ABSTRACT
Many methods are available for the analysis of lipids and other natural products. These include various chromatographic techniques (gas, liquid and thin-layer chromatographies), various spectroscopic techniques (including NMR and infrared spectroscopy) and spectrometry. Although they are rarely used in research laboratories, enzyme-based assays are used extensively for routine analyses in clinical chemistry and in food analysis laboratories. Most of these methods are highly selective (due to the strict substrate specificities of most enzymes), accurate and convenient (the only instrument required for most enzymatic methods is a spectrophotometer or sometimes a fluorometer). Many of these enzymatic methods can be purchased as kits that contain one “cocktail” reagent that includes a premixed solution with all the necessary enzymes, buffers, cofactors and other compounds required to conduct the analyses. Some kits contain individual vials of enzymes, and other reagents and stock solutions of each must be prepared.
