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Organoleptic agents constitute an important niche in the field of pharmaceutical excipients. These agents encompass a range of additives responsible for coloring, flavoring, sweetening, and texturing formulations. All these agents have come to play a significant role in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics due to their ability to increase patient compliance by elevating a formulation's elegance and esthetics. However, it is essential to review their physical and chemical attributes before use, as organoleptic agents, similar to active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), are susceptible to physical and chemical instability leading to degradation. These instabilities can be triggered by API-organoleptic agent interaction, exposure to light, air and oxygen, and changes in pH and temperature. These organoleptic agent instabilities are of serious concern as they affect API and formulation stability, leading to API degradation or the potential for manifestation of toxicity. Hence, it is extremely critical to evaluate and review the physicochemical properties of organoleptic agents before their use in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. This literature review discusses commonly used organoleptic agents in pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical formulations, their associated instabilities, and probable approaches to overcoming them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract of the article "Comparison of Gram-Stained Smears Prepared From Vaginal Swabs Taken Blindly With Those Obtained at Speculum Examination for the Assessment of Vaginal Flora" is presented. The study shows that the sensitivity and specificity of blind vaginal swab technique for detecting bacterial vaginosis is 100%. Also, it is easier and faster to take blind vaginal swabs than perform speculum examination.