Measurement of Purine Content in Foods Using HPLC

Purine generally means all nucleic acids, nucleotides, nucleosides, and purine bases that have a purine structure. In the body, purines are eventually metabolized into uric acid. Among purines in the body, about 20 % are from the foods we eat while the remaining 80 % are endogenous. It is known that if the excretion and production of uric acid falls out of balance, uric acid accumulates in the body (resulting in high uric acid levels) and causes hyperuricemia as well as gout. On the other hand, researches in recent years have revealed that there is an association between mental illnesses and low levels of serum uric acid. It is therefore important to control the amount of dietary purine intake such as by implementing a low-purine diet for patients with hyperuricemia.