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The Mandelin reagent on its own is yellow and can have a natural sediment. These instructions are kept for reference — we no longer recommendMandelinreagent for cocaine or ketamine; use MORRIS instead. Its one remaining strength was screening meth/amphetamine for PMA and PMMA, and it also reacted with benzofurans, MDMA and MDA, opioids, tryptamines and phenethylamines.

NOTE: Mandelin can only test the PRESENCE, but not QUANTITY of a specific substance.
Always test under a strong light and using the smallest possible sample. Never open more than 1 bottle at once, if you make a mistake you might contaminate the reagents and spoil them. If a few reactions are happening at once, only the darkest one of them will be visible. To detect adulterants, try using on fresh samples secondary reagent tests like Robadope, Simon’s, Scott or Zimmermann. If you don’t know yet how to test using Mandelin reagent, see the following instructions:

  1. On a clean ceramic surface (e.g. bottom of a mug or a plate) prepare a sample no bigger than this size -> ●
  2. Carefully not to touch the sample with the bottle, remove the cap, twist the bottle upside-down and wait for 1 drop to fall. Replace the cap.
  3. Immediately observe the color change and compare it with the Mandelin color chart. No reaction within the first 30 seconds or unexpected results indicate the sample doesn’t contain the expected substance or is adulterated.
  4. Neutralize the reaction with baking soda (optional) and flush in a sink under running water for a few minutes.

No reaction can be caused by MDPV, methylone, caffeine and many other substances (or lack of active ingredient). CHECK TESTDRUGS APP – TestDrugs.info

Pictograms showing how to use a reagent test step by step

Common Mandelin color reactions:

  • 4-CMC and more cathinones – slight orange (needs Zimmermann and Simon’s tests)
  • MDMA/MDA – immediate blue to black (needs Simon’s and/or Robadope tests)
  • Meth/amphetamine – green (needs Simon’s and/or Robadope tests)
  • Ketamine – orange to dark orange
  • Cocaine – slight orange (needs Scott test)
  • Levamisole – light brown
  • PMA/PMMA – green to brown (needs Simon’s and/or Robadope tests)

Find the best reagent test kits HERE. Next choose a purity testing kit. They can detect all adulterants at once, but still require reagent tests for identifying ingredients.

  • To estimate purity of a substance (amount of adulterants and quantity) use Substance Purity Test Kit.
  • To precisly estimate MDMA quantity use MDMA Purity Test Kit, which additionaly contains a calibrated plastic measuring tool.

CLICK HERE to download mandelin reagent color chart in full resolution.

Mandelin reagent has been discontinued

We no longer supply Mandelin. It produces false positives — Clarke’s Analysis of Drugs and Poisons records that it turns orange with almost every hydrochloride salt — its results are inconsistent between samples, and it has an extremely short shelf life, greening in the bottle on its own. Its one genuine strength, separating PMA and PMMA from amphetamines, matters much less now that both have largely left the market.

Use the Morris reagent instead. It replaced Mandelin in our kits and identifies cathinones, cocaine and ketamine far more dependably.

Read the full assessment: is Mandelin reagent reliable?

No test result can tell you a substance is safe. No substance is 100% safe.This article is published for harm reduction purposes. It does not encourage the use of psychoactive substances and does not replace medical advice.