Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 7, 2026
High Throughput Screening of Fungal Endoglucanase Activity in Escherichia coli
Published on: August 13, 2011
A comparative study of the EpiScreen kit and a conventional method for the determination of seminal alpha-glucosidase
M H Fourie1, M S Bornman, E Viljoen
1Department of Urology, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
Abstract:
Low alpha-glucosidase activity in seminal plasma is a marker of epididymal obstruction. The criterion standard for determining activity is the epididymal specific method, whereby the neutral iso-enzyme, specifically produced by the epididymis, is measured. A kit that determines total alpha-glucosidase activity (neutral iso-enzyme and the acid iso-enzyme originating from the prostate) has become available. The objective of the laboratory-based study was to compare alpha-glucosidase activity values measured by both the EpiScreen and the epididymal specific method, to determine if the kit may provide reliable results to substitute the neutral iso-enzyme specific method in the routine clinical setting. The neutral iso-enzyme activity according to both methods was measured in seminal plasma of 23 post-vasectomy and 24 normozoospermic patients. Significant differences (P < 0.05) were found between the activities measured according to both methods, but these differences pertained mostly to high values (> 40 mU ejaculate-1), which was not clinically significant. In conclusion, the epididymal specific method is best suited for research purposes, but the EpiScreen kit is convenient for routine use in infertility clinics.
