A new method for evaluating the bitterness of medicines by semi-continuous measurement of adsorption using a taste sensor.
We describe a new method for the evaluation of the bitterness of medicines by semi-continuous measurement of adsorption using a multichannel taste sensor or 'electric tongue'. The bitterness of 10 basic medicines was evaluated by both the taste sensor and in human gustatory sensation tests with 11 volunteers. The sensor part of the taste sensor consists of eight electrodes made of lipid/polymer membranes. Three variables were obtained from the taste sensor data: sensor output (S), the change of membrane potential caused by adsorption, corresponding to aftertaste (C), and the ratio C/S. These variables were used to predict an estimated bitterness score in multiple regression analysis. Semi-continuous measurement of C (every 30 s up to 150 s) was adopted as an additional explanatory variable, and the attenuation rate of C was defined as C'. These data were also subjected to multiple regression analysis. The correlation coefficient (r) estimated for the bitterness score predicted by the taste sensor, using C' for channel 2 and C/S for channel 4, and the score obtained by human gustatory sensation, was 0.824. This value was greater than that obtained using C/S for both channels 2 and 4 (0.734). The method described in the present study seems to offer good predictability for the evaluation of bitterness.