Methylguanidine content in food.

A combination of column chromatography using microcrystalline cellulose and ion-exchange resin, paper chromatography, gas chromatography, and gas chromatogrraphy-mass spectometry was used to determine the content of methylguanidine in various meats of fish and animals, and their processed products. All the samples of fresh fish meat and beef analyzed contained trace amounts (0.2 approximately 0.9 ppm) of methylguanidine. Various types of dried or canned fish also contained trace amounts, while most of the "Bushi-rui," a highly processed dried meat of bonito, mackerel, or sardine contained 21 to 106 ppm of the compound. Two brands of peptone made by digesting meat probably with pepsin and trypsin also contained 12 and 70 ppm of methylguanidine, respectively. Samples of ham, sausage, salami sausage, powdered skim-milk, and a few others did not contain any detectable amount (less than 0.2 ppm).