δ-Aminolevulinic acid (also dALA, δ-ALA, 5ALA or 5-aminolevulinic acid), an endogenous non-proteinogenic amino acid, is the first compound in the porphyrin synthesis pathway, the pathway that leads to heme[3] in mammals, as well as chlorophyll[4] in plants.
5ALA is used in photodynamic detection and surgery of cancer.[5][6][7][8]
^Wagnières, G.., Jichlinski, P., Lange, N., Kucera, P., Van den Bergh, H. (2014). Detection of Bladder Cancer by Fluorescence Cystoscopy: From Bench to Bedside - the Hexvix Story. Handbook of Photomedicine, 411-426.
^Eyüpoglu IY, Buchfelder M, Savaskan NE (March 2013). "Surgical resection of malignant gliomas-role in optimizing patient outcome". Nature Reviews. Neurology. 9 (3): 141–151. doi:10.1038/nrneurol.2012.279. PMID23358480. S2CID20352840.
^Stummer W, Pichlmeier U, Meinel T, Wiestler OD, Zanella F, Reulen HJ (May 2006). "Fluorescence-guided surgery with 5-aminolevulinic acid for resection of malignant glioma: a randomised controlled multicentre phase III trial". The Lancet. Oncology. 7 (5): 392–401. doi:10.1016/s1470-2045(06)70665-9. PMID16648043.