ABSTRACT
Lozenges are solid preparations that contain one or more medicaments, usually in a flavored, sweetened base, and that are intended to dissolve or disintegrate slowly in the mouth. The last major ingredient in lozenges is salvage obtained from lozenge batches rejected because of imperfect shape or size, presence of air bubbles, or unacceptable drug concentration. The formed lozenges are then fed onto the distribution belt, which provides intensive cooling and shaking to prevent deformation of the still plastic lozenge. Lactose, because of its extremely low sweetness, is limited for use in lozenges because it would require the addition of an artificial sweetener of sufficient potency to overcome its blandness. As with hard candy lozenges, microbial testing may be appropriate, especially when wet granulation has been used in processing the materials and high concentrations of carbohydrates are present. Compressed tablet lozenges differ from conventional tablets by requiring materials and methods that provide slow dissolution and drug release.
