Benzoic acid in human urine?

Question

Can anyone please tell me, is benzoic acid present in human urine. I know that it appears as part of the structure of hippuric acid in mammals such as horses and was wondering if it is also in human urine as we produce a small bit of hippuric acid daily.

Many thanks in advance for your comments.

Answer 1

Humans produce about 0.44 g/L hippuric acid per day in their urine, and if the person is exposed to toluene or benzoic acid it can rise above that level.

Here's an article I saw referenced on Wikipedia (not for the information above) that you might be interested in:
Tomokuni K, Ogata M (1972). "Direct Colorimetric Determination of Hippuric Acid in Urine". Clin Chem 18: 349-351.