Detection of cystathionine ketimine in bovine cerebellum.

A new sulfur-containing cyclic imino acid, cystathionine ketimine, has been detected in bovine cerebellum by gas chromatography, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and high pressure liquid chromatography procedures. Gas chromatography and gas-mass analyses are based on derivatization of endogenous cystathionine ketimine with diazomethane after a simple enrichment procedure. The high pressure liquid chromatography procedure takes advantage of the selective absorbance at 380 nm of the phenyl isothiocyanate-ketimine interaction product. The concentration of this new sulfur imino acid found in a pool of four bovine cerebella is approximately 0.5 nmol/g.