Mannitol: An Excellent Excipient For Pharmaceutical Industry
Mannitol is a colorless low-calorie-based sugar alcohol. A biological system such as the intestines takes lots of time to absorb this low-calorie sweetener. An osmotic & duration component, which naturally exists in fruits and vegetables, boosts the osmolality of blood plasma. Therefore, as an antiglaucoma agent-based medication, Mannitol injection is prescribed by doctors.
The natural sources of Mannitol are brown algae, fresh button mushrooms, tree bark, fruits including watermelon, snow peas, peaches, prunes, pears & vegetables like sweet potato, celery, etc. Mannitol has become popular in the pharmaceutical and food manufacturing industries as an essential biochemical component. The global market value of Mannitol increases annually.
The industrial manufacturing unit executes the chemical hydrogenation process to extract a pure version of Mannitol. The combination of 50% fructose and 50% glucose syrup is treated under high pressure and high temperature. In this biochemical treatment, the catalyst – Raney Nickel turns B-fructose into pure Mannitol through hydrogenation.
We use pure fructose to produce a new version of Mannitol through chemical hydrogenation. But, the chemical hydrogenation of fructose is always an expensive treatment. So, few manufacturing units opt for the microbes-driven biotechnological methodology to produce Mannitol to meet the requirements of industrial applications.
Alongside the chemical hydrogenation process, Mannitol can be produced through the microbial fermentative process.
In the gum and candy manufacturing industry, Mannitol is used in versatile ways. This is one of the safe sugar fructose, which works best as capsule diluent, excipient in chewable tablets, etc. It is a safe bulking agent that does not elevate blood sugar levels. Therefore, in the food industries, manufacturing units use Mannitol as a sweetener, which is safe for diabetic patients. Besides, the excellent binding efficiency makes Mannitol one of the best choices as an excipient in medical formulations.
