# 57 Assimilation and role of the liver
Assimilation is the movement of digested food molecules into the cells of the body where they are used, becoming part of the cells.
Role of liver in the metabolism of glucose and amino acids
- Excess glucose in the blood arriving at the liver is converted into glycogen (animal starch) for storage, or broken down through respiration, producing energy for other purposes.
- Amino acids cannot be stored in our body, so any that is excess has to be dealt with in the liver.
- Some amino acids are transaminated to produce a different amino acid.
- The rest are deaminated to produce ammonia (NH3) and a keto acid.
+ NH3 is converted into urea, which is transported to the kidneys and excreted.
+ The keto acid is used primarily as energy for liver cells
So Deamination is the removing of nitrogen-containing part of amino acids to form urea and using of the remainder of amino acid to provide energy to the liver cells.