Differential pulse and AC polarography of reserpine, using an aprotic organic solvent system

Previously demonstrated advantages of aprotic organic solvent for analysis of organic pharmaceuticals have been applied to the assay of reserpine tablets. A procedure using high sensitivity electroanalytical relaxation methods was developed which is simpler and more sensitive than the USP assay. Most data were obtained with a commercial differential pulse polarograph which is widely available. However, less extensive measurements with other instruments established the general applicability of the differential pulse method, as well as various acpolarographic techniques. The results of differential pulse polarographic (DPP) and USP assays of synthetically formulated reserpine tablets compare favorably. The DPP method yields an average recovery for 0.1 mg reserpine/tablet of 100%, with a range of 97.6-102.3%. Corresponding data for 0.25 mg reserpine/tablet are 99.3%, with a range of 97.6-100.6%. Satisfactory results also were obtained in content uniformity studies, using single 0.1 and 0.25 mg tablets.