Erythritol

Erythritol is a naturally occurring sugar alcohol with characteristics such as low calorie content, high sweetness, good stability, and safety. In pharmaceuticals, erythritol is not only used as a sweetener, but also has various functional effects. The following are the main functions and applications of erythritol in pharmaceuticals:
1. As a sweetener
1) Improving taste: erythritol has a sweetness of about 60% -70% of sucrose, but has extremely low calories (about 0.2 kcal/g), making it suitable for improving the taste of oral preparations such as tablets, granules, syrups, etc.
2) Masking bitterness: Many drugs, such as antibiotics and antiviral drugs, have bitterness, and erythritol can effectively mask bitterness and improve patient compliance, especially for children and elderly patients---###
2. As a filler
1) Increasing volume: erythritol can be used in solid formulations such as tablets and capsules as a filler to increase the volume of the formulation, making it easier to compress or fill.
2) Improving fluidity: erythritol has good fluidity and compressibility, which helps to improve the formability and uniformity of tablets.
3. As a stabilizer
1) Protecting drug activity: erythritol has the characteristic of low hygroscopicity and can be used to protect water sensitive drugs (such as proteins and peptide drugs) and prevent drug degradation.
2) Extended shelf life: In liquid formulations such as syrup and oral liquid, erythritol can inhibit microbial growth and extend the shelf life of the formulation.
4. As a solubilizer
Improving solubility: erythritol can be combined with other excipients (such as surfactants) to enhance the solubility of poorly soluble drugs, thereby improving their bioavailability.
5. As a cryoprotectant
Protecting biologics: In freeze-dried formulations, erythritol can serve as a cryoprotectant to prevent denaturation or inactivation of proteins, vaccines, and other biologics during freezing and drying processes.
6. As an oral care ingredient
Preventing dental caries: erythritol is not fermented by oral bacteria, so it does not cause dental caries. It is commonly used in oral care products such as lozenges and mouthwash to improve taste while protecting oral health.
7. As a low calorie auxiliary material
Suitable for special people: Erythritol is almost not metabolized by the human body and will not cause blood sugar fluctuations. It is suitable for diabetes patients and obese patients.
8. As a masking agent
Taste masking technology: erythritol can be combined with other taste masking materials (such as polymers) to prepare taste masking microspheres or particles, further masking the unpleasant taste of drugs.
9. Application in special preparations
(1) Chewable tablets: erythritol has a good taste and sweetness, and is commonly used in chewable tablets to improve patients' medication experience.
(2) Oral disintegrating tablets: erythritol can accelerate the disintegration speed of oral disintegrating tablets and improve their taste.
(3) Syrup and oral liquid: Erythritol can replace sucrose to prepare low calorie syrup and oral liquid, suitable for diabetes patients.
10 Advantages of erythritol
1) High safety: erythritol has been recognized as safe (GRAS) by the FDA and EFSA, and there is no limit to daily intake.
2) Low heat：Almost not absorbed by the human body, it does not cause blood sugar fluctuations.
3) Good stability: heat-resistant and acid resistant, suitable for various formulation processes.
4) Cool taste: It has a refreshing sensation when dissolved, enhancing the medication experience.
11. Limitations of erythritol
1) High cost: Compared to sucrose and other sugar alcohols, erythritol has a higher production cost.
2) Excessive intake may cause mild gastrointestinal discomfort: Although erythritol is well tolerated, excessive intake may cause mild gastrointestinal discomfort (such as bloating and diarrhea).
12. Market prospects
With the increasing demand for healthy diets and low calorie products, erythritol has broad prospects for application in pharmaceuticals. Erythritol will become an important functional adjuvant, especially in children's drugs, diabetes drugs and oral care products.