Masking the Bitter Taste of Pills by Coating with a Fat Emulsion made from Irvingia malayana

Abstract

Krabok seed fat (from Irvingia malayana Oliv. ex A.W.Benn.) is a promising naturally resourced material which could be an option as a commercial fat substitute. This study formulated and evaluated the most stable emulsion containing Krabok seed fat, for coating bitter herbal pills (andrographis) in order to mask the bitter taste. The results showed that an emulsion formulation, with the required hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) of 13,
exerted the most stability and was suitable for coating the bitter herbal pills. In organoleptic tests in healthy participants, it effectively masked the bitter taste. The physical evaluation of the coating layer i.e. appearance, uniformity of thickness, and uniformity of weight, was acceptable.