Folin and Ciocalteus phenol reagent

Description

Folin & Ciocalteu′s phenol reagent is most commonly used in the Lowry method for determining protein concentration. It has also been used for the quantification of total phenolics. In this method, protein is pretreated with copper(II) in a modified biuret reagent (alkaline copper solution

stabilized with sodium potassium tartrate). Addition of the phenol reagent generates chromogens that give increasing absorbance between 550-750nm. Normally, absorbance at the peak (750nm) or shoulder (660nm) are used to quantitate protein concentrations between 1-100 mg/ml while absorbance at 550nm is used to quantitate higher protein concentrations.
In the absence of copper, color intensity is determined primarily by the tyrosine and tryptophan content of the protein, and to a lesser extent by cysteine and histidine. Copper(II) has no effect on color formation by tyrosine, tryptophan, or histidine, but reduces color formation due to cysteine.

Application

Folin & Ciocalteu′s phenol reagent has been used for the estimation of total phenolic content in samples.