CU FIND (Campbell University, Catherine W. Wood School of Nursing)

Toth, K.

Martyn, A.

Bastikova, N.

Kim, W.

Rodriguez, R.

Ahmed, U.

Schmalzigaug, R.

Dudek, S.

Wetsel, W.

Premont, R.

GIT2 is dispensable for normal learning and memory function due to a predominant brain GIT2 splice variant that evades GIT/PIX complexes

Hakes, K.

Lee, A.

Wesolek, A.

Crockett, J.

Comparison of internal wave kinetic energy estimates in synthetic schlieren and particle image velocimetry

Pennings, N. J.

Obesity treatment in primary care

Overview of obesity epidemic

Kushner, R. F.

Horn, D. B.

Butsch, W. S.

Brown, J. D.

Duncan, K.

Fugate, C.

Grunvald, E. L

Igel, L. I.

Pasarica, M.

Soleymani, T.

Velazquez, A.

Development of obesity competencies for medical education: a report from the Obesity Medicine Education Collaborative

Al-Achi, A. J.

Kanade, A. Y.

Campbell University 
CU FIND 
Pharmaceutical Sciences Pharmacy & Health Sciences, College of 
2019 
Determining sucrose concentration in syrups by pharmaceutical 
methods 
A. J. Al-Achi 
A. Y. Kanade 
Follow this and additional works at: https://cufind.campbell.edu/pharmacy 
 Part of the Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Commons 
This work is partly presented at Joint Event on 22nd International Conference and Exhibition on Pharmaceutical Formulations July 04-06, 2019 
Valencia, Spain  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Determining Sucrose Concentration in Syrups by 
Pharmaceutical Methods 
 
Al-Achi A* and Kanade AY 
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Campbell University College of 
Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Buies Creek, North Carolina, USA 
 
Corresponding Author: Al-Achi A, Professor, Department of 
Pharmaceutical Sciences, Campbell University College of Pharmacy and 
Health Sciences, Buies Creek, North Carolina, USA, Tel: (910)893-1703, 
Email: alachi@campbell.edu 
 
Abstract: 
 
Background: 
Pharmaceutics is a basic branch of pharmacy which deals 
with the formulation and method development. Syrups are 
basic pharmaceutical preparations that regularly used for 
the pediatric patients as solid dosage forms are not practical 
in this population. 
 
Objective: 
The main aim of this experiment was to develop a 
pharmaceutical method for assessing sucrose concentration 
in syrups by using rheological measures. This will allow 
forecast of sucrose concentration in the syrup from 
knowledge of its viscosity. 
 
Methods: 
Granulation made of dextrose, starch, 10% gelatin solution, 
FD&C dye, and magnesium stearate was prepared. The 
time needed for syrup to pass a bed of the granules placed 
inside a large pipette tip was recorded in seconds. Syrups 
viscosity was determined by Ostwald’s viscometer, and the 
specific gravity of the syrup formulations was measured by 
a pycnometer. 
 
Results: 
A non-linear relationship (second-degree polynomial) was 
observed between the time needed for complete elution of 
the syrup from the granule bed and the concentration of 
sucrose in syrup. Likewise, a second degree polynomial 
relationship was shown to exist between the viscosity of the 
syrup and its content of sucrose. 
 
Conclusion: 
This method can determine with reasonable accuracy the 
concentration of sucrose in syrups if the viscosity of the test 
solution was known or if the time for the liquid to pass 
through a granule bed was measured. This method may also 
be used for distinguishing non-sugar-based syrups that 
mimic in their properties the sugar-based formulations. 
 
 
 
