Abstract
IN a note added in proof to a recent paper1, and in a later communication2, Dr. T. Mann states that the sugar present in seminal plasma — that of the bull, ram and boar were under investigation—has been identified as d-fructose. I can offer independent corroboration of this interesting finding in a hitherto unpublished observation made on human semen. In 1942 I had the opportunity of applying to three fresh specimens of human seminal plasma from three separate donors the highly specific skatole colour test for fructose described by Jordan and Pryde3. The results were strongly positive, indicating that fructose comprised the bulk of the sugar present in each of the human specimens examined. Thus, the total 'reducing substance' present in the three specimens as determined by the Shaffer-Hartman procedure was 406, 392 and 325 mgm./l00 ml. A quantitative application of the skatole test3 gave corresponding fructose figures of 400, 365 and 290 mgm./l00 ml. respectively.
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References
Biochem. J., 39, 458 (1945).
Nature, 157, 79 (1946).
Biochem. J., 32, 279 (1938).
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PRYDE, J. Sugar of Human Semen. Nature 157, 660 (1946). https://doi.org/10.1038/157660a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/157660a0
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