Today’s Themes

Alligation medial
Methods of Alligation
Methods of determining concentrations of substances in mixtures
Types: Alligation Medial
Alligation Alternate

Alligation medial
Involves 3 steps:
Step 1: Add up the quantity of each component used in the mixture.
Step 2: Multiply the quantity of each component used in the mixture by its
corresponding percentage strength, and add up the products.
Step 3: Divide the value obtained in Step 2 by the value obtained in step 1
For a 2 components mixture, this can be expressed mathematically,
where,
C1 and C2 are the concentrations of components 1 and 2 respectively,
V1 and V2, the quantities of components 1 and 2 respectively, and
Vx = V1 + V2

For an multi-component mixture (n numbers of components), the

formula becomes:

and

Vx = V1 + V2 +…+ Vn
Practice Questions
1. What is the percentage strength of a suspension obtained by mixing 40ml
of griseofulvin oral suspension containing 100
mg and 60ml of griseofulvin oral suspension containing 150 mg per ml?
2. What is the percentage of alcohol in the following prescription?
Rx
Phenobarbital Elixir 30 ml (15% alcohol)
Aromatic Elixir 120 ml (22% alcohol)
Belladonna Tincture 50 ml (65% alcohol)
Purified Water ad 250 ml
3. What is the percentage strength (v/v) of alcohol in a mixture of 200
ml of 12% v/v alcohol, 150 ml of 18% v/v alcohol, and 250 ml of 25%
v/v alcohol?
 Alligation Alternate
To calculate the proportions of components of known strength to
use in preparing a mixture of desired concentration, one uses
the method of Alligation alternate.
For a two component system, the steps are:
1. Make three columns.
2. In column 1, write down the concentrations of the components to be mixed.
3. In column 2, write down the desired percentage strength of the mixture to
be prepared.
4. In column 3, write down the difference in strength by reading diagonally
5. Find the relative proportions of the components
 Column 1 Column 2 Column 3
X% (X - Z) parts of X%

%
Z

Y% (Z - Y) parts of Y%

Total parts = (X-Z) + (Z-Y)

Actual quantities of the components are calculated using the

method of proportion
An alternative way of calculating the proportions in a binary mixture
where only the concentrations of the components along with the
strength and quantity of the mixture are given is using the equation
below:
CxQx = C1Q1 + C2Q2,
where
Q1, Q2 and Qx are the quantities of components 1, 2 and the
mixture respectively, and
C1, C2 and Cx are the percentage strengths of components 1, 2
and the mixture respectively
but Q2 = Qx-Q1, therefore,
CxQx = C1Q1 + C2(Qx-Q1)
Re-arranging,
Practice Questions
1. How many milliliters of griseofulvin oral suspension containing
100 mg and 125 mg per mL should be used in preparing 100 mL
of a suspension containing 12% of griseofulvin?
2. A physician prescribes an ophthalmic suspension to contain 100 mg
of cortisone acetate in 8 ml of normal saline solution (NSS). The
pharmacist has a 2.5% suspension of cortisone acetate in NSS. How
many milliliters of this and how many milliliters of NSS should be
used in preparing the medication order?
3. In what proportion should a 10% and 4% zinc oxide ointments
be mixed to prepare a 6% ointment?
4. How many grams of salicylic acid should be added to 1200 g of a 1%
salicylic acid ointment to prepare a product containing 2.5% of
salicylic acid?
Three components Mixtures
1. Select any two components; one stronger and one weaker than the
desired strength.
2. Follow the steps as explained above for two component mixtures.
3. Select one of the two components that has been already used, and
pair it up with the remaining component. In pairing up the
components, one must make sure that one of the components is
stronger and the other one is weaker than the desired strength.
4. Follow the steps, once again, as explained above for two component
(binary) system.
5. Find the relative proportions of each component used
Three components in which two strengths are lower than
the desired strength of the mixture

column 1 Column 2 Column 3

a% (d-b) + (d-c) parts of a%

d% (a-d) parts of b%
b%

c% (a-d) parts of c%
Three components system in which only one concentration is lower than the
desired strength of the mixture

column 1 Column 2 Column 3

a% (d-c) parts of a%

d% (d-c) parts of b%
b%

(a-d) + (b-d) parts of c%

c%
Practice Questions
a. A physician ordered 20% monobenzone ointment to be used for the
temporary bleaching of hyper-pigmented skin. In what proportion
may 25%, 10%, and 5% monobenzone ointments be mixed in order
to prepare an ointment of the desired concentration?
b. A 25% sulfacetamide sodium ointment is needed for certain topical
antibiotic activity. In what proportion may 40%, 30%, and 10%
sulfacetamide sodium ointments be mixed in order to prepare a
mixture of 25% concentration?
Four Component Systems
When four components are used to obtain the desired strength,
each of the weaker components is paired with one of the stronger
to give the desired strength.
Since it is possible to pair the components in two ways, there may
be two sets of correct answers for these problems.

1. Select any two components; one stronger and one weaker than the
desired strength.
2. Follow the steps as explained for two component mixtures.
3. Next, select and pair the remaining two components. In pairing up
the components, one must make sure that one of the components is
stronger and the other one is weaker than the desired strength.
4. Follow the steps, once again, as explained above for two component
system.
5. Find the relative proportions of each component used.
column 1 Column 2 Column 3

a% (e-d) parts of a%

b% (e-c) parts of b%
e%
(b-e) parts of c%
c%

d% (a-e) parts of d%
column 1 Column 2 Column 3

a% (e-c) parts of a%

b% (e-d) parts of b%

e%
c% (a-e) parts of c%

d% (b-e) parts of d%
Four Component Systems
When four components are used to obtain the desired strength,
with only one concentration is greater or less than the desired
strength, treat like a three components.
Pair the higher strength with each of the three lower strengths or
pair the lower strength with each of the higher strengths.

1. Select any two components; one stronger and one weaker than the
desired strength.
2. Follow the steps as explained for two component mixtures.
3. Next, select and pair the remaining two components. In pairing up
the components, one must make sure that one of the components is
stronger and the other one is weaker than the desired strength.
4. Follow the steps, once again, as explained above for two component
system.
5. Find the relative proportions of each component used.
Practice Questions
a. Four lots of ichthammol ointment, containing 5%, 10%, 25% and
40% of ichthammol are available. How many grams of each may the
pharmacist use to prepare 5 kg of a 15% ichthammol ointment?
b. Four lots of ichthammol ointment containing 5%, 12%, 20% and
25% of ichthammol are available. How many grams of each may the
pharmacist use to prepare 5 lb of a 15% ichthammol ointment?