Abstract :
The goal of this study is to carry out degradation studies of Levocetirizine market-available tablet brands.
Forced degradation is the process which involves degradation of the drug products which can be studied to
determine the molecule’s stability. Various brands of levocetirizine dihydrochloride (Okacet-L, LECOPE,
Levocet, 1-AL) were used. It is an H1 receptor antagonist and is used in the treatment of persistent or
seasonal allergic rhinitis and chronic idiopathic urticaria. As per ICH recommendations, this drug has been
subject to various stress conditions during the study. In the presence of degradation products, an ultraviolet
spectroscopic (UV) method for drug analysis has been developed. The pH 7.0 phosphate buffer was used as
solvent. The amount of degraded drug was determined by taking the 230 nm absorbance. All products have
been degraded under conditions of acidic, oxidation, photolytic and thermal degradation, and less degraded
in alkaline conditions. In all conditions of degradation the tablet of brands Levocet and LECOPE showed
less degradation than the brand name tablets Okacet-L and 1-AL.
Keyword :
Levocetirizine dihydrochloride, Degradation studies, Different brands, UV-spectrophotometer.