The acid-base properties and zinc( ti) complexes of glycylhistamine, sarcosyl histamine, carcinine and carnosine have been studied by potentiometric, 13C and 14N N M R methods. Macroscopic species for the three states of protonation (LH;', LH +, L) and the corresponding microspecies involving three protonation sites (terminal amino, N -I and -3 imidazole nitrogens) are quantitatively estimated for the metal-free ligands. Zinc(ii) complexation is shown to reverse the tautomeric preference between 1 -and 3-H tautomeric forms of the imidazole ring (in LH' and L), as compared to the free ligands where the 1 -H tautomer is predominant.