The assay for the histamine-like activity of some antibiotics.

It is shown that dogs, although appreciably less sensitive to histamine than cats, are suitable for the assay of possible histamine-like activity as a trace contaminant of some antibiotics. Several techniques have been used to try to distinguish between actual histamine and histamine-like activity of highly purified antibiotics and some cruder experimental preparations. Standard errors are given for the assay of histamine-like activity in a variety of antibiotic preparations.