Analysis of glucuronolactone and glucuronic acid in drug formulations by high-performance liquid chromatography

Glucuronolactone and glucuronic acid in drug formulations and beverages are determined as 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone (PMP) derivatives using high-performance liquid chromatography. Intra-ester linkage (i.e., the lactone of glucuronolactone) is spontaneously hydrolyzed to free-acid form and is analyzed as the PMP derivative of glucuronic acid. By omitting three evaporation steps in the original derivatization procedure, the total analysis time is shortened to approximately 40 min. Reproducibility of determination is within 4.0% for all drug formulations. The present method satisfies the requirements for routine analysis in the quality control of drug formulations containing glucuronolactone or glucuronic acid.