Release of aldehydic products from glutamate or deoxyuridine by delta-aminolevulinic acid in presence of copper ions.

Glutamate or deoxyuridine in the presence of Cu2+ and delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) reaction resulted in the formation of thiobarbituric acid reactive compounds (TBAR), which was linear up to 2 hr. TBAR increased linearly with the increase of both ALA and copper ion concentration. Oxygen consumption was directly proportional to the concentration of formaldehyde perhaps formed by secondary oxidation of dimethyl sulfoxide. Addition of oxyradical scavengers in the reaction mixture resulted in the inhibition of TBAR formation.