Allantoin and its Applications

Allantoin is a chemical compound with the molecular formula C4H6N4O3.It is also known as 5-ureidohydantoin or glyoxyldiureide.It is a diurea of glyoxylic acid.Allantoin is a major metabolic intermediate in most organisms, including animals, plants and bacteria.It is produced from uric acid, itself a degradation product of nucleic acids, through the action of urate oxidase (uricase).Occurs as a natural mineral compound (IMA symbol Aan).

Animal

It is named after the allantois (an amniotic excretory organ that is concentrated in the allantois during development in most mammals except humans and other hominids), which is a product of the oxidation of uric acid through purine catabolism.After birth, this is the primary way these animals excrete nitrogenous waste in urine.In humans and other higher apes, no metabolic pathway exists to convert uric acid to allantoin, so the former is excreted. Recombinant rasburicase is sometimes used as a drug to catalyze this metabolic conversion in patients.In fish, allantoin is further broken down (turned into ammonia) before excretion.Allantoin has been shown to improve insulin resistance in rats and extend lifespan in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

Bacteria 

In bacteria, purines and their derivatives such as allantoin are used as secondary nitrogen sources under conditions of nutrient limitation.Their degradation produces ammonia, which can then be utilized.For example, Bacillus subtilis is able to utilize allantoin as its sole nitrogen source.Mutants in the Bacillus subtilis pucI gene fail to grow on allantoin, suggesting that it encodes an allantoin transporter.In Streptomyces coelicolor, allantoinase (EC 3.5.2.5) and allantoinase (EC 3.5.3.4) are essential for allantoin metabolism. In this species the catabolism of allantoin and the subsequent release of ammonium suppress antibiotic production (Streptomyces species synthesize about half of all known antibiotics of microbial origin).

Applications

Allantoin is found in botanical extracts of the comfrey plant and in the urine of most mammals.Chemically synthesized bulk allantoin has the same chemical properties as natural allantoin, is safe and non-toxic, compatible with cosmetic raw materials, and meets the requirements of CTFA and JSCI. More than 10,000 patents cover allantoin.

Cosmetics:

Manufacturers may use allantoin as an ingredient in over-the-counter cosmetics.

Pharmaceutical:

It is often found in toothpaste, mouthwash and other oral hygiene products, shampoos, lipsticks, anti-acne products, sunscreen products and clarifying lotions, various cosmetic lotions and creams, and other cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

Biomarkers of oxidative stress:

Since uric acid is the end product of purine metabolism in humans, allantoin is produced only by non-enzymatic processes with reactive oxygen species, so allantoin is a suitable biomarker for measuring oxidative stress in chronic diseases and aging.