Question:easy
Rothera's test is used for detection of:
Rothera's test is used for detection of:
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Sodium nitroprusside ring test on urine, classic in diabetic ketoacidosis.
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
- Proteins
- Glucose
- Fatty acid
- Ketones
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The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
Rothera's test is a bedside-style chemistry test, and the key ingredient to remember is sodium nitroprusside. That reagent is the giveaway for ketone testing.
When you saturate urine with ammonium sulfate, add a pinch of sodium nitroprusside, and layer strong ammonia or alkali on top, acetoacetate and acetone in the sample react to throw up a purple ring at the junction of the two layers. A vivid ring means the urine is loaded with ketone bodies, the situation you see in diabetic ketoacidosis or prolonged starvation. One caveat: the reaction misses beta-hydroxybutyrate, so it can underestimate total ketones.
Match this against the choices. Proteins would be checked with sulfosalicylic acid or heat-and-acetic-acid coagulation. Glucose is the classic target of Benedict's reagent. Fatty acids are not assessed this way at all. The reagent and the colored ring point squarely to ketones.
\[\boxed{\text{Ketones}}\]
When you saturate urine with ammonium sulfate, add a pinch of sodium nitroprusside, and layer strong ammonia or alkali on top, acetoacetate and acetone in the sample react to throw up a purple ring at the junction of the two layers. A vivid ring means the urine is loaded with ketone bodies, the situation you see in diabetic ketoacidosis or prolonged starvation. One caveat: the reaction misses beta-hydroxybutyrate, so it can underestimate total ketones.
Match this against the choices. Proteins would be checked with sulfosalicylic acid or heat-and-acetic-acid coagulation. Glucose is the classic target of Benedict's reagent. Fatty acids are not assessed this way at all. The reagent and the colored ring point squarely to ketones.
\[\boxed{\text{Ketones}}\]
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