Extractive determination of ephedrine hydrochloride and bromhexine hydrochloride in pure solutions, pharmaceutical dosage form and urine samples

• Ephedrine hydrochloride and bromhexine hydrochloride were determined.
• The methods depend on extraction of the formed ion-associates into solvent.
• Different factors were studied to establish the best conditions for the investigation.
• The methods are applied in pharmaceutical preparations and urine samples.
• Statistical treatments of the proposed methods were applied.

Simple, rapid, sensitive, precise and accurate spectrophotometeric methods for the determination of ephedrine hydrochloride (E-HCl) and bromhexine hydrochloride (Br-HCl) in bulk samples, dosage form and in spiked urine samples were investigated. The methods are based on the formation of a yellow colored ion-associates due to the interaction between the examined drugs with picric acid (PA), chlorophyllin coppered trisodium salt (CLPH), alizarin red (AR) and ammonium reineckate (Rk) reagents. A buffer solution had been used and the extraction was carried out using organic solvent, the ion associates exhibit absorption maxima at 410, 410, 430 and 530 nm of (Br-HCl)with PA, CLPH, AR and Rk respectively; 410, 410, 435 and 530 of (E-HCl) with PA, CLPH, AR and Rk respectively. (E-HCl) and (Br-HCl) could be determined up to 13, 121, 120 and 160; 25, 200, 92 and 206 μg mL−1, using PA, CLPH, AR and Rk respectively. The optimum reaction conditions for quantitative analysis were investigated. In addition, the molar absorptivity, Sandell sensitivity were determined for the investigated drug. The correlation coefficient was ⩾0.995 (n = 6) with a relative standard deviation (RSD) ⩽1.15 for five selected concentrations of the reagents. Therefore the concentration of Br-HCl and E-HCl drugs in their pharmaceutical formulations and spiked urine samples had been determined successfully.

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