The Effect of Formaldehyde on Tissue Lipids and on Histochemical Reactions for Carbonyl Groups

Abstract

Histcchemical and chemical evidence indicates that formaldehyde combines with unsaturated lipids at the double bond. The resulting complex contains a free carbonyl group which probably originates from the formaldehyde. The reaction occurs over a wide pH range, and takes place in the absence of oxygen or moisture. The reaction product is visualized by the Schiff reagent, and by the Ashbel-Seligman procedure. In the plasmal procedure, when performed on formalin-treated material, the reaction has the same significance as the pseudo-plasmal reaction, i.e. it denotes the presence of double bonds. The Ashbel-Seligman technic seems to be more sensitive to this complex than the Schiff reagent and shows it more markedly than it does the true plasmals and the atmospherically oxidized unsaturated compounds.