Determination of hippurate hydrolysis by gas-liquid chromatography

Abstract

A rapid gas-liquid chromatographic procedure was developed to determine hippurate hydrolysis by microorganisms. Bacterial cells were inoculated into 0.4 ml of 1% sodium hippurate and incubated for 2 h at 37°C. Cells were removed by centrifugation, and the benzoate released by enzyme activity was converted to methyl benzoate and analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography. This procedure is sensitive, and its specificity provides a high degree of reliability for organisms with weak hippuricase activity.