A novel strategy for bitter taste masking of gankeshuangqing dispersible tablets based on particle coating technology

Pharmacognosy Magazine,2017,13,51,400-406.DOI:10.4103/pm.pm_240_16Published:July 2017Type:Original ArticleAuthors:Xue Han, Ding-Kun Zhang, Fang Zhang, Jun-Zhi Lin, Hong Jiang, Yang Lan, Xi Xiong, Li Han, Ming Yang, and Chao-Mei Fu Author(s) affiliations:Xue Han1, Ding-Kun Zhang1, Fang Zhang2, Jun-Zhi Lin3, Hong Jiang1, Yang Lan1, Xi Xiong1, Li Han1, Ming Yang4, Chao-Mei Fu1 1College of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 610075, PR China 2Pharmacy, Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital of Changzhi, Changzhi 046011, PR China 3Central Laboratory, The Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Chengdu 610072, PR China 4Key Laboratory of Modern Preparation of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Education, Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanchang 330004, PR China Abstract:Background: Currently, acute upper respiratory tract infections (AURTIs) are increasingly becoming a significant health burden. Gankeshuangqing dispersible tablets (GKSQDT) which have a good effect on treating AURTIs. GKSQDT is composed of baicalin and andrographolide. However, its severe bitterness limits application of patients. Due to the addition of plentiful accessories, common masking methods are unsuitable for GKSQDT. It is thus necessary to develop a new masking method. Materials and Methods: The Previous study showed that baicalin was less bitter than andrographolide. Thus, particle coating technology was adapted to prepare composite particles that baicalin coated on the surface of andrographolide to decrease bitterness. Initially, particle size of baicalin and coating time of composite was investigated to prepare composite. Then, scanning electron microscopy, wettability, and infrared (IR) spectrogram were used to characterize the microstructure of composite. Furthermore, electronic tongue test, animal preference experiment, and human sensory test were applied to evaluate the masking effect. Results: To produce composite, baicalin should be ground in vibromill for 6 min. Then, andrographolide fine powder was added to grind together for 6 min. Contact angle of composite was smaller than mixture, and more similar to baicalin. Other physical characterization including microstructure, wettability, and IR also suggested that andrographolide was successfully coated by baicalin superfine. Furthermore, taste-masking test indicated taste-masked tablets was less bitter than original tablets. Conclusion: The study indicated that particle coating technology can be used for taste masking of GKSQDT without adding other substance. Moreover, it provides a new strategy of taste masking for national medicine. Keywords:Animal preference experiment, bitter taste making, electronic tongue test, ganke shuangqing dispersible tablets, particle coating technologyView:PDF (2.9 MB) Full Text