Abstract
Birds and reptiles convert waste ammonia into uric acid, while mammals excrete urea, with only small amounts of uric acid ending up in urine. This column explores the varying roles of uric acid and important calcium and sodium salts, and introduces π-stacking interactions in solid-state structures.
Highlights
Birds and reptiles convert waste ammonia into uric acid, while mammals excrete urea, with only small amounts of uric acid ending up in urine
Guano was being used as a fertilizer in South America as early as the 5th Century BCE, and the Incas recognized its importance as a natural, sustainable manure in the 1500s.[1]
In 1805, Alexander von Humboldt returned to Europe from Peru, bringing with him samples of guano that he sent to Antoine François de Foucroy and Louis Nicolas Vauquelin in Paris, and Sir Humphry Davy in the UK, for chemical analysis
Summary
Birds and reptiles convert waste ammonia into uric acid, while mammals excrete urea, with only small amounts of uric acid ending up in urine. When birds nest in large colonies, their droppings have agricultural significance. The term guano is used to describe the amassed excrement of birds, characteristically seen as white or grey deposits on cliffs inhabited by colonies of seabirds.
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