Colorimetric and volumetric assays of colchicine in galenicals and in pharmaceutical preparations.

In the method described the amide group in the colchicine molecule is reduced with lithium aluminum hydride to the corresponding secondary amine. The latter is extracted with chloroform and then determined either colorimetrically by the copper dithiocarbamate reaction or volumetrically by dissolving in acid and titrating with sodium hydroxide or perchloric acid. The results were comparable with those obtained by the Egyptian Pharmacopoeia spectrophotometric method.