Taste Masking of Bitter Drugs in Pharmaceutical Suspension: A Review

Abstract

One of the most vital factors in the formulation of medications for children, the elderly, immobile patients, and uncooperative patients is taste, which is mainly controlled by taste buds in the tongue. The biggest challenge for the compounding scientists is to mask the unpleasant and bitter tastes of the pharmaceuticals, which prevent patients from obtaining the full therapeutic benefit of their prescription. In order to increase patient compliance, which ultimately determines the product's economic success, it may be possible to mask the bitter taste of medications. Inclusion complexation, the use of ion exchange resin, mass extrusion, solid dispersions, coating granulation, spray drying, microencapsulation, liposomes, emulsions, and gel formation effervescence are current methods of flavour masking. Active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) taste masking is an area that is constantly developing because of unusual excipients and a variety of techniques.