FIGURE 3.

Proposed mechanisms underlying the efficacy of orotic acid as a mineral carrier. (a) Mineral orotates may display limited dissociation in biological solutions, allowing them to exist in sera as non‐dissociated, electrically neutral compounds. (b) It has been suggested that LiOr preferentially dissociates in the intracellular compartment, perhaps through mechanisms involving the uptake of orotic acid into the de novo pyrimidine synthesis pathway. (c) Given its structural similarity to non‐charged pyrimidines, LiOr may be able to make use of nucleotide transporters for passage across cell membranes, as is observed for non‐charged pyrimidines such as fluorouracil