Separatory Determination of Free and Conjugated Bile Acids in Human Serum

Abstract

A simple, precise and sensitive method for separation and determination of free and conjugated bile acids in human serum without prior hydrolysis is described. The free, glycine-and taurine-conjugated bile acids are separated into groups by ion-exchange chromatography on a newly developed lipophilic gel, piperidinohydroxypropyl Sephadex LH-20. Bile acids in each group are determined by the enzymatic method using 3x-hydroxy. steroid oxidoreductase. The proposed assay system is applicable to simultaneous quantitation of free and conjugated bile acids with satisfactory precision. The serum bile acid levels were estimated on some patients with hepatobiliary diseases.