Development of HPLC and UV spectrophotometric methods for the determination of ascorbic acid using hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin and triethanolamine as photostabilizing agents

In this study, the effect of complex formation with triethanolamine (TEA) alone and in combination with hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) on the photostability of ascorbic acid was evaluated for exposure to artificial and diffuse daylight. The first-order rate constants for the photodegradation reactions were determined. The data obtained showed that these complexes strongly reduced the photodegradation process with an 11- and 35-fold increase in the photostability of ascorbic acid, depending of the ligand concentration and the irradiation source. The multicomponent complex gave a significantly better stabilization for exposure to light than TEA alone.Due to the fact that the complexation extended the exposure of ascorbic acid to light (without molecular changes), UV spectrophotometric and reversed phase high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) methods were developed for the quantitative determination of the vitamin in pure form and in pharmaceutical preparations. These methods were statistically validated, all the validation parameters were found to be within the acceptance range. These results demonstrate that the proposed methods are suitable for the quality control of ascorbic acid, providing simple, rapid, precise, accurate and convenient approaches for routine analysis of bulk drug and pharmaceutical formulations.