Urea vs Uric acid: what is the difference?
Urea comes from breaking down amino acids and dissolves easily, while uric acid comes from purines and dissolves so poorly it can cause gout.
Sources and notes
- The sentence under the titlefrom sourceMoleculeFinder comparison notesThe pair's answer line.
- The two drawingscomputedMoleculeFinder rule (RDKit MCS)Each molecule's own drawing, as its page shows it. The common core, 1 of 12 atoms, is too small to align on.
Side by side
| Urea | Uric acid | |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular weightCalculated PubChem | 60.06 g/molCH4N2O | 168.11 g/molC5H4N4O3 |
| Hydrogen-bond donorsCalculated PubChem | 2 | 4 |
| Where each turns upEditorial MoleculeFinder food and product lists |
| Not on our lists |
| FamilyEditorial MoleculeFinder curated | Other | Other |
| Everyday groupEditorial MoleculeFinder curated | Body | Body |
| Oral LD50Measured HSDB via PubChem | 8,471 mg/kgpure urea, rat, oral | Not recorded |
| A single acute animal measure. It ranks nothing about human safety. | ||
Sources and notes
- Molecular weightcomputedPubChemComputed from the structure; the formula is under each weight.
- Hydrogen-bond donorscomputedPubChemThe hydrogens on nitrogen or oxygen that each molecule can lend to a hydrogen bond, counted from its structure.
- Where each turns upfrom sourceMoleculeFinder food and product listsEach amount is an editorial figure from our lists, not a measurement of any one product. Each mark is set by hand on the list, never inferred.
- Familyfrom sourceMoleculeFinder curated
- Everyday groupfrom sourceMoleculeFinder curated
- Oral LD50from sourceHSDB via PubChem
- Identifiersfrom sourcePubChemPubChem CID 1176 (Urea) and 1175 (Uric acid).
In more detail
Both are how bodies get rid of surplus nitrogen and they come from different waste streams. Urea is the product of breaking down amino acids, made in the liver, very soluble in water, and excreted in large quantity in urine. Uric acid comes from breaking down purines, the bases in DNA, RNA and ATP, and it is poorly soluble, which is the whole problem with it: when concentrations rise it crystallises in joints, which is gout. Birds and reptiles excrete uric acid instead of urea precisely because it needs so little water. Urea is the smaller molecule by a wide margin, 60.06 against 168.11, and it turns up in skincare as a humectant, which uric acid does not.
Sources and notes
- The paragraphfrom sourceMoleculeFinder comparison notes
Questions
- What is the difference between Urea and Uric acid?
- Urea comes from breaking down amino acids and dissolves easily, while uric acid comes from purines and dissolves so poorly it can cause gout.
- Is Urea bigger than Uric acid?
- Uric acid is the heavier molecule, 168.11 g/mol against 60.06 g/mol for Urea. Urea is CH4N2O and Uric acid is C5H4N4O3.
Sources and notes
- The answersfrom sourceMoleculeFinderThe first is the pair's answer line; the others are read off the table above.