Urinary polyamine excretion during the menstrual cycle.

Urinary polyamines were measured by a fluorometric thin-layer chromatographic technique in samples collected daily throughout a single menstrual cycle by each of 13 healthy women. Polyamine excretion fluctuated considerably, but excretion of putrescine, spermidine, and spermine combined was consistently greatest during menstruation, sometimes extending into the early follicular phase of the cycle. Enhanced excretion of polyamines was also noticed in many individuals at the approximate time of ovulation.