Orotate is a sensitive marker of your liver’s capacity to convert toxic ammonia to non-toxic urea that you can excrete. That capacity can be increased by additional arginine. Ammonia toxicity can also be reduced by supplementation with α-ketoglutarate, magnesium, aspartic acid, and glutamic acid. Ammonia impairs brain function, causing difficulty with thinking, fatigue, headaches, and increased food sensitivities.
Associated nutrients: Arginine, Magnesium
High levels:
Elevations are most commonly associated with ammonia toxicity.
Possible causes:
- liver damage (e.g. from alcohol)
- urea cycle dysfunction
- ammonia excess
- barbiturates
- impaired metabolism due to cofactor insufficiencies (vitamins B3, B6, folate, Mg, glutamine, glycine, serine)
- use of allopurinol or chemotherapy
Additional investigations:
- Functional Liver Detoxification Profile
- Vitamins & Minerals Analysis
- Urinary Amino Acids
Possible treatments:
- Supplement vitamins B3, B6, folic acid, Mg, glutamine, glycine, serine
- Consider alpha-ketoglutarate and arginine for ammonia excess
- Support liver
Low levels:
- Low orotic acid in the presence of high ammonia indicates magnesium deficiency.
- Low orotic acid together with low urea levels suggests your cells are not burning protein for fuel at a very high rate. This is consistent with elevated branched-chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine and valine). It also means that you do not have gut bacteria that are producing a lot of ammonia. Check the bacterial dysbiosis markers to see if they’re consistent.
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27906623
Disclaimer:
The information on healthmatters.io is NOT intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice.
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