By Fabiana Banov, RPh, MS, PCCA Senior Formulation Pharmacist

The ability to cover a bitter taste and make the medicine pleasant for the patient requires knowledge of all substances used in the formulation. Every single ingredient contributes to a palatable taste for the patient.

There are many ways to decrease a bitter taste. One way incorporates an oral base that has viscous characteristics or suspending ability. Viscosity can affect the perception of taste. It is fascinating how the brain communicates with taste buds and we can use this to our advantage when compounding oral medicines. A flavor is defined as the combined perception of how it feels in the mouth, its texture, taste and aroma. The thickness or viscosity of a compounded medicine has a profound effect on texture and taste.

Using Suspension Bases to Improve Flavor

When working with formulations in a solution (where all substances dissolve in the vehicle), full flavors are more identifiable. This can be very useful when the API has a pleasant taste but challenging when the opposite is true. When the API is bitter, an alternative is to compound a formulation using a suspension base. PCCA offers suspension vehicles that were meticulously evaluated for use in a wide variety of oral suspension preparations.

You can also create a suspension base by incorporating a gelling agent that, after shaking, helps suspend an insoluble API. This helps increase the viscosity and decrease the intensity of bitter, insoluble and soluble APIs!

Please note: it is important to consider the API and its concentration. Some low-concentration drugs with a narrow therapeutic index may need to be in solution to ensure accurate dosing. In cases like this, it may be important to ensure the solubility of the drug.

The bases and formulas listed in this article are recommended when working with unpleasant or bitter APIs in oral liquid preparations.

PCCA’s SuspendIt is an all-in-one oral suspension vehicle. It contains a natural suspending agent—a unique, synergistic polymer complex that, with agitation (shaking), offers rapid redispersion and minimal sedimentation of APIs. SuspendIt contains a unique, natural sweetener derived from monk fruit that complements other flavors and patient preferences.

PCCA Acacia Syrup contains acacia, an ingredient that acts as an emulsifier, stabilizing agent and suspending agent. It has a thick viscosity that coats the taste buds, helping to mask the taste of a bitter active ingredient. Our Acacia Syrup contains sucrose, which promotes sweetness and complements the vanilla flavor already added to the base. Other flavors can be also used to improve the taste.

Recommendations for Oral Rinse Formulations

The suggestions above are for oral preparations that are completely swallowed. However, you may have a prescription that requires an oral rinse formulation. In this case, instead of using preserved water as the vehicle, take advantage of MucoLox^™ (PCCA #30-4782). This base has a viscous consistency that helps block taste buds’ sensory ability and decrease a bitter taste. MucoLox’s unique polymer network also improves moisturization, mucoadherence and film-forming action. It won’t easily wash away because it bonds to the mucosa to create a powerful, lightweight coating. Look at PCCA Formula #11089, Oral Rinse – General Formula (MucoLox), for the recommended starting place for creating a custom oral rinse preparation that can mask bitter APIs.

As you now know, the oral base chosen for compounded medicine plays an important role and can work to complement a combination of sweeteners and flavors to fully mask a bitter taste. These details are important to promote patient compliance and ensure successful treatment.

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