Aminolevulinic Acid Unit Converter

Aminolevulinic acid (ALA) is a small molecule your body makes as the first step in producing heme, the iron-containing part of hemoglobin and many other essential proteins. It is formed when the enzyme ALA synthase combines glycine and succinyl-CoA inside mitochondria.

Normally, ALA is rapidly converted into the next intermediate (porphobilinogen) and does not accumulate. When enzymes further down the heme pathway are impaired, or when ALA production is driven too high, ALA builds up in blood and urine.

Measuring plasma ALA helps evaluate suspected porphyrias, lead poisoning, and other conditions that disrupt heme synthesis.

ALA is produced primarily in the liver (for cytochrome P450 enzymes and other hemoproteins) and in bone marrow erythroid precursor cells (for hemoglobin synthesis). Bone marrow accounts for 85-90% of total body heme production.