[Determination of histamine and serotonin in whole blood using the method of high performance liquid chromatography]

The authors have developed a method for measuring histamine and serotonin in whole blood, based on reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography of 5-dimethylaminonaphthyl sulfonic (DNS) amine derivatives with fluorometric detection. Chromatography in a mini-column packed with polyamide was employed for the isolation and purification of DNS-histamine and serotonin. The lowest detectable level of histamine is 2-2.5 ng/ml of blood, that of serotonin 1-1.5 ng/ml. The method was tried with whole blood samples from children suffering from various allergic conditions. Whole blood histamine and serotonin concentration were found particularly elevated in the patients with gastrointestinal allergies.