Biologically Active Substance
indican Audio
in·di·can [ in-di-kuhn ]
More Information:
ChemID; DailyMed; DrugInfo; PDR
Definitions related to indican:
  • A substance occurring in the urine of mammals and also in blood plasma as the normal metabolite of tryptophan. An increased urinary excretion of indican is seen in Hartnup disease from the bacterial degradation of unabsorbed tryptophan.
    NLM Medical Subject Headings
    U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2021
  • A toxic metabolite derived from dietary proteins and tryptophan. In the intestine, proteins and tryptophan are converted to indole by tryptophanase-expressing organisms. In the liver, indole is hydroxylated to form indoxyl and indoxyl is sufated to produce indican. Overproduction of indican is associated with glomerular sclerosis, interstitial fibrosis and renal failure.
    NCI Thesaurus
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
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