Abstract
A relatively rapid simplified colorimetric method which uses an enzymatic hydrolysis for the determination of total urinary estriol is described. All reagents and the enzyme preparation are prepared within the laboratory. Thus not only is reagent quality readily controlled but a marked cost saving is obtained with respect to the method's commercial counterparts. A comparative study of the hydrolytic ability of β-glucuronidase from E. coli and Helix pomatia indicated the latter to be the enzyme of choice for the proposed methodology. The proposed method was found to be linear to greater than 20 μg estriol/ml with coefficients of variation of 1.6 and 2.4% for 24-hr urinary estriol concentrations of 18.7 and 29.6 mg, respectively. A comparative study between the described method and a colorimetric method using an acid hydrolysis indicated the latter to yield only 80% of the total urinary estriol obtained with the former.
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