Bile Acid Content of Human Serum. I. Serum Bile Acids in Patients with Hepatic Disease1

Abstract

Lack of specific analytic methods has hitherto prevented exact studies of the effect of liver dis- ease upon the concentration of bile acids in the serum. Until recently it has not been possible to measure the serum concentration of bile acids other than cholic acid. Various modifications-of the Pettenkofer reaction have been employed to deter- mine the serum concentration of cholic acid. Re- ports of "normal" serum cholic acid concentrations of 0.0 mg. per cent (1), 0.4 mg. per cent (2), 0.6 to 2.2 mg. per cent (3), and 3 to 6 mg. per cent (4) reflect the non-specific nature of this reaction.