valine, together with Isoleucine and Leucine are essential amino acids and are collectively referred to as branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs).