Test Overview of Urinary Indican (3-hydroxyindole)

Screening test for gut dysbiosis.

Test Indications of Urinary Indican (3-hydroxyindole)

  • New patients.

Sample Collection for Urinary Indican (3-hydroxyindole)

  • Requires random urine sample.

Your doctor or lab may have different instructions that supersede the above.

Theory of Urinary Indican (3-hydroxyindole)

Dysbiotic anaerobic bacteria in the gut convert the amino acid tryptophan into indole. The indole is absorbed from the gut and processed in the liver via phase 1 into 3-hydroxyindole, and then via the phase 2 glucuronidation pathway into indole-glucuronidate, which is excreted by the kidneys.

Elevated levels of indican suggest:

  • Putrification of maldigested or malabsorbed protein, possibly due to hypochlorhydria.
  • Bowel toxemia due to overgrowth of anaerobic bacteria (dysbiosis), possibly leading to candidiasis and leaky gut syndrome.
  • High protein intake or tryptophan supplementation.

References regarding Urinary Indican (3-hydroxyindole)

Unless specifically noted above, references used in the construction of this web page include the following:

[FMU] Lecture notes from Functional Medicine University.

[SCNM] Lecture notes from Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine.

[UT] Lecture notes from the University of Tennessee graduate programs in Chemistry, Microbiology, and Biochemistry.