Acetic anhydride and sulphuric acid are reagents used in
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Each chemical test in pharmacognosy uses a specific set of reagents to identify a particular group of compounds. Remembering the reagent–test pairing answers the question.
Concept: Each chemical test in pharmacognosy uses a specific set of reagents to identify a particular group of compounds. Remembering the reagent–test pairing answers the question.
Step 1: Acetic anhydride together with concentrated sulphuric acid is the classic reagent combination of the Liebermann–Burchard test. A positive result gives a colour change (green/blue) and confirms the presence of steroids and triterpenoids.
Step 2: The other tests use different reagents: Shinoda's test uses magnesium and hydrochloric acid for flavonoids; Borntrager's test uses ammonia for anthraquinones; Murexide test uses nitric acid and ammonia for purines like caffeine.
Step 3: Since acetic anhydride plus sulphuric acid matches only one of these, the answer is clear.