1. Practicum in Pharmacy Technician
Medication Flavoring
Practicum in Pharmacy Technician

2. Introduction
Successfully flavoring a medication is a critical step in the process of properly preparing a prescription, especially when the taste of a particular drug is such that it will not be tolerated by the patient when administered orally.

3. Psychological Impact
Although no therapeutic benefit is evident, using the proper coloring and flavoring for medicinal substances is psychologically important.
A medication that is disagreeable in either appearance, texture, or taste can be made more attractive and palatable by adding the appropriate flavoring, sweetening, or coloring agent.

4. Sensory Roles in Flavoring
Taste, smell, sight, touch, and even sound are complex experiences that may influence the flavor sensation.
Individuals are more sensitive to the aroma of a preparation than the actual taste.
Elderly may need extra flavor to achieve desired result.
Females tend to be more sensitive to smell than males.
Certain diseases or treatments will alter a patients ability to taste and smell.

5. Sensory Roles in Flavoring
Sight and sound play an important role in flavor experience when certain reflexes become conditioned through association.
Example Pavolov’s Dog.
The color of a preparation and flavor should coincide.
For example, Cherry flavoring should be paired with red coloring, Grape with purple.

6. Flavoring Considerations
Be aware of any allergies or sensitivities a patient may have to a particular ingredient, such as chocolate, peanuts, or preservatives and dyes.
Know the patients likes and dislikes.
Children have more taste buds than adults and are more sensitive to taste.
Infants and children tend to prefer tastes that are sweet and do not respond well to bitter.
Appropriate flavor choices for children include: raspberry, bubblegum, marshmallow, berry, and vanilla.

7. Flavoring Considerations
Adults are usually more tolerate of a bitter flavor, so with extremely bitter drugs, a flavoring agent such as coffee, chocolate, cherry, grapefruit, or mint is acceptable.
Other factors to be considered include:
Stability
Solubility pH
Physical Properties
Aqueous solutions should be flavored with water miscible flavors, whereas oil preparations will require and oil-based flavoring.

8. Four Taste Types There are 4 Basic Taste Experiences:
Sour
Sweet
Bitter
Salty
Each taste type is experienced in a specific area of the tongue that contains taste buds with specialized functions.
Sweet, Salty, and Sour taste receptors are in a region just inside the outer edge of the tongue.
Salty and Sour receptors are located in a small region toward the back of the tongue.
Sour-only is located in the center of the tongue.
There is an area toward the center and front of the tongue where no sensation of taste is experienced.

9. Tastes Needing Flavoring
Salty Taste – best hidden in a cinnamon syrup.
Bitter Taste – cocoa syrup is usually the best choice for covering bitter drugs, followed by cinnamon syrup or citrus syrup.
Sour Taste – Raspberry syrup and other fruit syrups are effective in covering the taste of sour substances.
Oily Taste – can be disguised by using peppermint or wintergreen.
Simply adding a flavoring or coloring agent will not guarantee that a bad tasting drug will taste good.

10. Flavoring Techniques
Every formula that requires flavoring should be analyzed individually.
Five Basic Flavoring Techniques:
Blending – uses a flavor that will blend with the drug taste.
Citrus blends with sour tastes
Bitter can be blended with salty, sweet, and sour
Salt reduces bitterness and sourness and increases sweetness.
Overshadowing- involves the use of a flavor with a stronger intensity that the original product.
Example: wintergreen
Chemical Methods- include absorbing the drug with an ingredient that eliminates the taste of the offensive drug.

11. Flavoring Techniques
4. Physical Method- include the formulation of insoluble ingredients into a suspension; emulsification of oils.
When the offensive tasting ingredient is placed in the oil phase and the flavoring agent is placed in the aqueous phase.
5. Physiological Method – involve using an additive such as menthol, peppermint or a spice to anesthetize the taste buds within the tongue.
These flavor products will reduce the sensitivity of the taste buds to bitterness.

12. Sweeteners
A sweetening agent must be using in order for the preparation to be palatable.
Flavoring agents are not sweet; they are more bitter.
Common sweeteners include: sucrose, dextrose, corn syrup, sorbitol, and mannitol.
It is important to know their physical properties, such as aftertaste, temperature sensitivity, pH, and sweetening ability.
The amount required should be calculated accordingly.

13. Coloring Proper color is equally important.
It is not necessary to color a product.
If a coloring agent is used it should match the flavor of the product.
Allergies to dyes should be confirmed beforehand.
There are dye-free coloring agents.