Journal of Natural Remedies

Flávia Bonfim Lima ¹, Beatriz da Costa Aguiar Alves ¹, David Feder ¹, Marina Cristina Peres ¹, Glaucia Luciano da Veiga ¹, Edimar Cristiano Pereira ², Fernando Luiz Affonso Fonseca ¹

Affiliations
1 Laboratório de Análises Clínicas, Centro Universitário Saúde ABC/ Faculdade de Medicina do ABC, Av, Lauro Gomes, 2000, 09060-870, Santo André, SP, BR
2 Departamento de Ciências Farmacêuticas da Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Rua Prof. Artur Riedel, 275, 09972-270, Diadema, SP, BR

Abstract

The low cost added to easy access and expectation of low or no side effects make these products increasingly attractive. When a product of natural origin contains synthetic substances that are not declared in its formulation, the synthetic substance is characterized as adulteration. In order to identify and quantify adulterants in natural products, analytical methods have been developed and used as fundamental tools in the control of these products. Thus, two products of natural origin indicated for treatment of rheumatic and inflammatory diseases were analyzed to verify the presence of the co-adulterant furosemide. Co-adulterant presence in the products was tested using an Agilent® brand 1100 HPLC system with a quaternary pump, an automatic injector and a DAD detector, with a mobile phase composed of methanol/formic acid 0.2% 60/40 (v/v). HPLC-DAD indicates the presence of the undeclared furosemide compound in the original formulation of both analyzed samples. In sample A, 24 mg of furosemide per gram was found, while in sample B, 47mg per gram of product was obtained. The consumption of adulterated products may lead to risks such as drug interaction and intoxication, since active ingredients of synthetic origin are added without taking in consideration adjustments and quality of the raw material.

Keywords

Chromatography, Co-Adulterant, Furosemide, HPLC, Natural Products.

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