A UV-Vis spectrophotometry method was developed for the determination of metoclopramide hydrochloride in pure and several pharmaceutical preparations, such as Permosan tablets, Meclodin syrups, and Plasil ampoules. The method is based on the diazotization reaction of metoclopramide hydrochloride with sodium nitrate and hydrochloric acid to yield the diazonium salt, which is then reacted with 3,5-dimethyl phenol in the presence of sodium hydroxide to form a yellow azo dye. Calibration curves were linear in the range from 0.3 to 6.5 µg/mL, with a correlation coefficient of 0.9993. The limits of detection and quantification were determined and found to be 0.18 and 0.61 µg/mL, respectively. Accuracy and precision were also determined by calculating the relative error, relative standard deviation, and recoveries. No interference was found from additive substances in pharmaceutical preparations. The proposed method has been successfully applied to determine metoclopramide hydrochloride concentrations in different pharmaceutical formulation samples.
