Preparation and evaluation of unpleasant taste-masked pioglitazone orally disintegrating tablets

This study aimed to evaluate the taste and mouth feel of newly designed orally disintegrating tablets (ODTs) of pioglitazone, which is a typical type 2 diabetes medicine with an unpleasant taste, using a visual analog scale (VAS) analysis. The ODTs were subjected to either of these 2 taste-masking procedures: a physical masking procedure that included coating the inactive core granules with mixture of pioglitazone and Eudragit® E PO, followed by mixing the granules with aspartame and other excipients to form the tablet (physical masking ODT); or a gustatory masking procedure that involved blending pioglitazone with both sodium chloride and aspartame, followed by mixing the blend with other excipients to form the tablet (gustatory masking ODT). From the results of the VAS analysis, physical masking could suppress the bitterness but not the astringent; therefore, the overall palatability of the ODT was considered not improved. In contrast, gustatory masking significantly suppressed both the bitterness and astringent, and offered a slight sweetness; therefore, the overall palatability of the ODT was considered improved. In conclusion, VAS is a useful tool to evaluate the taste of ODTs and that gustatory masking can effectively mask the unpleasant taste of pioglitazone ODT.

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