Theophyllidine reaction

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The theophyllidine reaction is a chemical detection reaction for theophylline , which is suitable for distinguishing it from other xanthines such as caffeine and theobromine . The reaction is based on the intermediate formation of the eponymous alkaline hydrolysis product theophyllidine , which forms a red to violet dye with diazotized sulfanilic acid in an acidic medium . Theobromine and caffeine do not give any positive evidence, since their pyrimidine ring is not cleaved under alkaline conditions or there is no coupling with diazotized sulfanilic acid.

literature

  • Gerhard Rücker, Michael Neugebauer, Paul-G. Heiden (1985). Isolation of the red coupling product of the theophyllidine reaction. In: Arch. Pharm. (Weinheim) 318: 1140-1142.