Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of a quantitative prediction method using a taste sensor to determine the bitterness of orally disintegrating famotidine tablets for use in hospital as a commercial generic medicine from an ethical viewpoint. Methods: The relationship between the bitterness intensity scores of famotidine in human gustatory sensation tests and the predicted bitterness scores derived from the taste sensor output was evaluted. Results: It was shown that the bitterness scores of famotidine products in generic medicines were either a little higher or much greater than those of the original medicine. A good correlation was obtained between the bitterness intensity obtained in human volunteers versus the CPA value of sensor channel AN0. Conclusions: The taste sensor was found to be a very accurate taste marker. In addition, it was shown that the bitterness intensity scores obtained for famotidine products decreased with increasing age. It appears that taste recognition is reduced with increasing age.
