DETERMINATION OF THE QUALITY OF ACTIVE INGREDIENTS IN PAIN KILLERS USING GC-MS

Pain serves the useful function of alerting human when some component of their physiological system has gone wrong. Stimulus of pain is never easily defined nor readily removed and therefore it is necessary to treat the pain as symptom. As such, many pharmaceutical companies have ventured into the business of manufacturing over the counter drugs (OTC’s) and this has led to the manufacture of pain relievers that reach the consumers with different branded names. This study sought to determine the quality of acetaminophen (4’-hydroxyacetanilide), asprin (acetylsalicylic acid) and caffeine (3,7-Dihydro-1,3,7-trimethyl-1-H-purine-2, 6-dione) active ingredients in various pain relieving drugs currently dispensed in Kenya. Nine pain killers (panadol, action, hedex, maramoja. P500, P5500, elymol, neldol and APC tablets) were randomly bought from various shops around Nairobi, Kenya and taken to Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) laboratory for analysis. Extraction was done using dichloromethane (DCM) and extracts analyzed for quality of the active ingredients by gas chromatography-mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). GC-MS analysis was performed using 8--- series GC system with Trio-01 Ms detector in electron ionization (EI) mode. Separation was achieved with capillary column TFX-5 (30mX0.25mm I.D, 0.25 µm film). Results indicate that acetaminophen levels in panadol were comparable to Neladol and Elymol (455-560mg/tablet) while hedex had the least (24mg/tablet). These values agreed well with the value on the label on the blistered pack. The highest amount of asprin was found in maramoja (937mg/tablet) followed by hedex (790mg/tablet). Panadol, Elymol and Neladol asprin contents were below detectable limits. Maramoja (93mg/tablet) had high amounts of caffeine which was not significant to that of Action 50mg/tablet). Panadol (0.1mg/tablet) had the lowest caffeine content. The outcome of this study suggests the possible availability of counterfeit drugs in the market. The brand mostly affected for analysis of acetaminophen was found in panadol, action, P500, P5500, elymol and neladol.
Keywords. Painkillers, acetaminophen, asprin, caffeine, gas chromatography-mass Spectrometry