Gas-chromatographic profiling of urinary acidic and alcoholic catecholamine metabolites

Urinary acidic and alcoholic catecholamine metabolites were isolated separately from 24-h urines by simple extraction procedures. After derivatization, extracts were analyzed by means of simultaneous gas chromatography on two different stationary phases. The quality of the assay was checked by running "normal" and enriched commercial (Hyland) control urines in each series. Normal values are given for vanilmandelic acid, homovanillic acid, and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethylene glycol, expressed as a function of age. We present excretion patterns showing these metabolites and also 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, vanillacetic acid, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylethylene glycol, and vanilethanol for 12 patients with neurogenic tumors. Values obtained for vanilmandelic acid by this method correlate well with those obtained by the electrophoretic/colorimetric method of Hermann [Am. J. Clin. Pathol. 41, 373 (1964)].