Methodology for measuring malonaldehyde as a product of lipid peroxidation in muscle tissues: A review.

The purpose of this review is to summarize concerns regarding the formation and quantification of malonaldehyde as a product of lipid peroxidation in muscle tissues. The spectrophotometric thiobarbituric acid (TBA) method is the most frequently used test for malonaldehyde quantification, especially in muscle tissues, as a marker of lipid peroxidation. However, the TBA method has been criticized as lacking specificity and adequate sensitivity towards malonaldehyde. High performance liquid and gas chromatographic methods offer better specificity and sensitivity for malonaldehyde detection. The TBA method, however, may be preferred over the chromatographic method because of its simplicity, especially when a large number of samples need to be analyzed in a short period of time on a daily basis. In addition, the TBA method has been correlated with other objective and subjective methods of measuring lipid peroxidation and its specificity can be improved with the use of a solid phase extraction C(18) cartridge.