Background: Iron is a crucial component for sustaining life in living beings and plays a key role in the treatment of anaemia. This study evaluated the iron (II) content in different brands of iron-containing drugs commercially available in Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. Methods: 15 pharmaceutical products, comprising tablets, capsules, and syrups, were procured from licensed pharmacies in AdoEkiti. Iron content was quantified by UV–visible spectrophotometry. Initially, ferrous ions (Fe²⁺) in the samples were reacted with 1,10phenanthroline under acidic conditions to form an orangered chelate exhibiting a maximum absorbance at 508 nm. Iron concentrations were then interpolated from a constructed standard Fe²⁺ calibration curve and compared with the British Pharmacopoeia (BP) and United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) assay limits for the iron salts. Results: Among the 15 samples analysed, syrups had the highest frequency, with 73.33% of the entire sample manufactured locally. In the assay test, 9 brands (2 tablets, 5 capsules, and 2 syrups), which constituted 60% of the samples, were found to have Fe2+ levels within the BP and USP limits. However, 40% of the analysed samples had iron content that fell outside the acceptable limits specified in the pharmacopoeias. Conclusion: The study's findings revealed discrepancies between the actual Fe2+ content and the claimed values across the various tested brands. This raises a significant issue about the quality of some iron-containing drugs sold in Ado Ekiti and Nigeria generally, highlighting the need for stringent regulation and monitoring of drugs by relevant regulatory authorities.
Okeke et al. (Fri,) studied this question.