2017 Volume 43 Issue 9 Pages 492-501
Decapsulating clindamycin (CLDM) formulations could lead to poor medicine adherence as they have a strong bitter taste. To mask the bitterness and to facilitate administration, medicines are generally mixed with food. This study identified candidate foods to conceal the bitterness of CLDM, as no such foods have been reported thus far. Twenty-one candidate foods, which were selected based on previous reports, were screened using an electronic gustatory system. Five foods of interest were selected and used as samples for organoleptic examination, in which 30 volunteers aged between 22 and 26 years were enrolled. Vanilla ice cream, condensed milk, and brown sugar syrup significantly reduced the bitterness of CLDM compared to mineral water as a control. A positive correlation tendency between the gustatory system evaluation and the organoleptic examination was observed (R = 0.829, P = 0.058). In this study, we identified, for the first time, potential candidates for masking the bitterness of CLDM. Furthermore, these findings constitute the basis for identifying foods that are more efficient in masking the bitterness of medicines in the future.
