STABLE ANTIMALARIAL COMBINED FORMULATION DEVELOPMENT FOR BITTER TASTING DRUGS
JAYA AGNIHOTRI*, JANHAVI MISHRA, and SUJEET YADAV
Department of Pharmaceutics, H.K. College of Pharmacy, Oshiwara, Mumbai, India
ABSTRACT
Malaria is a major global health problem, particularly in developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Here are some statistics on malaria worldwide, According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there were an estimated 229 million cases of malaria worldwide in 2019, with 94% of these cases occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria caused an estimated 409,000 deaths in 2019, with young children under the age of five and pregnant women being the most vulnerable groups. Children under the age of five are particularly vulnerable to malaria, accounting for approximately two-thirds of all malaria deaths worldwide. Malaria disproportionately affects people living in poverty, who may not have access to proper health care or preventative measures such as bed nets or insecticides.Bottom of Form Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) are the recommended first-line treatment for uncomplicated malaria by the World Health Organization (WHO). ACTs are a combination of two or more drugs, one of which is an artemisinin derivative. Though for malarial treatment, ACTs must be taken as prescribed, and patients may be required to take multiple tablets over several days. Compliance can be a challenge, particularly in settings where patients may not have easy access to health care or may not understand the importance of completing the full course of treatment. Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) can have a bitter taste, particularly in their tablet form. This bitter taste is a common side effect of the medication and can be a challenge for some patients, particularly children, who may have difficulty swallowing the tablets or may refuse to take the medication altogether. To overcome this, Dry powder mix formulation was developed which conceals bitter taste and overcome stability of antimalarial drug. Through innovative manufacturing processes and the use of less expensive raw materials, we have created a dry powder mixing formulation that offers significant cost savings to patients and healthcare providers.
Keywords: Malaria, Global health problem, Developing countries, Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), Bitter taste and Dry powder mix formulation
