Abstract

QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF IBUPROFEN TABLETS BY SIMPLE TITRIMETRIC AND BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY ASSAY

Dode Ebiere*, Kemelayefa James and Asogwa Titus Chimbere

ABSTRACT

Ibuprofen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), which inhibits the assembly of prostaglandins by decreasing the activity of the enzyme cyclooxygenase (COX). Marketing of fake and substandard drugs are on the rise, hence the requirement for an inexpensive, quick and simple assay methods for Ibuprofen quantification. Additionally, biological assay is best applied to elicit the activity and efficiency of a drug. During this study, five brands of ibuprofen tablets were evaluated using aqueous titrimetric and biological hot plate methods. The titrimetric method involves the reaction between the drug and sodium hydroxide using phenolphthalein as indicator to see the endpoint, while in the biological, analgesic activity was assessed using the hot plate method. The uniformity of weight of all the brands complied with compendia specification. The percentage purity ranged from 98.6% to 100.4%(w/w), while the percentage pain inhibition showed that all brands had analgesic effect, with values ranging from 11.5 to 13.4 % at 60 minutes. All brands investigated were found satisfactory and met the stipulated compendia specifications.

Keywords: Ibuprofen, NSAID, COX, Titrimetric, Prostaglandins.