Uric acid decomposition in the lower gastrointestinal tract.

Uric acid is the end product of nitrogen metabolism in birds. Despite the very low aqueous solubility of this purine compound, few crystals of uric acid are found in the urine. Instead, uric acid is packaged into small spheres that can pass easily through the duct system of the kidney. After entering the cloaca, these spheres are moved with the urine by antiperistalsis into the rectum and digestive ceca. In the ceca, the uric acid is exposed to a large population of bacteria that can use the uric acid as a metabolic substrate. These bacteria degrade the uric acid to volatile fatty acids (VFA) and ammonia. The VFA are absorbed by the cecal tissue, and the ammonia is incorporated into the production of glutamine. The refluxing of uric acid into the ceca and its subsequent degradation by bacteria provides an effective mechanism for the reclamation of carbon and nitrogen from the urine.