Direct spectrophotometry of total bile acids in serum

In this simple and direct method for determining total bile acids in serum, the serum was mixed with sodium pyruvate, a lactate dehydrogenase blocker, and bile acids were then measured spectrophotometrically after the following enzyme reaction. Bile acids are converted to 3-oxo bile acids with 3 alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.50) with concomitant reduction of NAD+ to NADH. The hydrogen in the NADH generated is transferred by diaphorase (EC 1.6.4.3) to nitrotetrazolium blue to yield diformazan 540 nm). Analytical recovery of the various bile acids in serum averaged 96.2%. The CV for the day-to-day variation was 4.3%. Normal values are less than 7 mumol/L. Total serum bile acids were estimated by this method in 118 fasting patients with various liver diseases. This determination is clearly shown to be useful as a liver-function test.