Stability of cough linctus (streptol) formulated from named medicinal plant extracts.

Extracts of named medicinal herbs (Garcinia kola, Zingiber oificinale, Aframonum melequeta and Ocimum viride) were formulated into an antitussive preparation to alleviate cough. Some physical properties of the cough syrup formulation evaluated were: specific gravity, pH, viscosity, content uniformity, and shelf life. The specific gravity and viscosity of the formulations were stable on storage, with glycerin-based formulations having higher values. The pH of the formulation varied from 4.2 to 5.3 and was also stable on storage. Glycerin-based formulations had lower pH values. The total flavonoids content of Streptol was calculated based on GB1 and found to be 46 mg. The estimated shelf life of the Streptol cough syrup was 4.5 years.