porphobilinogenn.
/ˌpɔːfəʊbʌɪˈlɪnədʒ(ə)n/, U.S. /ˈˌpɔrfoʊˌbaɪˈlɪnədʒ(ə)n/ Biochemistry.
A colourless, soluble, solid compound which is a metabolic precursor of porphyrins, is excreted in the commoner forms of porphyria, and is a substituted pyrrole; 5-aminomethyl-4-carboxymethyl-1H-pyrrole-3-propanoic acid, C10H14N2O4.
ΚΠ
1939 Chem. Abstr. 33 8777/1 In acute porphyria the urine contains a colorless substance (porphobilinogen)..which is a pyrrole deriv. and is converted to uroporphyrin on standing.
1961 Lancet 22 July 175/2 The clinical signs disappeared quickly, but the patient continued to excrete rather a lot of porphobilinogen and uroporphyrin in the urine.
1970 R. W. McGilvery Biochemistry xxi. 496 The parent indole ring is made in the next step by the condensation of two molecules of 5-aminolevulinate to form porphobilinogen.
2000 Chemist & Druggist (Nexis) 15 Apr. 1 In an acute attack [of porphyria], urine when passed becomes dark on standing, due to porphobilinogen..polymerising to uroporphyrin and a brownish-red pigment porphobilin.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1939