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Polyols provide sweetness together with important formulation properties, making them useful in oral pharmaceutical products and dietary supplements.
Depending on the ingredient and grade, polyols can function as fillers, binders and bulking agents while contributing to mouthfeel and palatability. Selected grades offer the flowability and compressibility required for direct-compression tablet production.
Typical applications include chewable tablets, lozenges, orally disintegrating tablets, supplement gummies, oral powders and granules.
Most polyols provide approximately 2.4 kcal/g under EU food energy conversion rules, while erythritol has an energy value of 0 kcal/g.
Erythritol (E968) provides approximately 60–70% of the sweetness of sucrose and has a characteristic cooling effect.
Its low hygroscopicity and good stability make it suitable for selected solid oral formulations. It can improve palatability and contribute bulk to chewable tablets, lozenges and oral powders.
Grades developed for direct compression can also support tablet production, depending on the required flow and compression characteristics.
Xylitol (E967) provides sweetness comparable to sucrose, together with a pronounced cooling sensation.
These properties make it particularly suitable for oral dosage forms where palatability and mouthfeel are important, including chewable tablets, lozenges and orally disintegrating tablets.
Selected direct-compression grades provide flow and compression properties suited to tablet production making them well suited for efficient tablet manufacture.
Isomalt (E 953) provides approximately 50% of the sweetness of sucrose, with a mild, sugar-like taste and a relatively low cooling effect.
Its very low hygroscopicity makes it useful in lozenges and selected solid dosage forms, including formulations containing moisture-sensitive ingredients.
Isomalt DC is an agglomerated grade developed for direct compression. It provides filler-binder functionality, with flow and compression properties suited to tablet production. Typical applications include chewable tablets, compressed lozenges and selected orally disintegrating tablets. Isomalt can also be used as a carrier for flavours.
Maltitol (E965) provides approx. 90% of the sweetness of sucrose, with a pleasant, sugar-like taste.
Depending on the grade, it can provide sweetness, bulk and binding functionality in solid oral formulations. Direct-compression grades are suitable for selected chewable tablets and compressed lozenges.
Other grades, including maltitol syrups, may be used in supplement gummies, chewable formats and selected coating applications, where sweetness and texture are important.
Erythritol
Isomalt
Maltitol
Xylitol
Lene Aarøe Nissen
Head of Nordic Sales
+45 22 70 10 02
lan@alsiano.com
