Nitrogen Mobilization and Excretion

Amino acids can be used for energy production. They usually fall in one of two categories.
They are either:
+Ketogenic or
+Glucogenic

Several of them are in both categories.
Only Leucine and Lysine are strictly ketogenic.

When Amino Acids are used in these metabolic pathways, they give off Nitrogenous waste.
- How does our body maintain and regulate that waste?
- How do we prevent toxic levels of Ammonia from building up?





When an amino acid is used in the TCA or Gluconeogenesis (GNG), nitrogenous waste is created.
Three types of nitrogenous waste
  1. Amonia (comes from proteins and purines)
  2. Urea/Creatinine (Comes from only proteins)
  3. Uric Acid (Comes from only Purines)
The primary way of dealing with nitrogen is the urea cycle

Amino Acids are often used as carriers of Nitrogen to move them in the body without becoming toxic.
The two primary carriers are Glutamine and Alanine (Depending on where the nitrogen is being delivered to).

Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxal Phophate) is a required prosthetic for transamination.