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Abstract: Taste
masking of bitter drugs has been a challenge to
scientists. Several oral pharmaceuticals and bulking
agents have unpleasant bitter taste. In order to ensure
patient compliance, bitterness masking becomes
essential. The desire of improving the palatability in
these products has prompted the development of numerous
formulations with improved performance and
acceptability. Several approaches like adding flavors
and sweeteners, use of lipoproteins for inhibiting
bitterness, numbing of taste buds, coating of drug with
inert agents, microencapsulation, multiple emulsion,
viscosity modifiers, vesicles and liposomes, prodrug
formation, salt formation, formation of inclusion and
molecular complexes, solid dispersion system and
application of ion exchange resins have been tried by
the formulators to mask the unpleasant taste of the
bitter drugs. In the present review an attempt has been
made to describe various approaches used in
pharmaceutical industries for masking bitter taste of
the drugs.
Introduction
Taste is a sensation which is realized when a substance
such as food, beverages or drug is place in the oral
cavity. This sensation is the result of signal
transduction from the receptor organs for taste,
commonly known as taste buds. These taste buds contain
very sensitive nerve ending which produce and transmit
electrical impulses via the seventh, ninth, tenth
cranial nerves to those areas of brain which are devoted
to perception of taste. Taste constitutes four primary
effects viz., sweet, sour, bitter and salty and are
perceived within 50 milliseconds. As the stimulus, taste
is transmitted through water, water solubility is
prerequisite for all tastes. Unfortunately many drugs
have unpleasant taste primarily bitterness. Bad testing
medication can decrease compliance and diminish quality
of life for individuals who are already seriously ill.
Thus taste masking of oral pharmaceuticals has becomes
potential tool to improve patient compliance and
commercial success of product.
Two approaches are commonly utilized to overcome bad
taste of drugs. First is reduction of drug solubility in
saliva and other is to alter ability of the drug to
interact with taste receptor. An ideal taste masking
process and formulation should have the following
properties.
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