| Description | 5-Aminolevulinic acid, also known as 5-aminolevulinate or 5-amino-4-oxopentanoate, belongs to the class of organic compounds known as delta amino acids and derivatives. Delta amino acids and derivatives are compounds containing a carboxylic acid group and an amino group at the C5 carbon atom. 5-Aminolevulinic acid is a very hydrophobic molecule, practically insoluble in water, and relatively neutral. 5-Aminolevulinic acid exists in all living species, ranging from bacteria to humans. 5-aminolevulinic acid can be biosynthesized from glycine and succinyl-CoA by the enzyme 5-aminolevulinate synthase. The simplest delta-amino acid in which the hydrogens at the gamma position are replaced by an oxo group. In humans, 5-aminolevulinic acid is involved in the metabolic disorder called the dimethylglycine dehydrogenase deficiency pathway. Outside of the human body, 5-Aminolevulinic acid has been detected, but not quantified in several different foods, such as american butterfish, vaccinium (blueberry, cranberry, huckleberry), amaranths, purple mangosteens, and garden cress. Used (in the form of the hydrochloride salt) in combination with blue light illumination for the treatment of minimally to moderately thick actinic keratosis of the face or scalp. It is metabolised to protoporphyrin IX, a photoactive compound which accumulates in the skin. |
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