4-Dimethylaminocinnamaldehyde

Orange powder. Soluble in chloroform. Primarily used as a histological dye to detect indoles. Reagent for the determination of aromatic amines. It is used for the rapid identification of bacteria containing apotryptophanase and tryptophanase enzyme systems. It is also particularly useful for localization of proanthocyanidins compounds in plants, resulting in a blue staining. Has been developed for flavanoids in beer and is used in forensics.