Identification of bile alcohols in serum from healthy humans.

Abstract Bile alcohol glucuronides present in human serum were isolated by ion exchange chromatography on piperidino-hydroxypropyl Sephadex LH-20. Following hydrolysis with β-glucuronidase, the bile alcohols were analyzed by a combination of gas-liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. Bile alcohols identified were 27-nor-5β-cholestane-3α, 7α,12α,24,25-pentol, 27-nor-5β-cholestane-3α, 7α,12α,24,25,26-hexol, 5β-cholestane-3α,7α,12α,24,25-pentol, 5β-cholestane-3α,7α,12α,24,26-pentol, 5β-cholestane-3α,7α, 12α,25,26-pentol, and 5β-cholestane-3α,7α,12α,24,25,26-hexol. The bile alcohol composition in serum was similar to that in urine but not to that in bile. The concentration of total bile alcohols in serum was 59.5 ± 24.6 μ g/L.