Novel chewing gum eases motion sickness

A new prototype for medicated chewing gum has been developed for motion sickness that may offer many advantages over conventional oral solid dosage forms.

The research was presented last week at the 2012 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) annual meeting in Chicago.

Lead researcher Mohsen Sadatrezaei of RoshaDarou, a pharmaceutical firm based in Tehran, Iran, and colleagues from the Islamic Azad University School of Pharmaceutical Sciences have developed a medicated gum that will improve patient compliance and faster absorption through the cheek, thus alleviating motion sickness sooner, according to an AAPS press release.

A sensory panel was used to test faster absorption through the buccal cavity, which can result in earlier onset of action against motion sickness, the researchers noted. Panelists also ranked the gum on bitterness and easiness to chew.

"The main challenge in delivering drugs through chewing gum is masking the bitter taste of its active ingredient," Sadatrezaei said. "We have formulated dimenhydrinate as chewing gum with acceptable taste and sensory attributes. Dimenhydrinate is among the best drug candidates for treatment of motion sickness, providing a comfortable and acceptable drug delivery."

The final formulation has great potential for dimenhydrinate chewing gum commercialization, he and his colleagues noted. Their findings could also be used as a platform to incorporate other active ingredients with objectionable taste into chewing gum.