TASTE MASKING TECHNIQUES: A REVIEW

Taste masking is of critical importance for active ingredients with an undesirable taste, due to the need for increased patient compliance, especially in pediatric and geriatric population. Various techniques for taste masking involve addition of flavours, sweeteners and amino acids, use of effervescent agents, prodrug formation, salt preparation, adsorption, formation of complex with ion- exchange resins, inclusion complexes and molecular complexes, microencapsulation, granulation, viscosity modifiers, multiple emulsion, liposomes and solid dispersion systems. In pharmaceutical industry, taste masking involves the development of a system that prevents the active substance from interacting with taste buds, thereby reducing the negative sensory response. This article reviews the different technologies which are used for masking the bitter taste and methods for evaluation of taste masking efficacy.