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REVIEW article

Front. Chem.
Sec. Analytical Chemistry
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fchem.2024.1449536

One of the major challenges of masking the bitter taste in medications: an overview of quantitative methods for bitterness

Provisionally accepted
Panpan Wang Panpan Wang 1haiyang li haiyang li 2yanli wang yanli wang 1*fengyu dong fengyu dong 2*Han Li Han Li 2Xinjing Gui Xinjing Gui 1,3yanna ren yanna ren 2*xiaojie gao xiaojie gao 4*xuelin li xuelin li 1,2,3*Ruixin Liu Ruixin Liu 1,2,3*
  • 1 First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, China
  • 2 Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
  • 3 Co-construction Collaborative Innovation Center for Chinese Medicine and Respiratory Diseases, Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
  • 4 Zhengzhou Chinese Medicine Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The aim of the present study was to carry out a systematic research on bitterness quantification to provide a reference for scholars and pharmaceutical developers to carry out drug taste masking research. Significance: The bitterness of medications poses a significant concern for clinicians and patients. Scientifically measuring the intensity of drug bitterness is pivotal for enhancing drug palatability and broadening their clinical utility. Methods: The current study was carried out by conducting a systematic literature review that identified relevant papers from indexed databases. Numerous studies and research are cited and quoted in this article to summarize the features, strengths, and applicability of quantitative bitterness assessment methods. Results: In our research, we systematically outlined the classification and key advancements in quantitative research methods for assessing drug bitterness, including. These methods primarily encompassed in vivo quantification techniques such as traditional human taste panel methods, as well as in vitro quantification methods such as electronic tongue analysis. At the same time, we It focused on the quantitative methods and difficulties of bitterness of natural drugs with complex system characteristics and their difficulties in quantification, and proposes possible future research directions.. Conclusions: The quantitative methods of bitterness were summarized, which laid an important foundation for the construction of a comprehensive bitterness quantification standard system and the formulation of accurate, efficient and rich taste masking strategies.

    Keywords: bitterness, quantitative method, Traditional human taste panel method, Active pharmaceuticals ingredients, Traditional Chinese Medicine

    Received: 15 Jun 2024; Accepted: 29 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wang, li, wang, dong, Li, Gui, ren, gao, li and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    yanli wang, First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, China
    fengyu dong, Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, 450008, Henan Province, China
    yanna ren, Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, 450008, Henan Province, China
    xiaojie gao, Zhengzhou Chinese Medicine Hospital, Zhengzhou, 450066, Henan Province, China
    xuelin li, First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, China
    Ruixin Liu, First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.