Literally
meaning: “pertaining
to birds”
Origin: Anc Greek
όρνις/ornis(=bird) > όρνυμι /ornymi(=stand
up, rise, stimulate)
Coined/History
In 1877 chemist Jaffe isolated ornithine from
ornithuric acid which was discovered in the urine of birds.
(Jaffe, M.
1877 Uber das Verhatten der Benzoesaure im organismus der
Vogel. Beri.Deutsch. Chem. Gesellsch., 10: 1925).
Definition
 |
| ornithine |
L-ornithine is an important part of urea cycle in
order to dispose of excess nitrogen as it is the result of breakdown of L-arginine after the action of enzyme arginase. Ornithine also helps for formation of
aminoacids : proline, glutamic acid and citrulline.
