Utilization of Folin-Ciocalteu phenol reagent for the detection of certain nitrogen compounds.

To determine in more detail the reaction of Folin-Ciocalteu phenol reagent with nitrogen compounds, a number of hydroxylamine-related compounds and a large number of guanidine-containing compounds were tested. In general, guanidine compounds did not react strongly unless they were hydroxyamino or hydrazino derivatives. The non-hydroxyamino paralytic shellfish poison saxitoxin, however, reacted to a significant extent.