Citric acid, cis-aconitic acid, and isocitric acid are the first three metabolites in the Krebs Citric Acid energy production cycle, which operates in the mitochondria of your cells.
Citrate, cis-Aconitate (and Isocitrate) are involved in both energy production and removal of toxic ammonia.
High levels can indicate ammonia toxicity. Chronic loss of these valuable compounds can contribute to loss of organ reserve and disturbances in neurological function. If they are low they can indicate a need for essential amino acids, especially arginine.
Nutrient association: Arginine, Iron
References:
- Medline.gov - Arginine [L]
Possible causes:
Low or high pyruvic acid or low acetyCoA (from fatty acid oxidation).
Understand and improve your laboratory results with our health dashboard.
Upload your lab reports and get interpretation today.
Our technology helps to understand, combine, track, organize, and act on your medical lab test results.
Possible causes:
- Impaired metabolism due to toxic metals (Fl, Hg, As)
- OR low cofactors (Fe, GSH—depleted in oxidative stress)
- OR high amounts of dietary citric acid
- OR metabolic acidosis (if mildly increased cisaconitic acid but markedly increased citric acid).
- Low glutathione
- High amounts of dietary citric acid
- Metabolic acidosis (if mildly increased cis-aconitic acid but markedly increased citric acid)
- High levels can indicate ammonia toxicity or arginine insufficieny.
- An elevated level of this organic acid may be an indication of poor supplies or metabolism of amino acids. A clinical sign is fatigue.
- If elevated with orotate, isocitrate and citrate, suspect hyperammonia.
- High Citrate and Cis-aconitate can indicate arginine insufficiency for ammonia clearance through the Urea Cycle.
Additional investigations:
- Comprehensive Urine Elements Profile
- Functional Liver Detoxification Profile
- Complete Digestive Stool Analysis
Treatment considerations:
- Rule out toxic metals
- Glutathione-
- Consider supplementing with arginine and possibly cysteine.
Some foods high in argininer are:
- Pumpkin seeds
- Sesame seeds
- Dried walnuts
- Almonds
- Pine nuts
- Soy beans
- Chickpeas
- Seaweed
(Do not take L-arginine if you have had a recent heart attack.)
Additional investigations:
- Comprehensive Urine Elements Profile
- Functional Liver Detoxification Profile
- Complete Digestive Stool Analysis
- Rule out toxic metals and check for iron deficiency
Interpret Your Lab Results
Upload your lab report and we’ll interpret and provide you with recomendations today.
Get Started
Get Started With Our Personal Plan
Advanced Plan
Unlimited Plan
Are You a Health Professional?
Get started with our professional plan
Welcome to Healthmatters Pro.
Save time on interpreting lab results with the largest database of biomarkers online. In-depth research on any test at your fingertips, all stored and tracked in one place. Learn more
Pro Plan
for health professionals
$45 per month
At HealthMatters, we're committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of your personal information. We've put industry-leading security standards in place to help protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of the information under our control. We use procedural, physical, and electronic security methods designed to prevent unauthorized people from getting access to this information. Our internal code of conduct adds additional privacy protection. All data is backed up multiple times a day and encrypted using SSL certificates. See our Privacy Policy for more details.
2-Hydroxyphenylacetic Acid, 3-Hydroxyisovaleric Acid, 3-Hydroxyphenylacetic Acid, 3-Hydroxypropionic Acid, 3-Methyl-4-OH-phenylglycol, 4-Hydroxyphenylacetic Acid, 5-OH-indoleacetic Acid, a-Hydroxyisobutyric Acid (from MTBE), a-Keto-b-Methylvaleric Acid, a-Ketoadipic Acid, a-Ketoglutaric Acid (AKG), a-Ketoisocaproic Acid, a-Ketoisovaleric Acid, a-Ketophenylacetic Acid (from Styrene), Adipic Acid, Arabinose, B-OH-B-Methylglutaric Acid (HMG), Benzoic Acid, Beta-OH-Butyric Acid (BHBA), Cis-Aconitic Acid, Citramalic Acid, Citric Acid, Dihydroxyphenylpropionic Acid (DHPPA), Formiminoglutamic Acid (FIGlu), Glutaric Acid, Hippuric Acid, Homogentisic Acid, Homovanillic Acid, Indoleacetic Acid (IAA), Isocitric Acid, Isovalerylglycine, Kynurenic / Quinolinic Ratio, Kynurenic Acid, Lactic Acid, Malic Acid, Methylmalonic Acid, Orotic Acid, Phenylacetic Acid (PAA), Pyroglutamic Acid, Pyruvic Acid, Quinolinic Acid, Suberic Acid, Succinic Acid, Tartaric Acid, Vanilmandelic Acid, Xanthurenic Acid
