Comparison of Bitterness Intensity between Prednisolone and Quinine in a Human Sensory Test Indicated Individual Differences in Bitter-Taste Perception

Prednisolone is a frequently prescribed steroid with a bitter, unpalatable taste that can result in treatment refusal. Oral suspensions or powder dosage forms are often prescribed, particularly to pediatric patients, as they improve swallowability and ease of dose adjustment. Consequently, the bitte...

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Published in:Pharmaceutics 2022-11, Vol.14 (11), p.2454
Main Authors: Deng, Mengyan, Hida, Noriko, Yamazaki, Taigi, Morishima, Ryo, Kato, Yuka, Fujita, Yoshiaki, Nakamura, Akihiro, Harada, Tsutomu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
bitterness of drugs
bitterness sensitivity
clinical research
Comparative analysis
Consent
Drug dosages
generalized Labeled Magnitude Scale (gLMS)
Genes
Infectious diseases
Lactose
Mann-Whitney U test
medication adherence
Oral medication
Patient compliance
Pediatrics
Pharmaceuticals
Prednisolone
Quinine
Statistical analysis
Substance abuse treatment
taste receptors
Testing
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Summary:Prednisolone is a frequently prescribed steroid with a bitter, unpalatable taste that can result in treatment refusal. Oral suspensions or powder dosage forms are often prescribed, particularly to pediatric patients, as they improve swallowability and ease of dose adjustment. Consequently, the bitterness of prednisolone is more apparent in these dosage forms. Few studies have investigated prednisolone's bitterness. Thus, in this study, 50 adults evaluated the bitterness of prednisolone using the generalized Labeled Magnitude Scale (gLMS), in comparison with quinine, a standard bitter substance. Overall, prednisolone-saturated solution demonstrated the same extent (mean gLMS score: 46.8) of bitterness as 1 mM quinine solution (mean gLMS score: 40.1). Additionally, large individual differences were observed in the perception of the bitterness of prednisolone and quinine. Perceived flavors of some drugs are reportedly associated with bitter-taste receptor (TAS2Rs) polymorphisms. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between subjects' genetic polymorphisms of , , and , and their sensitivity to bitterness. Although a relationship between polymorphisms and the perception of quinine bitterness was observed, no significant relationship was found between the perceived bitterness of prednisolone and the investigated genes. Ultimately, the results show that despite individual differences among subjects, the cause of prednisolone's strong bitterness is yet to be elucidated.
ISSN:1999-4923
1999-4923
DOI:10.3390/pharmaceutics14112454