Aspartic acid is a nonessential amino acid that plays roles in many important metabolic processes, such as energy production (citric acid cycle), hormone metabolism, CNS activation, and the urea cycle. It is found in many protein sources such as oysters, meats, seeds, avocado, asparagus, and beets. It is also an ingredient in artificial sweeteners.
Aspartic acid is a precursor to many amino acids and other molecules like asparagine, arginine, isoleucine, lysine, methionine, isoleucine, threonine, nucleotides, NAD, and pantothenate. Aspartate, like glutamine, can also be considered a neuroexcitatory neurotransmitter since it activates the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor in the brain.
Aspartate transaminase (AST) is an enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of an amino group from L-aspartate to alpha-keto glutarate. This reaction serves as a cellular energy source and takes place mainly in the liver, skeletal muscle, myocardium, and kidneys. Although AST is commonly measured on traditional laboratory profiles as a measure of liver dysfunction and muscle injury, it is not specific enough to be used alone as a diagnostic tool.
References:
- NCIthesaurus. Aspartic Acid. 2020.
- Reitzer L. Biosynthesis of Glutamate, Aspartate, Asparagine, L-Alanine, and D-Alanine. EcoSal Plus. 2004;1(1).
- Kobylarek D, Iwanowski P, Lewandowska Z, et al. Advances in the potential biomarkers of epilepsy. Front Neurol. 2019;10.
- Ono K, Ono T, Matsumata T. The pathogenesis of decreased aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase activity in the plasma of hemodialysis patients: the role of vitamin B6 deficiency. Clinical Nephrol. 1995;43(6):405-408.
- Lomelino CL, Andring JT, McKenna R, Kilberg MS. Asparagine synthetase: Function, structure, and role in disease. J Biol Chem. 2017;292(49):19952-19958.
- Stegink LD, Filer LJ, Jr., Bell EF, Ziegler EE. Plasma amino acid concentrations in normal adults administered aspartame
in capsules or solution: lack of bioequivalence. Metabolism: Clin Exp. 1987;36(5):507-512.
- Low urinary aspartate can result from general dietary protein insufficiency, maldigestion, or possibly B-6 deficiency.
- Low levels have been linked to feelings of fatigue and low mood, whereas high levels have been linked to seizures and anxiousness.
- Inhibits ammonia detoxification in the urea cycle. Can be converted to oxaloactetate using B6 and α-KG and thus enter the Krebs cycle.
- Citric and aspartic acids can drive the Krebs (citric acid) cycle, when combined with B6 and α-KG.
Understand and improve your laboratory results with our health dashboard.
Upload your lab reports and get your interpretation today.
Our technology helps to understand, combine, track, organize, and act on your medical lab test results.
Elevated aspartic acid may reflect high intake of aspartate- rich foods or use of artificial sweeteners containing aspartic acid (“NutraSweet” or “Equal”).
Elevations may also be due to impaired downstream metabolism from nutritional insufficiencies of enzymatic cofactors such as vitamin B6, magnesium, and ATP.
Because aspartic acid is a major excitatory neurotransmitter, elevations have been noted in epileptic patients.
Interpret Your Lab Results
Upload your lab report, and we'll interpret and provide you with recommendations today.
Get StartedOur specialized data entry service is designed to seamlessly integrate your laboratory results into your private dashboard. Just send in your lab test results—whether it's an image or a file—and our skilled data entry team will handle the rest. We accommodate various file formats like PDFs, JPGs, and Excel.
The first report is complimentary. After that, the data entry service is priced at $15 per report, unless it's part of your subscribed plan. It's an ideal solution whether you have numerous reports to upload or if your schedule doesn't permit self-data entry.
We strive to make the data entry process easy for you. Whether by offering dozens of templates to choose from that pre-populate the most popular laboratory panels or by giving you instant feedback on the entered values. Our data entry forms are an easy, fast, and convenient way to enter the reports yourself. There is no limit on how many lab reports you can upload.
Personal plans
track personal results
Professional Plan
track multiple client's results
$15/month
$250/once
own it for life
$45/month
for health professionals
Personal Account
$15/month
for personal lab results
$250/once
own it for life
Level up your lab report analysis with our Pro plan, built for health practitioners like you.
Health Business Account
$45/month
Unlock additional Pro plans when you sign up.
At HealthMatters, we're committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of your personal information. We've put industry-leading security standards in place to help protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of the information under our control. We use procedural, physical, and electronic security methods designed to prevent unauthorized people from getting access to this information. Our internal code of conduct adds additional privacy protection. All data is backed up multiple times a day and encrypted using SSL certificates. See our Privacy Policy for more details.
1-Methylhistidine, 3-Methylhistidine, Alanine, Alpha-amino-N-butyrate, Alpha-aminoadipate, Ammonia (NH4), Ammonia Level (NH4), Anserine, Arginine, Asparagine, Aspartate, Beta-alanine, Beta-aminoisobutyrate, Carnosine, Citrulline, Creatinine, Cystathionine, Cysteine, Cystine, Ethanolamine, Gamma-aminobutyrate, Glutamate, Glutamine, Glutamine/Glutamate, Glycine, Histidine, Homocystine, Hydroxyproline, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Methionine Sulfoxide, Ornithine, Phenylalanine, Phosphoethanolamine, Phosphoserine, Proline, Sarcosine, Serine, Taurine, Threonine, Tryptophan, Tyrosine, Urea, Valine