A biochemical test to detect reducing sugars in solution, devised by the US chemist Stanley Rossiter Benedict (1884–1936). Benedict’s reagent – a mixture of copper(II) sulphate and a filtered mixture of hydrated sodium citrate and hydrated sodium carbonate – is added to the test solution and boiled. A high concentration of reducing sugars induces the formation of a red precipitate; a lower concentration produces a yellow precipitate. Benedict’s test is a more sensitive alternative to Fehling’s test.