What happens to excess amino acids in the liver?

Study liver anatomy and function with our medical students test. Engage with detailed multiple choice questions, each with hints and explanations. Prepare effectively for your test!

Excess amino acids are not stored or excreted as they are. In the liver, they undergo deamination, removing the amino group. That amino group is converted into urea via the urea cycle, allowing nitrogen to be safely excreted by the kidneys. The leftover carbon skeletons from the amino acids can be used for energy or diverted into fatty acid synthesis when caloric intake is high, leading to fat formation. So the liver’s fate for excess amino acids is to make urea for nitrogen disposal and, from the carbon skeletons, to produce fatty acids. This combination of urea production and lipogenesis explains why converting to fatty acids and urea is the best answer.