[On GLC of bile acids in serum and bile (author's transl)]

Some modifications to previous methods are reported in this paper to make this chromatographic assay more specific and more specific and more convenient in practice. 1. Bile acids were deconjugated via an enzymatic route with choloylglycine hydrolase (EC 3.5.1.24). 2. By acetylation of methyl derivatives, chromatography on alumina which led to a loss of lithocholic acid, can be supressed. Moreover, the compounds obtained are thermically more stable than those obtained by trifluoroacetylation. 3. The use of nor-cholic acid as internal standard led to a better quantitation of bile acids than others because its relative retention time is located between cholic and chenodesoxycholic acid. 4. Because of the hight sensitivity of this method, the assay of duodenal samples can be made with minimal volumes (0.1 ml) allowing a direct extraction by organic solvents.