Taste Masking Technologies in Oral Pharmaceuticals: Recent Developments and Approaches

Abstract

Taste is one of the most important parameters governing patient compliance. Undesirable taste is one of several important formulation problems that are encountered with certain drugs. Oral administration of bitter drugs with an acceptable degree of palatability is a key issue for health care providers, especially for pediatric patients. Several oral pharmaceuticals, numerous food and beverage products, and bulking agents have unpleasant, bitter-tasting components. So, any pharmaceutical formulation with a pleasing taste would definitely be preferred over a competitor's product and would translate into better compliance and therapeutic value for the patient and more business and profits for the company. The desire of improved palatability in these products has prompted the development of numerous formulations with improved performance and acceptability. This article reviews the earlier applications and methodologies of taste masking and discusses the most recent developments and approaches of bitterness reduction and inhibition for oral pharmaceuticals.

Taste masking of drugs: an extended approach

“…Oral administration of bitter or unpleasant tasting drugs is often thebiggest barrier for patient groups, such as paediatrics and geriatrics [5] . A survey ofAmerican Association of Paediatricians reports unpleasant taste as the biggest barrierin the treatment of paediatric population Unless the active ingredient is tasteless or unpleasant taste, tastemasking plays a key role in the success of a final solid oral dosage form.…”

How to ensure children take their medicines as directed

“…10,11 Palatability Taste is an important factor in compliance: 12 even with the best will in the world it is difficult to get an infant to swallow something that they do not want to. 13,14 Parents disguise up to 40 per cent of medication given to young children by putting it in jam, honey, yoghurt, etc.…”

Formulation and in vitro evaluation of taste-masked oro-dispersible dosage form of diltiazem hydrochloride

“…On account of their relatively hydrophobic interiors, CDs have the ability to form inclusion complexes with a wide range of substrates (Loftson et al, 1996). This complex-forming ability of CD have been widely exploited in the pharmaceutical field for various applications, including taste-masking of bitter drugs (Giancarlo et al, 2006;Sohi et al, 2004;Szejtli, 2004). The use of CD as a taste-masking agent has been widely reported (Noriaki et al, 2006;Patel et al, 2008;Rajewski et al, 1996).…”