Hæmolytic and surface activity of sodium taurocholate

IT is generally accepted that sodium taurocholate is a good lytic agent for erythrocytes, and a great number of reports on hæmolysis by this substance have been published¹. Abnormal sigmoid timedilution curves are sometimes reported for taurocholate lysis, and frequent reference is made to the instability of the taurocholate solutions used by these authors. One report² states qualitatively that a synthetic specimen of taurocholate was "moderately lytic", whereas a specimen prepared from natural sources was "strongly lytic". Two other reports³ also give a much lower hæmolytic activity for taurocholate than that generally accepted.