Drug delivery via the oral mucous membrane is considered to be a promising alternative to the oral route. Sublingual route is a useful when rapid onset of action is desired with better patient compliance than orally ingested tablets. In terms of permeability, the sublingual area of the oral cavity (i.e. the floor of the mouth) is more permeable than the buccal (cheek) area, which in turn is more permeable than the palatal (roof of the mouth) area. The portion of drug absorbed through the sublingual blood vessels bypasses the hepatic first-pass metabolic processes giving acceptable bioavailability. Various techniques can be used to formulate sublingual tablets. New sublingual technologies address many pharmaceutical and patient needs, ranging from enhanced life-cycle management to convenient dosing for paediatric, geriatric, and psychiatric patients with dysphagia. This review highlights the different sublingual dosage forms, factors affecting the sublingual absorption, advantages, various in vitro and in vivo evaluation parameters and commercially available sublingual dosage forms.
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