Determination of methylglyoxal in ruminal fluid by high-performance liquid chromatography using fluorometric detection

There is no reported method for the quantification of methylglyoxal in ruminal fluid. The method reported here is based on the conversion of methylglyoxal to 6-methylpterin, followed by quantification of the resulting pteridinic compound by fluormetric detection using liquid chromatography. Ruminal fluid was collected and preserved with 1 M HCl at -20 degreesC. Cation exchange prior to derivatization was used to eliminate possible interfering peaks. The detection limit of 0.125 mug/mL was calculated. The recoveries were >80%, and the coefficients of variation were <15%. This method has proven to be rugged and accurate for the detection of methylglyoxal concentration in ruminal fluid collected from cows fed diets deficient in degradable intake protein as a marker. Methylglyoxal is produced by ruminal bacteria in response to low nitrogen levels in the rumen. The ruminal methylglyoxal concentration has the potential to be a useful marker to assess ruminal nitrogen status to aid in more accurate diet formulation.