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ABSTRACT
Introduction: Antacids are drug products which have a characteristic ability to neutralize stomach acid thus lowering the acidity of the gastric content.
Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate the use of bromophenol blue indicator in place of standard pH meter in the USP method in the determination of twenty randomly selected brands of antacid suspension available in the Nigeria market.
Method: The active ingredients were recorded and the preliminary antacid test (PAT) was determined with 0.5 N HCl after 10 min. The acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) was evaluated with 1 N HCl by neutralizing the excess with 0.5 N NaOH after 15 min stirring using bromophenol blue as indicator. Buffering capacity (BC) was estimated with 0.1 N HCl and titrated with 0.1 N NaOH at 5 min interval up to 50 min.
Result/Discussion: All brands had as part of their active ingredients dried aluminum hydroxide and magnesium hydroxide. All the antacid brands sampled were declared qualified as ‘antacids’ having passed the preliminary antacid test (PAT) and were therefore subjected to the ANC and buffering capacity tests that distinguishes one product from the other with respect to efficacy. Sample T17 had the highest ANC value (23.17mEq/dose whereas sample T1 had the lowest ANC value (7.20mEq/dose). Buffering capacity helps determine the rate of change in pH. All the brands had their initial pH ranging from 8.4–10.26. This indicates that the pH of all the antacids can be maintained well above 3.5, which is the threshold pH for acidity of the stomach.
Conclusion: The ANC of the brands of antacid suspension were determined titrimetrically using bromophenol blue indicator. The results reviewed that all the brands met the required specifications. Hence all the brands investigated can be effective in the treatment and management of hyperacidity disorders.
