Ehrlich's reagent or Ehrlich reagent is a reagent that contains p-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde (DMAB) and thus can act as an indicator to presumptively identify indoles and urobilinogen. Several Ehrlich tests use the reagent in a medical test; some are drug tests and others contribute to diagnosis of various diseases or adverse drug reactions. A very common Ehrlich test is a simple spot test to identify possible psychoactive compounds such as tryptamines (e.g. DMT) and ergoloids (e.g. LSD). The reagent will also give a positive result for opium, despite the opiates not containing the indole functional group, because of the presence of tryptophan in natural opium. It is named after Nobel Prize winner Paul Ehrlich who used it to distinguish typhoid from simple diarrhoea.
The reagent is prepared by dissolving 0.5–2.0 g of p–dimethylaminobenzaldehyde (DMAB) in 50 mL of 95% ethanol and 50 mL of concentrated hydrochloric acid and is best used when fresh. Other alcohols, such as 1-propanol, can also be used as well.
The Ehrlich reagent is similar to a number of other indole tests:
The Ehrlich reagent works by binding to the C2 position of two indole moieties to form a resonance stabilised carbenium ion compound.