Republic of the Philippines

Laguna State Polytechnic University

San Pablo City Campus
San Pablo City, Laguna

Subject: Biochemistry Prepared by: Michael P. Demdam
Topic: Urine Color Submitted to: Mrs. Clarissa F. Gregana
BSEd IV-U Physical Science

Urine Color
Most of the time, urine is a pale yellow color because it contains urochrome,
o Urochrome - one of the substances produced when hemoglobin gets broken
down. Hemoglobin is the protein in red blood cells that sticks to oxygen so it can
be ferried around the body.
That color normally varies from pale yellow to deep amber, depending on the
concentration of the urine.
Darker urine is usually a sign that you're not drinking enough fluid.
If your urine is very pale, it means that you're either drinking a lot of fluid, or you're
taking a diuretic.
o a drug that forces the body to get rid of excess water.
Urine can turn a rainbow of colors, and an unusual hue isn't necessarily cause for alarm.
o Certain medications can turn the urine fluorescent green or blue
o carrots can tint it orange
o vitamins can give it a yellow hue
o porphyria can shade it the color of port wine
Red is typically a sign that there is blood in the urine.
If you're seeing blood and your urine is also cloudy, there's a good chance you've picked
up an infection.
Brown or black- If the red of red urine is dark, it may look brown or even black. In such
cases, the causes of brown or black urine may be the same as those of red urine.
o Can be cause by excess biluribin
Milky-white - Urinary tract infections sometimes turn urine a milky-white color because
they provoke an immune response that unleashes a flood of white blood cells.
o Other causes of whitish urine include uric acid crystals from eating purine-rich
foods, such as anchovies, herring, and red meat (lamb, beef, and pork), and
phosphate crystals from excess parathyroid hormone.
Blue colored urine is caused by methylene blue(a dye used in various diagnostic tests).
o Inherited conditions like blue diaper syndrome and Hartnup disease can result in
blue urine.
Green - If blue pigment gets into urine, the color is often green because the blue mixes
with the yellow urochrome that's naturally present.
Purple - is the only urine color that has a syndrome named after it: purple urine bag
syndrome.
o It occurs when someone has a urinary catheter.
o Bacteria colonizing the catheter, the collection bag, or both produce a substance
called indirubin, which is red, and indigo, which is blue, and they combine to
make a bright purple color.