Spectrofluorimetric determination of reserpine by oxidation with cerium(IV) sulfate

Abstract

A rapid and very simple fluorimetric procedure is described for the determination of reserpine concentrations in bulk and in tablet formulations. This method is sensitive and is based on measurement of the fluorescence of 3,4-dehydroreserpine obtained by the oxidation of reserpine by cerium(IV) sulfate in acetic acid solution at room temperature. Although 3,4,5,6-tetradehydroreserpine is also obtained in the oxidation, its formation rate is very small compared with that of the dehydro derivative. The detection limit obtained was 1.2 ng ml^–1. The proposed method is simpler and faster than the use of other oxidizing agents such as sodium nitrite, vanadium pentoxide and hydrogen peroxide.