Acidic Catecholamine Metabolites and 5-Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid in Urine: The Influence of Diet

Abstract

SUMMARY. Concentrations of vanillylmandelic acid (VMA), 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), homovanillic acid (HV A), vanillic acid (VA) and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HlAA) in urine from healthy subjects were determined by a high-performance liquid chromatography system with a mixed-mode (C IS/ anion-exchange) column and an 8-channel electrochemical detector, in order to study the influence of diet, diurnal variation and age. The urinary excretion of 5-HIAA increased significantly after. eating banana, pineapple, tomato, kiwi fruit and walnut. An increase in the urinary excretion of DOPAC and HV A after eating banana and that of VA after taking vanilla was also noted. The urinary excretion of VMA was not significantly influenced by any of the foods examined. The urinary excretion of 5-HIAA in the first-morning urine increased beyond the upper limit of the reference value when banana was taken at 2000 h the previous day. The excretion of all metabolites in the second-morning urine in the fasting state was within respective reference ranges. Diurnal variation of the excretion of VMA, DOPAC, HVA and 5-HlAA in urine was relatively small, but that of VA was large. The concentrations (mmol/mol creatinine) of VMA, DOPAC, HVA, 5-HIAA and VA in the first-morning urine from healthy subjects increased from 7 days after birth to I year and then decreased to adult levels at 13 years of age.

Platelet Serotonin in Newborns and Infants: Ontogeny, Heritability, and Effect of In Utero Exposure to Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors

“…It is not clear whether the early increase in 5-HT is due to a change in the platelet's handling of 5-HT or to an increased exposure to 5-HT. There are some very limited data that suggest 5-HT platelet uptake is fully functional in newborns (27) and that the gut's production of 5-HT (as indexed by urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid) is lower in the first week of life (28). These reports suggest that the early rise may be due to increased exposure, and this would be consistent with the expected increase in gut 5-HT release as feeding begins (29 -31).…”

Is urinary 5-HIAA determination a valuable method in diagnosis of acute appendicitis in children?

“…[17,[22][23][24][25] 5-HIAA in spot urine has been known to have no diurnal change and no variation between males and females. [26] Even though these factors have been considered for differential diagnosis in this study, high values of SD shows that it may not be easy to standardize this test for all patients which decreases its reliability.…”

ENETS Consensus Guidelines for the Standards of Care in Neuroendocrine Tumors: Biochemical Markers

“…A small number of normal individuals may have elevated U-5-HIAA and, therefore, other objective findings should be used in conjunction with tumor marker analysis to support the diagnosis of an SI NET [19] . The following food substances are rich in dietary tryptophan and, therefore, patients should abstain from these for 3 days prior to urinary collection: plums, pineapples, bananas, eggplants (aubergines), tomatoes, avocados, and walnuts [2,20,21] . Even certain medications may increase or decrease U-5-HIAA levels ( Table 2 ).…”