Polarographic behavior and determination of vitamin B13 in aqueous media at dropping mercury electrode

الملخص EN

The electrochemical reduction of Vitamin B13 (orotic acid) at the dropping mercury electrode (DME) has been investigated.

The polarographic behavior of orotic acid in Britton-Robinson (BR) buffer solutions (pH 2-12), in unbuffered solution, in acidic, and also in alkaline solution was measured.

The study showed that, the effect of Hg-height on the limiting current and the effect of pH on each of the limiting current and the half-wave potential of the waves are diffusion controlled.

The data also showed that under the optimum experimental conditions, a linear calibration graph was obtained on plotting the concentration of orotic acid versus the height of the reduction wave.

A detailed mechanism for the reduction of orotic acid at the dropping mercury electrode correlating the nature of the orotic acid species and its reduction in different media, is proposed.