Structural Biochemistry, Nucleic Acid, Nitrogenous Bases, Purines, Xanthine

Xanthine is a purine base that's an antecedent of uric acid and is generally found in muscle tissue, blood, urine and some plants. It is a water insoluble toxic yellowish white powder and acids that's soluble in caustic soda; it sublimes when heated. It is involved in purine degradation and is converted from hypoxanthine and converted to uric acid by xanthine oxidase. Some of its derivatives are widely known as mild stimulants, which include caffeine, a sleep-inhibiting methylated xanthine found in coffee, and theobromine, a bitter alkaloid found in cacao.

Xanthine. (Image: NEUROtiker, Public domain)

Diseases

There is a genetic disease of xanthine metabolism, xanthinuria, due to deficiency of an enzyme, xanthine oxidase. Xanthinuria is a rare genetic disorder where individuals are unable to convert xanthine into uric acid because of the lack of enzyme xanthine oxidase resulting in an accumulation of xanthine. Symptoms include renal failure and kidney stones. There is currently no treatment available to cure this disease.

Clinical Use

Xanthine derivatives are collectively known as xanthines, which are a group of alkaloids used as stimulants and bronchodilators. As a result of widespread side effects, many of these derivatives have been treated as second-rate asthma treatment medication.

References

Berg, et al. Biochemistry, 6th Ed. 2007.

Where this page came from

This page was imported from Wikibooks. From “Structural Biochemistry” on Wikibooks, by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changed here: set as a page; navigation and edit links left out; each image under its own licence, credited in its caption.

Nobody has written it yet — it is the source material at a new address, which is why search engines are asked to skip it and why no one earns from it. It is up for grabs: take it on, and it is yours to rewrite and to earn from.