Paediatric Medicinal Formulation Development: Utilising Human Taste Panels and Incorporating Their Data into Machine Learning Training

This review paper explores the role of human taste panels and artificial neural networks (ANNs) in taste-masking paediatric drug formulations. Given the ethical, practical, and regulatory challenges of employing children, young adults (18-40) can serve as suitable substitutes due to the similarity in their taste sensitivity. Taste panellists need not be experts in sensory evaluation so long as a reference product is used during evaluation; however, they should be screened for bitterness taste detection thresholds.

Citation:
Yoo O, von Ungern-Sternberg BS, Lim LY. Paediatric Medicinal Formulation Development: Utilising Human Taste Panels and Incorporating Their Data into Machine Learning Training. Pharmaceutics. 2023;15(8)

Keywords:
Artificial neural networks (ANNs); machine learning; paediatric drug formulations; paediatric formulation development; taste assessment; taste masking; taste panels

Abstract:
This review paper explores the role of human taste panels and artificial neural networks (ANNs) in taste-masking paediatric drug formulations. Given the ethical, practical, and regulatory challenges of employing children, young adults (18-40) can serve as suitable substitutes due to the similarity in their taste sensitivity. Taste panellists need not be experts in sensory evaluation so long as a reference product is used during evaluation; however, they should be screened for bitterness taste detection thresholds.