This use of a single factor, 6.25, is confounded by two considerations. First, not all nitrogen in foods is found in proteins: it is also contained in variable quantities of other compounds, such as free amino acids, nucleotides, creatine and choline, where it is referred to as non-protein nitrogen (NPN). Only a small part of NPN is available for the synthesis of (non-essential) amino acids. Second, the nitrogen content of specific amino acids (as a percentage of weight) varies according to the molecular weight of the amino acid and the number of nitrogen atoms it contains (from one to four, depending on the amino acid in question). Based on these facts, and the different amino acid compositions of various proteins, the nitrogen content of proteins actually varies from about 13 to 19 percent. This would equate to nitrogen conversion factors ranging from 5.26 (1/0.19) to 7.69 (1/0.13).