The hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase enzyme system is known to produce the superoxide ion and hydrogen peroxide during the hydroxylation of hypoxanthine via xanthine to uric acid. When chelated iron is included in this system, superoxide reduces iron (III) to iron(II) and the iron(II)-chelate further reacts with hydrogen peroxide to form the highly reactive hydroxyl radical. Because of the limitations of colourimetric and spectrophotometric techniques by which, to date, the mechanisms of hydroxyl radical formation in the hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase system have been monitored, a high performance liquid chromatography method utilizing the ion-pair reagent tetrabutylammonium hydroxide and salicylic acid as an aromatic probe for quantification of hydroxyl radical formation was set up. In the hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase system the major products of hydroxyl radical attack on salicylic acid were 2,5-dihydroxy benzoic acid and 2,3-dihydroxy benzoic acid in the approximate ratio of 5:1. That the hydroxyl radical is involved in the hydroxylation of salicylic acid in this system was demonstrated by the potency especially of dimethyl sulphoxide, butanol and ethanol as scavengers. Phytic acid, which is considered to be an important protective dietary constituent against colorectal cancer, inhibited hydroxylation of salicylic acid at a concentration one order of magnitude lower than the classical scavengers, but was only effective in the absence of EDTA. The method has been applied to the study of free radical generation in faeces, and preliminary results indicate that the faecal flora are able to produce reactive oxygen species in abundance.