The Estimation of Carnosine in Muscle Extract—A Critical Study

Abstract

IN a recent communication This was based on a method of estimation of iminazoles devised by Koessler and Hanke [1919, 1]. This method depended on the coupling of carnosine with diazotised sulphanilic acid in alkaline solution to form an azo dye. The colour produced was measured against a standard solution of a mixture of Congo red and methyl-orange. Pure solutions of carnosine were found to react very satis- factorily, and in different extracts of the same muscles the colour values were consistent. The accuracy of the method could not be doubted, but the certainty that carnosine was responsible for the total colour production was called in question.