Hippuric Acid Unit Converter

Hippuric acid (also called benzoylglycine) is an organic acid formed when your liver combines benzoic acid with the amino acid glycine. It is one of the most abundant organic acids found in human urine.

Most of the benzoic acid in your body comes from gut bacteria breaking down polyphenols in foods like fruits, vegetables, tea, and coffee. Some also comes from foods that naturally contain benzoic acid (such as dairy and cranberries) or from sodium benzoate preservatives in processed foods.

Measuring hippuric acid provides a window into three systems at once: your gut microbiome's ability to metabolize dietary compounds, your liver's phase II detoxification capacity, and your kidneys' clearance function.

Hippuric acid is produced in the liver through a two-step enzymatic reaction that conjugates benzoic acid with glycine. The benzoic acid itself comes primarily from gut microbial breakdown of dietary polyphenols, bacterial metabolism of the amino acid phenylalanine, and direct dietary sources such as preserved foods, dairy, and certain fruits.