Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/341135
F 8 July 2014 Tablets & Capsules excipients Taste-masking medicated chewing gum Javier Belmar Cafosa This article discusses the results of a study that compared how well different combinations of sweeteners and flavors masked a bitter taste in a tabletted chewing gum. lavor is one of the most distinctive and important characteristics of a chewing gum, a product that remains in the mouth longer than tablets, capsules, or foods, all of which are swallowed fairly quickly. Until recently, most chewing gums were made and marketed for pleasure, but the use of functional confec- tionery has increased. As more manufacturers begin investigating the use of chewing gum to deliver non-stan- dard ingredients—either active pharmaceutical ingredi- ents (APIs) or dietary supplements—it has become neces- sary to address the intrinsic undesirable flavors of these ingredients. An assessment of different functional ingredients reveals four basic taste categories: • Acidic. This taste is encountered whenever fruit acids are used. It also accompanies the vitamins C and B 3 . • Salty. Metallic salts can give this taste. That includes the metallic chlorides sodium chloride (NaCl), cal- cium chloride (CaCl 2 ), and potassium chloride (KCl), among others. • Metallic. Dietary minerals, such as iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn), as well as their salts, tend to have this characteristic taste. • Bitter. Different molecules of very different natures have this taste [1], so it is difficult to know until empir- ical tests are done whether the addition of a functional ingredient will result in a bitter taste. Even sweet mole- cules such as acesulfame-K and sodium saccharin can yield a bitter after-taste for some people [2]. Among these four categories, bitter tastes have the lowest threshold. In order to notice a bitter taste, the limit is 10,000 times less than it is for sweet or salty tastes and 100 times lower than a sour taste [3]. This low threshold is an evolutionary development that arose because many toxins and poisonous molecules have a bit- ter taste, which cues us to reject potentially dangerous plants or fruits. Most APIs have an unpleasant taste, too, so flavoring plays a key role in formulating a palatable medicine. Taste masking is especially important when a chewing gum is c-Belmarart_8-15_Masters 7/2/14 11:06 AM Page 8