Similar Functions of Uric Acid and Ascorbate in Man ?

@article{Proctor1970SimilarFO,
  title={Similar Functions of Uric Acid and Ascorbate in Man ?},
  author={P. Proctor},
  journal={Nature},
  year={1970},
  volume={228},
  pages={868-868}
}
POINTING out the structural similarity between uric acid and the stimulant purines caffeine and theophylline, Orowan1 first proposed that the emergence of intelligence in the primate line might arise from a single evolutionary event, the loss of the enzyme uricase, with the result that uric acid became the end product of purine metabolism. The only non-primate mammalian strain whose final purine metabolite is uric acid is the Dalmatian dog. 
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An important physiological role for urate is suggested in preserving ascorbate in blood and other biological fluids by exerting its protective effect without itself undergoing measurable oxidation as determined by spectrophotometric and high pressure liquid chromatography techniques. Expand
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On the loss of uricolytic activity during primate evolution--I. Silencing of urate oxidase in a hominoid ancestor.
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Liver homogenates from Old World and New World monkeys are stable and there is no evidence for extant detectable intermediate steps in the loss of urate oxidase activity in the hominoids. Expand
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In this system uric acid was found to protect the nucleobases as effectively as reduced glutathione, and protected thymine, guanine, and uracil from degradation by ozone. Expand
Uric acid: neuroprotective or neurotoxic?
TLDR
In addition to being an important human antioxidant, urate mediates radical oxidations and likely, oxidative-stress–related disease in a manner similar to homocysteine, 2,3 transition-series metals,2,3 etc. Expand
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TLDR
This paper suggests that the mutations in ascorbate synthesis and uricase that characterized early primate evolution were likely in response to the need to stimulate the foraging “survival” response and might have inadvertently had a role in accelerating the development of bipedal locomotion and intellectual development. Expand
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TLDR
This review discusses the mechanism of uric acid homeostasis and alterations, updated prevalence, therapeutic outcomes, and molecular pathophysiology of hyperuricemia-related diseases, and summarize current discoveries in the development of new XOR inhibitors. Expand
The role of uric acid in protection against peroxynitrite-mediated pathology.
TLDR
It is hypothesized that higher uric acid levels in hominoids evolved to protect against the inhibition of peroxynitrite-induced tissue damage, blood-CNS barrier permeability changes, and CNS inflammation. Expand
Uric acid protects erythrocytes from ozone-induced changes.
TLDR
Evidence is provided to support the hypothesis that in plasma, uric acid can provide antioxidant protection for erythrocytes by reducing hemolysis and methemoglobin formation in bovine and swine ery Throcytes bubbled with ozone in vitro. Expand
Are either or both hyperuricemia and xanthine oxidase directly toxic to the vasculature? A critical appraisal.
TLDR
Controversy remains as to which, if any, of these effects are of clinical relevance in development and complications of human vascular diseases in gout and asymptomatic hyperuricemia, and it appears critical to resolve the putative toxic roles of UA and XO in the human arterial circulation. Expand
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References

SHOWING 1-3 OF 3 REFERENCES
Origin of Man
OROWAN1 suggests that the high uric acid concentration in the blood of human beings and anthropoids, as compared with other mammals, may be a cause of their intellectual development. He holds that… Expand
The Origin of Man
TLDR
The Darwin–Mendel–De Vries theory of evolution provides a general frame for understanding the emergence of man, but it leaves open crucial questions of detail about why man and the higher apes so strikingly exceeded other animals in intellectual development. Expand
Psychosocial correlates of serum urate levels.