Glycosaminoglycans of tissues of the domestic fowl

Mucopolysaccharide-peptide complexes (MPS-P) from skin, comb, wattle, liver, kidney, spleen, lung, heart, ovaries, egg yolk, infundibulum, magnum, isthmus, shell gland, and vagina of the White Leghorn laying hens were isolated after extraction with acetone, papain hydrolysis, and cetyl pyridinium chloride precipitation. They were analyzed for characteristic components of the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) and carbohydrate parts of glycoproteins and for amino acids. The infrared spectra of the MPS-P were studied for detection of the GAG present. The MPS-P were submitted to cellulose acetate electrophoresis for detection of GAG and to column chromatography on an anionic resin for quantitative determination of GAG.