title: Preparation and evaluation of orally disintegrating tablets containing taste-masked microcapsules of berberine hydrochloride.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to prepare and evaluate a taste-masked berberine hydrochloride orally disintegrating tablet for enhanced patient compliance. Taste masking was performed by coating berberine hydrochloride with Eudragit E100 using a fluidized bed. It was found that microcapsules with a drug-polymer ratio of 1:0.8 masked the bitter taste obviously. The microcapsules were formulated to orally disintegrating tablets and the optimized tablets containing 6% (w/w) crospovidone XL and 15% (w/w) microcrystalline cellulose showed the fastest disintegration, within 25.5 s, and had a pleasant taste. The dissolution profiles revealed that the taste-masked orally disintegrating tablets released the drug faster than commercial tablets in the first 10 min. However, their dissolution profiles were very similar after 10 min. The prepared taste-masked tablets remained stable after 6 months of storage. The pharmacokinetics of the taste-masked and commercial tablets was evaluated in rabbits. The Cmax, Tmax, and AUC0-24 values were not significantly different from each other, suggesting that the taste-masked orally disintegrating tablets are bioequivalent to commercial tablets in rabbits. These tablets will enhance patient compliance by masking taste and improve patients' quality of life.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Second Affiliated Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, 400037, Peoples Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xuelian
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Yingbo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Engjuan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xianzhu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Mao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D001599:Berberine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D011817:Rabbits; D013607:Tablets; D013649:Taste
chemical_list: D013607:Tablets; D001599:Berberine