Chewable tablets are a specialized oral solid dosage form designed to be chewed in the mouth prior to swallowing, offering an effective alternative to conventional tablets. They are particularly advantageous for pediatric, geriatric, and dysphagic patients who experience difficulty in swallowing intact dosage forms. The primary objective of chewable tablet formulation is to enhance patient compliance by improving palatability, ease of administration, and overall acceptability. These tablets are formulated to disintegrate smoothly upon chewing, enabling faster drug release and, in some cases, improved bioavailability. The development of chewable tablets involves the careful selection of excipients such as directly compressible diluents (e.g., mannitol), sweeteners (natural or artificial), flavoring agents, and lubricants to mask the unpleasant taste of active pharmaceutical ingredients and provide a pleasant mouthfeel. The mechanical properties of the tablet, including hardness and low friability, are critical to ensure stability during handling, packaging, and transportation, while still allowing easy chewability. Preformulation and formulation strategies play a vital role in achieving uniform drug distribution, optimal compressibility, and stability. Various manufacturing techniques such as direct compression and wet granulation are commonly employed. Post-compression evaluation parameters including weight variation, hardness, friability, disintegration time, content uniformity, and in vitro drug release studies are essential to assess the quality, safety, and efficacy of the formulation. In conclusion, chewable tablets represent a promising and patient-centric drug delivery system that combines convenience, improved taste masking, and reliable therapeutic performance, making them an important dosage form in modern pharmaceutical development.
Patil et al. (Fri,) studied this question.