Drug – bio-affecting and body treating compositions – Preparations characterized by special physical form – Particulate form
Patent
1998-10-30
2000-11-21
Page, Thurman K.
Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions
Preparations characterized by special physical form
Particulate form
424499, 514774, A61K 914
Patent
active
061499412
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention relates to a method of improving the flavour profile of solid formulations, for example of tablets comprising active substances or mineral substances, that is to say not only the actual flavour itself but also the organoleptic sensation in the mouth.
Polyols and polyol mixtures are used on a large scale as non-cariogenic additives and excipients for, inter alia, pharmaceutically active substances, chewable tablets, lozenges and other products of the pharmaceutical industry, and as compressed articles in the food industry. As a rule, polyols are obtained by hydrogenating the sugars on which they are based. They can be obtained in solid form by crystallization or else by spray-drying. The particular advantage of some polyols is that they are also suitable for direct compression without any further auxiliaries and additives.
While the known polyols mannitol, lactitol, isomaltol and xylitol show a low degree of hygroscopicity, the tableting behaviour is poor, which results in low tablet hardness, scale-off and severe friability of the tablets. In principle, it is desired to achieve high tablet hardness since frequently only a small amount of excipients are employed in solid formulations and the active substances may drastically reduce tablet hardness so that a given pharmaceutical formula is impossible to tablet.
While lactitol, isomaltol and xylitol are less frequently used in the preparation of compressed articles, mannitol is frequently used in pharmaceutical formulations.
However, the use of mannitol entails a more complicated procedure since, as a rule, it has to be subjected to wet granulation together with the remaining ingredients of the pharmaceutical formula prior to compressing. Mannitol which can be tableted directly is also commercially available, but the hardness which can be achieved by using it is only unsatisfactory in comparison with the hardness achieved when using sorbitol.
Sorbitol, in particular sorbitol obtained by spray-drying, results in very good tablet hardness. At the same time, the compressed articles produced have particularly smooth surfaces. A paper by Basedow et al. reveals that tablets comprising calcium carbonate can be prepared by compressing with spray-dried or crystalline sorbitol. However, sorbitol shows a higher degree of hygroscopicity than the other polyols. This means that its uses are limited. In this context, there is also a lack of evidence in the literature that the flavour profile of a formulation may be improved substantially by sorbitol or by another polyol.
When formulating orally administered pharmaceutical preparations, the flavour profile perceived by the user is frequently problematic, not only in the case of liquid dosage forms. A chalky taste, in particular when chewing antacid tablets, is perceived as unpleasant. Attempts to mask this chalky taste by a wide range of additives have been relatively unsuccessful to date. Known antacids, in turn, convey an undesirable chalky, soapy taste in the mouth which can be reduced, albeit only slightly, by conventional additives, but reappears to a large extent upon chewing.
Another problem found in a wide range of active substances is a taste perceived as extremely bitter. Attempts to mask especially bitter or chalky active substances have been unsuccessful to date, even by adding flavourings or aromas. While there is a possibility of providing tablets comprising such active substances with a coating, this method is unsuitable when the aim is rapid absorption of the active substance which takes place via the mucous membrane of the mouth even while the tablets are being chewed.
The surface of tablets which are intended to be sucked, for example tablets for sore throats, also have to meet specific requirements. What is desired here is a smooth surface of the actual tablet which is retained during the sucking process and does not roughen up gradually.
Moreover, lozenges and, especially, chewable tablets are offered currently in the field of food supplements (vitamin and mineral supplements). In particular
REFERENCES:
patent: 4892889 (1990-01-01), Kirk et al.
Moschl Gernot
Schwarz Eugen
Tallavajhala Siva
Benston, Jr. William E.
Merck Patent Gesellschaft mit
Page Thurman K.
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