Purine

Purine is a heterocyclic aromatic organic compound consisting of a pyrimidine ring fused to an imidazole ring. Two of the bases in nucleic acids adenine and guanine are purines. Purines from food (or from tissue turnover) are metabolised by several enzymes including xanthine oxidase into uric acid. High levels of uric acid can predispose to gout when the acid crystalises in joints; this phenomenon only happens in humans and some animal species (e.g. dogs) that lack an intrinsic uricase enzyme that can further degrade uric acid.