Using absorption spectroscopy, it has been found that tyrosylphenylalanine specifically reduces cytochrome C. This effect is pH and concentration dependent with the EC +/- SE = 4.42 x 10(-3) M. At 10(-2) 2 M, tyrosylphenylalanine caused reduction which was 50% complete. The same amino acids linked together in reverse order as phenylalanyltyrosine produced only a minimal effect. Tyrosine and phenylalanine alone, serylphenylalanine, formylphenylalanine, tyrosyllysine, and tyrosylarginine did not reduce cytochrome C. Comparison of tyrosylphenylalanine to tyrosylalanine and tyrosyltyrosine showed that the phenyl group is essential to reduction. This approach may illuminate some of the unanswered questions of the chemiosmotic theory of mitochondrial energy production.