DETROIT – Need to know what's in your urine? Of course you do!
After a seven year long study looking at the chemical composition of urine, scientists have created an online database of over 3,000 compounds that have been found.
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In the study, researchers found at least 3,079 compounds. 72 of these are made by bacteria, while 1,453 come from the body. Another 2,282 come from diet, drugs, cosmetics or environmental exposure.
"Urine is an incredibly complex biofluid. We had no idea there could be so many different compounds going into our toilets," said study researcher David Wishart, professor of biology and computing science at the University of Alberta.
To find the chemicals, researchers used techniques including nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography. These findings may be useful to physicians, nutritionists and scientists because they may reveal medial conditions, as well as what a human has consumed. The database will continue to grow as more chemicals are found.