<P> Metabolic wastes or excretes are substances left over from metabolic processes (such as cellular respiration) which cannot be used by the organism (they are surplus or toxic), and must therefore be excreted . This includes nitrogen compounds, water, CO, phosphates, sulfates, etc . Animals treat these compounds as excretes . Plants have chemical "machinery" which transforms some of them (primarily the nitrogen compounds) into useful substances, and it has been shown by Brian J. Ford that abscised leaves also carry wastes away from the parent plant . In this way, Ford argues that the shed leaf acts as an excretory (an organ carrying away excretory products). </P> <P> All the metabolic wastes are excreted in a form of water solutes through the excretory organs (nephridia, Malpighian tubules, kidneys), with the exception of CO, which is excreted together with the water vapor throughout the lungs . The elimination of these compounds enables the chemical homeostasis of the organism . </P> <P> The nitrogen compounds through which excess nitrogen is eliminated from organisms are called nitrogenous wastes (/ naɪˈtrɒdʒɪnəs /) or nitrogen wastes . They are ammonia, urea, uric acid, and creatinine . All of these substances are produced from protein metabolism . In many animals, the urine is the main route of excretion for such wastes; in some, the feces is . </P> <P> Ammonotelism is the excretion of ammonia and ammonium ions . Ammonia (NH) forms with the oxidation of amino groups. (- NH), which are removed from the proteins when they convert into carbohydrates . It is a very toxic substance to tissues and extremely soluble in water . Only one nitrogen atom is removed with it . A lot of water is needed for the excretion of ammonia, about 0.5 L of water is needed per 1 g of nitrogen to maintain ammonia levels in the excretory fluid below the level in body fluids to prevent toxicity . Thus, the marine organisms excrete ammonia directly into the water and are called ammonotelic . Ammonotelic animals include protozoans, crustaceans, platyhelminths, cnidarians, poriferans, echinoderms, and other aquatic invertebrates . </P>

Nitrogenous wastes may be produced as a result of the metabolism of