Aldehyde Dehydrogenase Assay

Aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) is a family of enzymes that catalyze the conversion of various aldehydes to their corresponding carboxyolic acids. ALDH plays an important role in alcohol metabolism, converting acetaldehyde, which has carcinogenic, cytotoxicity, and mutagenicity affects, into acetic acid. The change in ALDH activity and expression levels can be used as a marker for cancer, cancer stem cells, and Parkinson’s disease. This colorimetric assay is based on aldehyde dehydrogenase-catalyzed oxidation of aldehyde, where the resulting NADH can then convert a nearly colorless probe to a colored product; the intensity of the colored product is proportional to the amount of ALDH in the sample, exhibiting maximum absorbance at 440nm.