We demonstrated that these particular flavors in AMC/DCBA lozenges were liked by a majority of children within this study. A previous

study conducted in children aged 4–7 years found that sweetness was the most important flavor characteristic for a medication, together with the effective masking of any bitter taste of PLX3397 the active ingredients [32]. In addition, red fruit (strawberry/raspberry) flavor was found to be the most acceptable to children and although the majority readily accepted citrus flavors, they did not prefer them. Citrus flavor was preferred to banana flavor by fewer children when compared with formulations containing calcium and vitamin D3 [24]. Therefore, in our study, the sourness of the flavor may have been a factor, with the lower absolute palatability of the orange-flavored lozenge being in line with the major dislike reported in this study. The buy P005091 open-label, uncontrolled design of the study was appropriate given that the objective was to investigate absolute rather than comparative acceptability of the samples. The order in which the samples were tasted was not randomized because of the possibility that the menthol in the orange-flavored

lozenge could carry over and affect the taste of the strawberry-flavored lozenge, as menthol in lozenges CAL-101 in vivo has been demonstrated to exert effects that are still experienced 30 minutes after consumption [33]. Therefore, the strawberry-flavored lozenge was taken before the orange-flavored lozenge. A potential limitation of this study is that it was conducted in healthy children, and thus the results may not necessarily be translated directly to children with acute sore throat, whose perceptions

of flavor may be affected by symptoms of a cold [34]. However, since the main purpose of this study was to evaluate the general acceptability of the two flavored lozenges L-NAME HCl in absolute rather than comparative terms, and the impact of symptoms of a cold on perception of flavor may differ between subjects, the inclusion of healthy children in this study is considered reasonable. Future work may be warranted involving children with symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection/sore throat. It is also possible that the order in which the lozenges were tasted (strawberry then orange) had a bearing on the vocabulary used in the responses given to the question asking what the subjects disliked about the flavor. After being asked general questions about what they liked/disliked about the strawberry lozenge, subjects were then asked more specific questions such as “Do you think it tasted sour [like a lemon]?”. The subjects then tasted the orange-flavored lozenge and were asked the same questions in the same order.