DETERMINATION OF METRONIDAZOLE CONTENT IN DIFFERENT BRANDS OF METRONIDAZOLE TABLETS USING UV-SPECTROPHOTOMETRY

ABSTRACT

Metronidazole is an antibacterial agent discovered in 1962 at Rhone-Poulenc.It belongs to the group of nitroimidazoles. It is widely used for infections caused by Gram-negative anaerobes such as bacteriodes and Gram-positive anaerobes such as Clostridia. Today, it is popularly used for the treatment of vagina infections such as trichomoniasis and bacterial vaginosis.The aim of the research is to determine the metronidazole content in various brands of metronidazole. It is important to know the metronidazole content of various brands of metronidazole available to consumers in various pharmacies.

Thirty tablets each of seven (7) brands of metronidazole was obtained from various pharmacies in Benin City and evaluated for weight uniformity using an electronic weighing balance and metronidazole content using a UV spectrophotometer.

The weight uniformity test was passed by four brands of metronidazole tablets with a coefficient of variation ranging from 0.93% to 2.59%. MTZ 1 had the highest coefficient of variation, while MTZ 6 has the least coefficient of variation.The percentage content of metronidazole in the various brands range from 93.15 - 103.85%, and was passed by six brands of the metronidazole tablets.