The method described herein involves the quantitative determination of the amine putrescine by paper chromatography followed by spectrophotometry of the eluted spot. From the data some conclusions can be drawn: 1. Satisfactory recovery of putrescine added to plant extracts can be achieved with that method (c.a. 80-85%); 2. The absorption spectra of the reaction products of putrescine and ninhydrin shows a maximum peak at 575 mu; 3. In the assay on the effect of the lenght of heating on the color yield of the reaction product it was observed that the color development reached a maximum within 20 minutes, at 65ºC, and did not decline within the next 10 minutes: 4. It was found that the eluted ninhydrin color was stable for at least 3 hours following elution; 5. The absorbance at 575 mu of the putrescine-ninhydrin reaction product as a function of the amount of putrescine in the reaction mixture as well as applied to the chromatograms yielded a straight line.