Abstract
POINTING out the structural similarity between uric acid and the stimulant purines caffeine and theophylline, Orowan1 first proposed that the emergence of intelligence in the primate line might arise from a single evolutionary event, the loss of the enzyme uricase, with the result that uric acid became the end product of purine metabolism. The only non-primate mammalian strain whose final purine metabolite is uric acid is the Dalmatian dog.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to the full article PDF.
USD 39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Orowan, E., Nature, 175, 683 (1955).
Haldane, J. B. S., Nature, 176, 169 (1955).
Mueller, E. F., Kasl, S. V., Brooks, G. W., and Cobb, S., Psychol. Bull., 73, 238 (1970).
Mahler, H. R., and Cordes, E. H., Biological Chemistry, 475 (Harper and Row, New York, 1966).
Pullman, B., and Pullman, A., Quantum Biochemistry, 217 (Academic Press, New York, 1963).
Pullman, B., and Pullman, A., Quantum Biochemistry, 707 (Academic Press, New York, 1963).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
PROCTOR, P. Similar Functions of Uric Acid and Ascorbate in Man ?. Nature 228, 868 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/228868a0
Received:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/228868a0
This article is cited by
-
Urate as a Marker of Risk and Progression of Neurodegenerative Disease
Neurotherapeutics (2017)
-
Changes in metabolite profiles in Norway spruce shoot tips during short-day induced winter bud development and long-day induced bud flush
Metabolomics (2014)
-
Urate in Parkinson’s Disease: More Than a Biomarker?
Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports (2012)
-
Potential of vitamin C in the prevention and treatment of gout
Nature Reviews Rheumatology (2011)
-
Uric Acid and Hypertension: Cause or Effect?
Current Rheumatology Reports (2010)
