SHEET /vs/urea-vs-uric-acid · COMPARISON
Urea vs Uric acid: what is the difference?
How they differ
from source
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.
Side by side
| Urea | Uric acid | |
|---|---|---|
| Formula | CH4N2O | C5H4N4O3 |
| Molecular weight | 60.06 g/mol | 168.11 g/mol |
| Family | Other | Other |
| Everyday group | Body | Body |
| Oral LD50A single acute animal measure. It ranks nothing about human safety. | 8,471 mg/kg (oral, rat) | not recorded |
| CAS number | 57-13-6 | 69-93-2 |
| PubChem CID | 1176 | 1175 |
Common questions
- What is the difference between Urea and Uric acid?
- 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.
- 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.