Adherence to medication is one of the major concerns in orally administered drugs. The need to mask taste of bitter, unpleasant drugs effectively has always been a key priority for formulation scientists. The need intensifies when the target group is children, pregnant females and geriatric patients. With a surge in uptake of daily multivitamins and nutraceuticals, taste has now attained wider role in human wellness.
In pharma, taste of unpleasant drugs can be masked through multiple ways. Simple of all is to add sweetners (e.g. aspartame, sucralose) to mask the bitter tasting ingredients.
Flavors (mint, fruits etc.) are also added to improve the taste of the oral formulation, especially in liquid preparations.
Several polymers are also now commonly used that are insoluble in the mouth and are applied as a coat on tablets to act as a physical barrier. Microencapsulation, complex formations with cyclodextrins, use of effervescent agents etc. are other ways to improve the organoleptic properties of the formulation.
Akums has always been at the forefront of formulation innovations to mask taste, thereby improving patient compliance. Also, the focus is to ensure cost-effectiveness to make the drug affordable for Indian masses. Over the last 2 decades, Akums has introduced several innovative tablet and oral liquid preparations which had improved taste leading to better patient compliance and improved revenues for the clients.
