A comparison of three methods of glycogen measurement in tissues

Three methods have been used for analysis of glycogen in tissue homogenates: hydrolysis of the tissue in acid and followed by enzymic analysis of the resulting glucose; enzymic hydrolysis with amylo-α-1,4-α-1,6-glucosidase, again followed by enzymic measurement of glucose; and degradation of the glycogen with phosphorylase and debrancher complex coupled to measurement of the resulting glucose-1-P. The two enzymic procedures yielded equivalent results with all tissues examined (brain, liver, muscle and polymorphonuclear leucocytes). Acid hydrolysis of the tissues resulted in higher values for brain tissue only, presumably due to the hydrolysis of the gangliosides and cerebrosides present in brain.