What was the initial purpose of gelatin in pharmaceuticals?

The initial purpose of gelatin in pharmaceuticals was primarily for taste-masking obnoxious medicines. Gelatin’s unique properties allow it to form a film, which can effectively cloak unpleasant flavors that may be present in medications. This is particularly important for oral medications, where taste can significantly affect patient compliance, especially in children or those sensitive to certain flavors.

Gelatin's ability to cover and mitigate taste makes it a valuable excipient in the formulation of soft and hard capsules, giving manufacturers a practical solution to making medications more palatable. By masking unpleasant tastes, gelatin helps ensure that patients can take their medicines more willingly, leading to better adherence to treatment regimens.

In terms of the other options, while gelatin does serve various roles in pharmacology, its original and most significant early use was in taste-masking. Over time, it has been recognized for other applications, such as acting as a binder in tablet formulations and contributing to drug release profiles, but these uses were developed later as the understanding of gelatin's versatile properties expanded.