Glyceric acid is an organic acid that stems from the catabolism of the amino acid serine. Severe elevations in glyceric acid are an indication of a rare inborn error of metabolism known as glyceric aciduria. One form of glyceric aciduria is the result of a defect in the enzyme glycerate kinase which removes glyceric acid from the system.
While many case studies have linked this disorder with severe developmental abnormalities, there is some debate as to whether glycerate kinase deficiency is the cause or rather a confounding variable.
Another glyceric aciduria is referred to as primary hyperoxaluria type 2 (PH2). This rare genetic condition results in excessive production of oxalates in the system in the form of oxalic acid. Over time, systemic deposition of oxalates in body tissues can occur which is a process known as oxalosis. This disease is characterized by urolithiasis, nephrocalcinosis, and deposition of oxalates in other body tissues.
References:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2537226/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/971536/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28190537/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21303541/
The clinical relevance of low urinary glyceric acid has not been studied in the peer-reviewed literature. However, knowing that glyceric acid accumulation is the result of breakdown of both serine and fructose, it is possible that low glyceric acid may be caused by low amino acid status and/or low fructose intake.
Understand and improve your laboratory results with our health dashboard.
Upload your lab reports and get your interpretation today.
Our technology helps to understand, combine, track, organize, and act on your medical lab test results.
Aside from these rare inborn errors of metabolism, elevated levels of glyceric acid have been demonstrated in a few metabolomic studies. One study demonstrated that glyceric acid was among 3 metabolites that correlated in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Furthermore, correlation between glyceric acid was amongst a small handful of metabolites that were able to effectively identify patients with schizophrenia and bipolar as compared to controls.
These profiles suggest that more subtle metabolic abnormalities may result in elevated urinary glyceric acid excretion. It is known that a deficiency in the enzyme glyoxylate reductase leads to excessive levels of glyceric acid resulting in primary hyperoxaluria type 2 and oxalosis.
This enzyme requires vitamin B3 in the form of NAD as a cofactor. Whether subclinical elevations in glyceric acid could be an indication of a functional need for vitamin B3 has not been studied in the literature. Interestingly, niacin has been shown to be effective in clinical trials with patients suffering from schizophrenia. Glycerate kinase requires magnesium as a cofactor to convert glyceric acid. Therefore, magnesium deficiency may play a role in glyceric acid levels.
Lastly, glyceric acid is formed during metabolism of fructose and serine (previously mentioned). The contribution of fructose intake to total urinary glyceric acid excretion has not been fully elucidated. A careful dietary recall should be considered with increased glyceric acid in the absence of suspected metabolic defects.
Interpret Your Lab Results
Upload your lab report, and we'll interpret and provide you with recommendations today.
Get StartedMonthly plan
Annual plan
Own it for life
Our exclusive data entry service is a convenient way to get your results into your private dashboard. Simply attach an image or a file of your lab test results, and one of our qualified data entry team members will add the results for you. We support all sorts of files, whether PDFs, JPGs, or Excel. This service is excellent whether you have a lot of reports to upload or are too busy to do the data entry yourself.
We strive to make the data entry process easy for you. Whether by offering dozens of templates to choose from that pre-populate the most popular laboratory panels or by giving you instant feedback on the entered values. Our data entry forms are an easy, fast, and convenient way to enter the reports yourself. There is no limit on how many lab reports you can upload.
$15 /month
billed every month
Most popular
Data entry included
$79 /year
$6.60/month billed annually
Data entry included
$250 /once
own it for life
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 Monthly Plus
for health professionals
$75 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.
11-Eicosenoic, 25-Hydroxyvitamin D, a-Hydroxybutyric Acid, AA/EPA, Alpha Linolenic, alpha-Tocopherol, Aluminum, Arachidic, Arachidonic, Arsenic, Behenic, Beta-Carotene, Cadmium, Calcium, Capric, Coenzyme Q10 (Genova), Copper, Creatinine, Dihomogamma Linolenic (Genova), Docosadienoic (Genova), Docosahexaenoic (Genova), Docosapentaenoic (Genova), Docosatetraenoic (Genova), Eicosadienoic (Genova), Eicosapentaenoic (Genova), EPA/DGLA (Genova), Gamma Linolenic (Genova), gamma-Tocopherol (Genova), Glyceric Acid, Glycolic, Heneicosanoic (Genova), Heptadecanoic (Genova), Hexacosanoic (Genova), LA/DGLA, Lauric (Genova), Lead (Genova), Lignoceric (Genova), Linoleic (Genova), Lipid Peroxides (Genova), Magnesium (Genova), Mead (Genova), Mercury (Genova), Myristic (Genova), Myristoleic (Genova), Nervonic (Genova), Nonadecanoic (Genova), Oleic (Genova), Oxalic Acid, Palmitelaidic, Palmitic (Genova), Palmitoleic (Genova), Pentadecanoic (Genova), Potassium (Genova), Selenium (Genova), Stearic (Genova), Stearic/Oleic, Total C:18 Trans, Tricosanoic (Genova), Triene/Tetraene (Genova), Vaccenic, Vitamin A (Retinol) (Genova), Zinc (Genova)