Forced degradation study of different brands of levocetirizine dihydrochloride by UV-spectroscopy

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. Keywords: Levocetirizine dihydrochloride, Degradation studies, Different brands, UV-spectrophotometer.