What includes nitrogenous wastes?

Metabolic waste products that contain nitrogen are called nitrogenous wastes. They are most commonly, Urea
CO(NH2)2 and Uric Acid C5H4N4O3.

From where does the urea come from in the body?

Urea is formed by the breakdown of proteins. Proteins are an

essential part of the diet because they supply the amino acids
needed to build up our own body structures.

Amino Acids
An amino acid has an amino group (-NH2), an acidic group (-COOH) and a hydrocarbon side chain (R).

A strong bond which is formed between two amino acids is called peptide bond. It is a condensation reaction because
a water molecule is removed.

If three or more amino acids are linked up by peptide bond then the chain is called polypeptide or peptone. An average
amino acid chain can contain about 500 units.

There are about 22 different amino acids in animal proteins

e.g. alanine, leucine, valine, glutamine, cystine, glycine and
lysine. A small protein molecule is made up from a chain
consisting of hundreds of amino acids. In most proteins,
amino acid chains are coiled up giving protein a 3-D
structure. These coils are held in place by weak cross links
(hydrogen bonds) which are easily broken by heat, acids and
alkalis.

When a protein is heated to temperatures over 50 °C, the cross-linkages in its molecules break down; the protein
molecules lose their shape and will not usually regain it even when cooled. The protein is said to have been denatured.
Due to denaturation, proteins lose their original properties and functions.

Proteins are very complex, organic compounds that have carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen essential
constituents and sometime also contain sulphur and phosphorus.
When proteins are taken in diet, they are not absorbed directly into the blood as they cannot pass through living
membranes. They are broken down by enzymes (hydrolysis).
A protein is digested by enzymes known as proteases. There are several proteases which break down proteins.
Pepsin is a protease which is secreted in stomach. It breaks protein polypeptides.
Trypsin is a protease which is secreted by pancreas. In pancreas it is inactive but is activated in duodenum
where it breaks down proteins into poly peptides.

Digestion of proteins into peptides and amino acids is completed in small intestine where it is absorbed into the
bloodstream and delivered where required.

The liver plays a very important role in assimilating amino acids. The liver removes amino acids from the plasma of
the bloodstream and builds them up into proteins. These include plasma proteins such as fibrinogen, which have a
role in blood clotting.

Excess amino acids are deaminated in the liver to form glycogen and urea. Deamination is the removal of the
nitrogen-containing part of amino acids to form urea.
Function of kidneys
The kidneys remove urea and other nitrogenous wastes from the blood. They also expel excess water, salts and
hormones and drugs.

The urea is removed from the tissues by the blood and expelled by the kidneys.

Excess water and salts are consumed during feeding.

The hormones produced by the endocrine glands affect the rate at which various body systems work. Adrenaline, for
example, speeds up the heartbeat. When hormones have done their job, they are modified in the liver and excreted
by the kidneys.

The nitrogenous waste products, excess salts and spent hormones are excreted by the kidneys as a watery solution
called urine.