 
Keywords: Pharmaceutics; Granulation; Formulation 
 
Introduction: 
Syrups are viscous oral liquids that may contain one or more active 
ingredients in solution. Sucrose is the primary component in syrups. 
Other substances may be added to syrups for taste enhancement or 
retarding the crystallization of sucrose [1]. In non-sugar-based syrups, 
the formulation is primarily made of cellulose type agents with added 
artificial sweeteners for taste enrichment [2]. For compounding 
purposes, and as a quality control test for syrups, it is essential to 
document the amount of sucrose (or lack of) in the final preparation. 
The addition of sucrose to an aqueous solution renders that solution 
more viscous [3]. Thus syrups are known to be viscous liquids [4]. 
The viscosity of a liquid formulation may serve as an indicator for 
reproducibility among different batches of the product [1]. Added 
ingredients in syrups may potentially modify the formulation 
viscosity, and thus influence its mechanical and physical 
characteristics important for formulation handling [2,5]. Viscosity is 
the term used to describe the internal friction in a fluid In general, 
liquids that follow Newton’s law of flow are measured by instruments 
such as capillary viscometers. On the other hand, non-Newtonian 
systems require more advanced instrumentation to detect the changes 
in viscosity with increasing the shear rate [5]. For syrup formulations, 
it is expected that their viscosity to follow a Newtonian flow [6]. 
Current methods available for the determination of sucrose are 
cumbersome and require complex procedures and instrumentation. 
This study proposes the use of simple rheological measurements for 
the quick determination of sucrose in aqueous solutions. More 
specifically, we aim to develop a rheological method by which the 
concentration of sucrose in an aqueous liquid can be estimated from 
knowledge of its Newtonian viscosity. Furthermore, this method will 
also be used to correlate the concentration of sucrose in syrup to the 
time needed for the syrup to descend through a bed of granulation. 
 
Discussion: 
The results showed that the time for the syrup solution to pass 
through the granule bed increased as the concentration of the sucrose 
increased in the syrup (Table 1). As expected, the viscosity of the 
syrup also increased with increasing concentration of sucrose in 
solution (Table 4) [3,4]. An empirical relationship (equation 2) was 
found between the time for the syrup to pass through the granules and 
the concentration of sucrose in solution (R2=0.9467; p=0.0028). 
Likewise, the sucrose concentration in syrups can be estimated from 
equation (4), relating sucrose concentration (% w/v) to the viscosity 
of the syrup expressed in centipoises (R2=0.9883; p<0.0001). Also, 
another empirical relationship (equation 3) was found between the 
viscosity of the syrup and the time for the test solution to travel 
through the granule bed (R2=0.9196; p=0.0065). From the 
experimental findings, it is possible for an unknown solution of 
sucrose to be determined by either measuring the viscosity of that 
solution or by determining the time needed for it to pass through a  
 
 
 
column filled with granules. In either case, the predicted value of the 
concentration of sucrose in solution would be determined with high 
accuracy due to the high correlation associated with both empirical 
equations. The study [7] proposed enzymatic methods/HPLC while 
2020 
Vol.5, Issue.2 
Journal of Pharmacokinetics & Experimental Therapeutics Extended Abstract 
This work is partly presented at Joint Event on 22nd International Conference and Exhibition on Pharmaceutical Formulations July 04-06, 2019 
Valencia, Spain 
 
other study [8] used a spectrophotometric method for the 
determination of sucrose in samples. Older methods for 
sucrose determination rely on refractometry or density 
measurements. The implications of this study are that 
compounding pharmacists or formulators in general will be 
able to check the concentration of sucrose in the final 
product by using a quick and simple capillary viscometer 
measurement. This is a more practical way for sucrose 
determination as the other methods require more complex 
procedures and instrumentation. As for its limitations, 
although this method may become attractive due to its 
simplicity, its sensitivity and specificity may not be as high 
as the other analytical methods. 
 
Conclusion: 
 
In this study, a rheological method was developed by which 
the concentration of sucrose in syrups can be determined 
with reasonable accuracy if the viscosity of the test solution 
was known or if the time for the liquid to pass through a 
granule bed was measured. More research is needed to 
check for the reproducibility and effectiveness of this 
pharmaceutical technique. 
 
Conflicts of Interest 
 
The authors declare no conflicts of interests. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This work is partly presented at Joint Event on 22nd International Conference and Exhibition on Pharmaceutical Formulations July 04-06, 2019 
Valencia, Spain  
 


English

Determining sucrose concentration in syrups by pharmaceutical methods

Xia, T.

Chaudhari, P. M.

Investigation on complexation efficiency of Hp-β-Cd/ Nifedipine Complex: pH effect

Campbell University

Not a member yet

GIT2 is dispensable for normal learning and memory function due to a predominant brain GIT2 splice variant that evades GIT/PIX complexes

Comparison of internal wave kinetic energy estimates in synthetic schlieren and particle image velocimetry

Obesity treatment in primary care

Overview of obesity epidemic

Development of obesity competencies for medical education: a report from the Obesity Medicine Education Collaborative

Determining sucrose concentration in syrups by pharmaceutical methods

Investigation on complexation efficiency of Hp-β-Cd/ Nifedipine Complex: pH effect

Pharmacy curricular revision (Expert revision panel)

Safety and feasibility of bicarbonate supplementation in older adults

Obstetric emergencies

156

9,287