[Application of high resolution liquid chromatography to the test of bile acid tolerance]

In the present paper we have evaluated the accuracy of a fully automated liquid-chromatographic method to study the variations of serum bile acid concentration after oral administration of 500 mg of chenodeoxycholic as a bile acid tolerance test. The study population consisted of 11 subjects with liver cirrhosis (L.C.), 6 with chronic active hepatitis (C.A.H.) and of 15 healthy volunteers, as a control. A clear linear correlation was observed between the integrated peak area and the concentration of each bile acid. Bile acids were detected at a minimum concentration of 5 ng. Intra-assay variation, based on 10 consecutive determinations, was limited to a range of 0.42% and 3.23%. Compared to control group, L.C. and C.A.H. patients showed significantly higher levels of total bile acids and of CDCA. Significative was also the increase of glycine- and taurine-conjugates as well as the decrease of the ratio between the two. The present method, fully automated and using a low cost enzymatic reagent, has yielded an accurate analysis of bile acid fractions on a minute volume of serum in a short examination time.