SENSORY ANALYSIS OF LIQUID ORAL DOSAGE FORMS ANTACID SUSPENSIONS

Sensory analysis of pharmaceutical oral dosage forms can be used effectively in product development and quality control to improve patient acceptance of the drug. In this work, sensory analysis is applied to detect consumer preference for formulations. of aluminum and magnesium hydroxide antacid suspensions. A ranking test was applied to six peppermint flavored commercial samples (identified from A to F) of the antacid with the same therapeutical potency. The samples corresponded to four different formulations and six batches from three manufacturers. The ranking test was applied in duplicate to ten judges (ages 20-34) trained in the method and in the main sensory characteristics of the product. The coded samples were presented randomly in duplicate to each judge with six replications, and results were recorded in a preference scale from 1 to 6 (1 = most preferred). Statistical analysis of the data considered the sample as the only cause for variation and the minimum significant difference was determined at confidence levels of alpha = 0.01 and alpha = 0.05. The results show a highly significant preference (alpha = 0.01) in sample F over A, B, D and E. At alpha = 0.05, sample F was preferred over all the others, whereas formulations A and D were the least preferred at both significance levels. These results demonstrate that sensory analysis can be applied succesfully in product selection for the patient, formulation development and as a quality control tool in antacid suspensions.