The Kynurenine Pathway

In functional medicine, the focus is on getting to the root cause of disease. Sometimes subtle nutritional insufficiencies can result in significant clinical consequences. By measuring steps in biochemical pathways called organic acids, we can uncover nutrient cofactor needs. One important biochemical process is the kynurenine pathway. The enzymes involved are highly dependent on vitamin B₆. Knowing this, abnormal organic acid levels within the kynurenine path can reveal vitamin B₆ insufficiencies. In addition, this pathway and its metabolites have important clinical implications.

In today’s episode, we discuss the importance of the kynurenine pathway, what each step means, how we measure them, and what you can do about it.

Today on the Lab Report:

• 2:35 The kynurenine pathway starts with tryptophan
• 5:15 What’s the end product and what drives this metabolism?
• 9:20 Kynurenic acid and NMDA receptors
• 11:30 Xanthurenic acid elevations
• 12:15 Quinolinic acid and why we worry about it
• 13:35 Ratio between KA and QA
• 14:35 Logical Speculation: Serotonin Tryptophan Steal
• 18:35 How and where we measure these organic acids
• 19:25 Question of the Day
  • What about serotonin metabolites?

Additional Resources:

NutrEval

Metabolomix+

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