Products
Flavoring substances are contained in numerous medicinal products, in medical devices, cosmetics, luxury foods and foodstuffs as excipients or additives. They are available from specialized suppliers in specialized stores.
Structure and properties
Flavoring substances are mixtures of substances or defined molecules such as vanillin or menthol. They can have a natural (e.g., plant, animal, microbiological) or artificial (e.g., biotechnological, synthetic) origin. In legislation today, a distinction is only made between flavoring substances and natural flavoring substances. Typical examples of flavorings are:
- Pineapple flavor
- Essential oils and their ingredients
- Banana aroma
- Strawberry flavor
- Grapefruit flavor
- Hazelnut flavor
- Raspberry flavor
- Currant flavor, cassis
- Coffee flavor
- Cherry flavor
- Mint flavor (peppermint, menthol)
- Orange flavor
- Peach flavor
- Chocolate flavor
- Spearmint
- Grape flavor
- Vanilla flavoring, vanillin, ethyl vanillin
- Wild berry flavoring (berry flavoring)
- Watermelon flavor
- Cinnamon flavor
- Lemon flavoring
Structurally, they are often aromatics (eg, vanillin), esters (eg, isoamyl acetate), terpenes (eg, limonene, menthol), alcohols, phenols and aldehydes (eg, cinnamaldehyde). Meat and fish flavors, for example, are also used for veterinary medicines, such as for dogs and cats.
Effects
Flavorings mainly give a pleasant taste and/or smell to orally or buccally administered drugs. Thus, they facilitate administration and may increase acceptance and, ideally, compliance with therapy. Flavoring agents also serve to mask an unpleasant taste of the active ingredients (e.g., bitter compounds).
Indications for use
- As flavor correctors and flavor enhancers.
- For a pleasant aroma of the drug.
- For medicines in pediatrics (pediatrics).
Dosage
Usually, only small amounts of the flavoring substances are needed for the production of medicinal products.
Adverse effects
Possible adverse effects include hypersensitivity reactions. Flavoring agents may be experienced as unpleasant by patients. If switching is not possible, cooling or dilution of the remedy may be recommended, if allowed.