Effects of allopurinol (2mM), a specific inhibitor of xanthine oxidase, on the growth and metabolism of llantoin in dark grown Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris L.) seedlings were investigated. Allopurinol treatment maintained the fresh and dry weights of cotyledons at higher levels, but inhibited the elongation of hypocotyls and roots of the seedlings. Total nitrogen content in the cotyledons decreased at slower rate by allopurinol. Accordingly, the levels of total nitrogen contents in the hypocotyls and roots, were depressed by the inhibitor. In the cotyledons, allopurinol began to elevate RNA levels after day 3, which it did not affect DNA level throughout the experiment. Activities of xanthine oxidase (XO:EC 1.2.3.2), uricase (UO:EC 1.7.3.3) and allantoinase (AL:EC 3.5.2.5) in the cotyledons were examined. The activity of XO was not detected, but the accumulation of xanthine by allopurinol treatment presented an indirect evidence of the existence of XO in the organ. Allopurinol kept UO activity high up to day 2 after sowing and depressed AL activity throughout the experiment. By allopurinol treatment, allantoin content was kept high over the control both in cotyledons and roots, but it was kept low in hypocotyls. The level of allantoic acid in the 3 organs were shown to be depressed by allopurinol. These results suggest that allantoin and allantoic acid produced by the degradation of stored and newly synthesized RNA are transported from the storage tissue to hypocotyls and roots as important nitrogen sources for the development of Chinese cabbage seedlings.