A simple radioenzymatic procedure for the determination of choline and acetylcholine in brain regions of rats sacrificed by microwave irradiation.

A rapid and sensitive radioenzymatic method for analysis of choline (Ch) and acetylcholine (ACh) concentrations in rat brain regions is described. The ACh content is obtained as the difference in Ch concentration between a hydrolysed and an unhydrolysed tissue sample. The ACh content was 16+/-1.0 nmol/g in the cortex and 76+/-2.4 nmol/g in the striatum, and the corresponding Ch values were 23+/-2.5 and 33+/-1.2.