Quantitative investigation of the amino acid levels in putrefying liver (author's transl)]

To elucidate the post-mortem proteolysis we investigated the behaviour of the free amino acids in rotting liver homogenates by means of two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography and reflection densitometry. The post-mortem alterations of the amino acid levels are characterized mostly by a two-phase increase with maxima at the end of the first and after the third week. A few amino acids showed only little changes hardly above the physiological intra-cellular levels. Anaerobic rat experiments and experiences with antibiotic treatment give rise to the supposition that increasing amino acid concentrations indicate a predominance of proteolytic activities over aminoacid catabolism. In the beginning autoenzymes are prevalent, while afterwards bacterial proteases probably predominate. The transient regression about the second and thrid week is interpreted as the effect of a temporarily intensified amino acid degradation by foreign enzymes (maximal bacterial growth).