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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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Pharmaceutics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/14/11/2454 |
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| author | Mengyan Deng Noriko Hida Taigi Yamazaki Ryo Morishima Yuka Kato Yoshiaki Fujita Akihiro Nakamura Tsutomu Harada |
| author_facet | Mengyan Deng Noriko Hida Taigi Yamazaki Ryo Morishima Yuka Kato Yoshiaki Fujita Akihiro Nakamura Tsutomu Harada |
| author_sort | Mengyan Deng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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 <i>TAS2R19</i>, <i>38</i>, and <i>46</i>, and their sensitivity to bitterness. Although a relationship between <i>TAS2R19</i> 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. |
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| id | doaj.art-39aeafd483c44354a548b6fe2285be01 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4923 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:04:36Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
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| series | Pharmaceutics |
| spelling | doaj.art-39aeafd483c44354a548b6fe2285be012023-11-24T09:36:06ZengMDPI AGPharmaceutics1999-49232022-11-011411245410.3390/pharmaceutics14112454Comparison of Bitterness Intensity between Prednisolone and Quinine in a Human Sensory Test Indicated Individual Differences in Bitter-Taste PerceptionMengyan Deng0Noriko Hida1Taigi Yamazaki2Ryo Morishima3Yuka Kato4Yoshiaki Fujita5Akihiro Nakamura6Tsutomu Harada7Division of Pharmaceutics, Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics, Graduate School of Pharmacy, Showa University, 1-5-8 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-8555, JapanDepartment of Clinical Pharmacy, Division of Clinical Research and Development, School of Pharmacy, Showa University, 6-11-11 Kita-karasuyama, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 157-8577, JapanDepartment of Clinical Pharmacy, Division of Clinical Research and Development, School of Pharmacy, Showa University, 6-11-11 Kita-karasuyama, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 157-8577, JapanDivision of Pharmaceutics, Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics, School of Pharmacy, Showa University, 1-5-8 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-8555, JapanDivision of Pharmaceutics, Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics, School of Pharmacy, Showa University, 1-5-8 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-8555, JapanDivision of Pharmaceutics, Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics, School of Pharmacy, Showa University, 1-5-8 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-8555, JapanDivision of Pharmaceutics, Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics, School of Pharmacy, Showa University, 1-5-8 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-8555, JapanDivision of Pharmaceutics, Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics, School of Pharmacy, Showa University, 1-5-8 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-8555, JapanPrednisolone 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 <i>TAS2R19</i>, <i>38</i>, and <i>46</i>, and their sensitivity to bitterness. Although a relationship between <i>TAS2R19</i> 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.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/14/11/2454bitterness of drugsbitterness sensitivitymedication adherenceclinical researchgeneralized Labeled Magnitude Scale (gLMS)taste receptors |
| spellingShingle | Mengyan Deng Noriko Hida Taigi Yamazaki Ryo Morishima Yuka Kato Yoshiaki Fujita Akihiro Nakamura Tsutomu Harada Comparison of Bitterness Intensity between Prednisolone and Quinine in a Human Sensory Test Indicated Individual Differences in Bitter-Taste Perception Pharmaceutics bitterness of drugs bitterness sensitivity medication adherence clinical research generalized Labeled Magnitude Scale (gLMS) taste receptors |
| title | Comparison of Bitterness Intensity between Prednisolone and Quinine in a Human Sensory Test Indicated Individual Differences in Bitter-Taste Perception |
| title_full | Comparison of Bitterness Intensity between Prednisolone and Quinine in a Human Sensory Test Indicated Individual Differences in Bitter-Taste Perception |
| title_fullStr | Comparison of Bitterness Intensity between Prednisolone and Quinine in a Human Sensory Test Indicated Individual Differences in Bitter-Taste Perception |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparison of Bitterness Intensity between Prednisolone and Quinine in a Human Sensory Test Indicated Individual Differences in Bitter-Taste Perception |
| title_short | Comparison of Bitterness Intensity between Prednisolone and Quinine in a Human Sensory Test Indicated Individual Differences in Bitter-Taste Perception |
| title_sort | comparison of bitterness intensity between prednisolone and quinine in a human sensory test indicated individual differences in bitter taste perception |
| topic | bitterness of drugs bitterness sensitivity medication adherence clinical research generalized Labeled Magnitude Scale (gLMS) taste receptors |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/14/11/2454 |
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