HPLC determination of theophylline and paracetamol in fresh and powdered milk

Abstract

"Theophylline and paracetamol are drugs used worldwide both in human and veterinary medicine. Paracetamol (or acetaminophen) is employed as analgesic and antipyretic, and theophylline is a bronchodilator drug used in the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Both drugs are extensively used in pediatrics and their dosage is based on the child's body weight. Due to possible liver toxicity (paracetamol) and narrow therapeutic index (theophylline) it is imperative to carefully select and monitor the dose administered to children. Additionally, the recent proposal of milk as a platform to deliver drugs in pediatrics has prompted the development of a simple and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) quantification method, of both theophylline and paracetamol, in the complex matrix that milk represents."