Litmus "Lecanora tartarea" (Norway, Sweden), "Variolaria dealbata", "Ochrolechia parella", "Parmotrema tinctorum", and "Parmelia". Currently, the main sources are "Roccella montagnei" (Mozambique) and "Dendrographa leucophoea" (California). The main use of litmus is to test whether a solution is acidic or basic. Wet litmus paper can also be used to test for water-soluble gases that affect acidity or alkalinity; the gas dissolves in the water and the resulting solution colors the litmus paper. For instance, ammonia gas, which is alkaline, turn the red litmus paper blue. Blue litmus paper turns red under acidic conditions and red litmus paper turns blue under basic or
Colorimetry (chemical method) Colorimetric assays use reagents that undergo a measurable color change in the presence of the analyte. They are widely used in biochemistry to test for the presence of enzymes, specific compounds, antibodies, hormones and many more analytes. For example, Colorimetry (chemical method) In physical and analytical chemistry, colorimetry or colourimetry is a technique "used to determine the concentration of colored compounds in solution." A colorimeter is a device used to test the concentration of a solution by measuring its absorbance of a specific wavelength of light (not to be confused with the tristimulus colorimeter used to measure colors in general).