It doesn’t matter if you are 5 years old, 30 or 70. We have all wrinkled our faces at some point. take a drugbe it in tablets, syrups, sachets or any of its formats. He unpleasant taste of medicines This is a classic that is overlooked only by some syrups for children that add flavorings to encourage them to take their medications. Because yes, just like we all made faces, we all wanted to drink a bottle of syrup when we were little. But what is all this about? Why do most medicines taste bad? And, more importantly, why can’t they be as good as the syrups we loved so much? when we were children?
Generally speaking, these questions can be quickly answered by considering two questions. On the one hand, drugs are often synthesized from plant-derived compounds. Plants usually use these substances. defensivelyto prevent them from being swallowed by herbivores, which is why they usually have a bitter taste, which causes rejection. On the other hand, if nothing is done to solve it, it is because it is not something significant. The interaction of the substances responsible for its effectiveness with the flavoring may reduce its effect. But in the case of a drug, the important thing for us is that it works, everything else is secondary. In the case of children, concessions must be made, but adults must be able to tolerate the unpleasant taste of drugs.
Now it should be noted that There are exceptions. That not all medicines taste bad because their active ingredients come from plants, and that in fact sometimes improving their taste can provide benefits beyond just taste. Let’s see it step by step.
What Causes Medicines to Taste Bad?
Active ingredient – a substance responsible for the effectiveness of the drug. As we have already seen, these compounds often come from plants. But also They can be of animal origin or artificially synthesized.. In fact, in many cases, even if they come from animals or plants, they are artificially synthesized in a laboratory in order to increase their production and not harm the environment.
If you imitate those active ingredients that play a protective role in nature, the bitter taste is preserved. But this is not the only culprit unpleasant taste of medicines.
Sometimes the bad taste is caused not only by the taste of the active ingredient itself, but also by our own body. For example, there are drugs that affect saliva production. This not only gives rise to dry mouth and a pasty feeling. This can also make the bad taste worse. Medicines that cause this effect, known as xerostomia, include some antidepressants such as fluoxetine and paroxetine, antihypertensives such as enalapril, analgesics such as tramadol and ibuprofen, or anxiolytics such as alprazolam.
On the other hand, there are drugs such as metformin, which turn bad taste into a nightmare as they travel from the bloodstream back to the salivary glands. It causes constant bad tastewhich is very difficult to get rid of.
Not everyone sees it the same way
In 2022, a study was conducted that compared people’s perception of the unpleasant taste of food. 143 people. It was clear that not all of them described this unpleasant taste in the same way, even if it was the same drug. It’s not something strange. This may be a subjective question. But in fact this subjectivity had genetic origin.
But the fact is that different variants of genes associated with bitter taste receptorswere directly related to the survey results.
This can help you understand how different people perceive the bad taste of medications and try to find a solution in the process. Although, as we have already seen, this is not significant.
Medicines with a pleasant taste
Of all possible forms of drug administration, we found in limbo They are the ones that usually have the worst taste.
Suspension preparations are defined as liquid medicinal products of more or less viscous consistency containing water soluble active ingredients accelerates thanks to the addition of suspension. Thanks to this added ingredient, when the active ingredient settles, it can be resuspended again by simply shaking. This includes, for example, blisters and syrups.
It is clear that the suspension necessary ingredient. It is necessary to study how it interacts with the active ingredient, which requires money and effortso that the interaction is not bad. But it takes money and effort. Flavorings require the same steps, but they are not necessary, so unless the drug is intended for children, it is usually ignored.
For children this is something necessary. In an article on this topic published in IFLSciencethey give an example dolutegravir, an antiretroviral drug intended to treat HIV infection in children. Usually antiretroviral drugs They taste very bad, so children usually reject them. Since it is a necessary drug to allow them to have an adequate quality of life despite the dangers of the virus, it is important to make an effort to take it. So this particular format Strawberry flavored tablet.
They give you a tablet with a little sugar.
Another tablet that tastes good, but for different reasons, is ibuprofen. We’ve already seen that it can taste bad because of how it affects saliva production. However, this is reduced by the fact that it tastes almost like candy. And these tablets, like many others, have a coating that dissolves only once in the stomach to prevent premature release of the active ingredients. This coating is usually prepared on the basis sugarlike sucrose, so when you put them in your mouth they taste sweet.
In short, you can’t guarantee that all drugs are bad. But it is true that it is the most common. But even so, they are so necessary that it is worth making the gesture.
Source: Hiper Textual
