Table 2. Tastes and masking flavours.

Taste of the medicine	Examples*	Flavour to mask the taste of the medicine
Sour	Multivitamins (e.g. vitamin C)	Cherry, lemon, lime, mandarin, orange, strawberry, raspberry, pineapple
Bitter	Antibiotics Paracetamol Corticosteroids	Cherry, chocolate, liquorice, strawberry, peach, coffee, mint, lemon, lime, raspberry, tutti-frutti, orange, cinnamon
Sweet	Lactulose Sorbitol	Caramel, lemon, orange, vanilla, bubble-gum
Salty	Iron supplements Antihistamines Macrogol laxatives Oral rehydration solutions	Banana, caramel, cream, chocolate, grape, vanilla, raspberry, orange, cinnamon, nut, butter, butterscotch, maple
Any		Spreadable yeast extract, peanut butter, jam, honey, apple sauce, custard, ice cream

* Common examples are based on patient reports, although any drug may be considered ‘bad’ tasting depending on subjective taste preferences.