While medicines stand as marvels of modern medicine, the aftertaste they leave in our mouths is often far from pleasant. Confucius once said, 'Good medicine tastes bitter,' probably not referring to aspirin, but this sentiment seems to hold true for contemporary medications. In this exploration, we delve into the intriguing question of why medicines tend to have such an unpleasant taste and its implications in our daily healthcare experiences.
Medications are formulated to contain as few additives as possible to avoid compromising the effectiveness of the active ingredients. Adding tasty flavorings often ranks low on the priority list and can sometimes introduce additional challenges.
As medications can be toxic in sufficiently high amounts, the off-putting taste of pills is actually advantageous for most of us.
For instance, ibuprofen (also known as Advil) has a sweet coating. The most likely explanation behind this is that ibuprofen can irritate the stomach, and coating prevents the medicine from dissolving until it reaches the intestines.
This is particularly problematic for children as they exhibit an increased sensitivity to bitter tastes until adolescence.
To overcome this hurdle, some drug manufacturers have produced alternative medications with flavors like strawberry and water-soluble dolutegravir.
Researchers from UCL School of Pharmacy are using data collected from an 'electric tongue' to create an artificial intelligence (AI) system capable of predicting the bitterness of drugs. Their ultimate goal is to make medications a bit more palatable to ensure patients adhere to their treatment plans.
Firstly, place the pill at the back of your tongue and swallow it quickly with a glass of water. Secondly, pinch your nose as approximately 80% of your taste perception comes from your sense of smell. Lastly, you can coat the pill with something sweet like honey or molasses.