02581nas a2200241   4500008004100000245007300041210006900114260001900183300001200202490000600214520184800220653002002068653002302088653002602111653002602137653002302163653002702186100002002213700002802233700002502261700001802286856003502304       2017                        eng d00aQuantification of Ethanol Content in Traditional Herbal Cough Syrups0 aQuantification of Ethanol Content in Traditional Herbal Cough Sy  cSeptember 2017  a821-8270 v93 a<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Introduction:</strong> The use of alcohol as an excipient in pharmaceutical preparations raises safety concerns, especially when used in high concentration. This study aims to scrutinize the ethanol concentration in traditional herbal cough syrups available over-the-counter (OTC) in Malaysia. <strong>Method:</strong> Enzymatic analysis was adopted to estimate the alcohol contents of five selected syrups. The principle reaction involved ethanol oxidation by nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide (NAD) in the presence of the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), forming acetaldehyde, reduced NAD (NADH) and a proton. The ethanol concentration of each syrup was quantitatively determined by detecting NADH using UV spectrophotometry at detection wavelength of 340 nm. <strong>Results:</strong> The ethanol percentage by volume (% v/v) in the tested syrups ranges from 0.102% to 2.576%. All five syrups studied comply with the FDA requirement for drugs for adults and children &gt;6 years since they do not contain more than 5% ethanol. However, three syrups do not fulfil the requirement for use in children &lt;6 years as they contain higher than 0.5% ethanol, yet they are inappropriately indicated on their packaging for use in children &gt;3 years. In terms of safety, all studied syrups fulfil European Medicine Agency&rsquo;s (EMA) recommendation as they will not induce a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) higher than 0.125g/L after a single dose. Nevertheless, none of these syrups comply with Malaysian Drug Registration Guidance on labelling requirements as they do not disclose their alcohol contents on the packaging. <strong>Conclusion:</strong> More rigorous regulation on alcohol content in herbal preparations, and disclosure of alcohol content in product packagings should be enforced.</p>10aAlcohol content10aEnzymatic analysis10aEthanol concentration10aHerbal cough medicine10aHerbal preparation10aQuantitative analysis.1 aNeo, Ming, Shin1 aGupta, Shraddha, Manish1 aKhan, Tahir, Mehmood1 aGupta, Manish  uhttp://fulltxt.org/article/181