Purines in Beer

As compared with other alcoholic beverages, beer contains considerable amounts of purines, which high-performance liquid chromatography has shown to consist of purine nucleosides and bases. According to that analysis, the nucleoside guanosine was most abundant, as compared with other types of purines. Purine ingestion causes an increased production of uric acid, leading to an increase in the serum concentration of urate. According to the results of a study on nucleic acid ingestion, the serum concentration of urate was increased to a greater degree in patients with hyperuricemia or gout than in normal subjects. In addition, the serum concentration of urate was increased by ingestion of nucleotides (adenosine monophosphate (AMP), guanosine monophosphate, and inosine monophosphate (IMP)) and purine bases (adenine, hypoxanthine, xanthine) in all three subject groups, while it was shown that hypoxanthine, AMP, and IMP had greater hyperuricemic effects on patients with gout than those with hyperuricemia and the normal subjects. The effects of guanosine (the most plentiful purine in beer) on the serum urate levels were not examined in previous human studies. However, since it was found that guanosine was more readily absorbed than other nucleosides, nucleotides, or bases and rapidly converted to uric acid via guanine and xanthine in animals, it is suggested that its ingestion may increase the serum concentration of urate. Since purines in beer have a clinical effect on serum urate and augment hyperuricemic effect in patients with gout, it is important for those patients to refrain from consuming large amounts of beer that contains considerable amounts of purines.