CompoAtlas

Glycérol in food supplements

414 supplements declared in France contain Glycérol as a substance or active ingredient.

Compl'Alim declarations. Compl'Alim, food supplement declarations (France), retrieved 23 October 2026.

What we know about this ingredient

Appearance

  • Clear, colorless syrupy liquid

  • Clear, colorless, ... syrupy liquid or solid (below 64 degrees F) [Note: The solid form melts above 64 degrees F but the liquid form freezes at a much lower temperature].

  • Syrupy, rhombic plates

  • Clear, colorless, odorless, syrupy liquid or solid (below 64 °F).

  • Clear, colorless, odorless, syrupy liquid or solid (below 64 °F). [Note: The solid form melts above 64 °F but the liquid form freezes at a much lower temperature.]

  • Clear, colourless hygroscopic syrupy liquid with not more than a slight characteristic odour, which is neither harsh nor disagreeable

  • Dry Powder; Large Crystals; Gas Vapor; Liquid; Wet Solid; Other Solid; Liquid; Other Solid; Dry Powder; Liquid; Other Solid; Large Crystals; Wet Solid; Large Crystals; Liquid; Liquid; Other Solid; CBI; Large Crystals

  • Glycerine appears as a colorless to brown colored liquid. Combustible but may require some effort to ignite.

PubChem : Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) · 2026-10-29 · Lewis, R.J. Sr.; Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary 15th Edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York, NY 2007., p. 611; NIOSH. NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards. DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 97-140. Washington, D.C. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1997., p. 152; Lide, D.R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics 88TH Edition 2007-2008. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis, Boca Raton, FL 2007, p. 3-268.

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PubChem : Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) · 2026-10-29 · https://www.osha.gov/chemicaldata/416.

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PubChem : The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) · 2026-10-29 · https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0302.html.

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PubChem : EU Food Improvement Agents · 2026-10-29 · https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2012/231/oj.

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PubChem : EPA Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) · 2026-10-29 · https://www.epa.gov/chemical-data-reporting.

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PubChem : CAMEO Chemicals · 2026-10-29 · https://cameochemicals.noaa.gov/chemical/8708.

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Consumer uses

  • Adhesion/cohesion promoter

  • Cleaning agent

  • Diluent

  • Etching agent

  • Flavoring and nutrient

  • Freeze-thaw additive

  • Fuel agents

  • Humectant

  • Intermediate

  • Lubricating agent

  • Monomers

  • Not Known or Reasonably Ascertainable

  • Processing aids not otherwise specified

  • Softener and conditioner

  • Soil amendments (fertilizers)

  • Solvent

  • Stabilizing agent

  • Surfactant (surface active agent)

PubChem : EPA Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) · 2026-10-29 · https://www.epa.gov/chemical-data-reporting.

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Industry uses

  • Abrasives

  • Anti-freeze agent

  • Anti-slip agent

  • Diluent

  • Dust suppressant

  • Emulsifier

  • Flavoring and nutrient

  • Flow promoter

  • Fuel agents

  • Humectant

  • Intermediate

  • Lubricating agent

  • Monomers

  • Not Known or Reasonably Ascertainable

  • Processing aids not otherwise specified

  • Solubility enhancer

  • Solvent

  • Surfactant (surface active agent)

  • Tanning agents not otherwise specified

PubChem : EPA Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) · 2026-10-29 · https://www.epa.gov/chemical-data-reporting.

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Manufacturing

  • Fermentation of sugar: ... The fermentation /is/ ... interrupted at the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate stage with sodium carbonate or with alkali or alkaline earth sulfites. After reduction to glycerol phosphate, glycerol is obtained in yields up to 25% by hydrolysis.

  • Production from acrolein: ... Propene is oxidized to acrolein, which is then reduced to allyl alcohol (Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley reduction). The allyl alcohol is epoxidized with hydrogen peroxide, and the resulting glycidol is hydrolyzed to glycerol.

  • Production from allyl chloride: ... This method became available once the high-temperature chlorination of propene to allyl chloride could be controlled properly. The allyl chloride produced is oxidized with hypochlorite to dichlorohydrin, which is converted without isolation to epichlorohydrin by ring closure with calcium or sodium hydroxide. Hydrolysis to glycerol is carried out with sodium hydroxide or sodium carbonate. Epichlorohydrin is hydrolyzed to glycerol at 80 - 200 °C with a 10 - 15% aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide or sodium carbonate at atmospheric or overpressure. The residence time in one or a series of several closed, continuously operating reactors amounts to several minutes or several hours depending on the plant concerned. The yield of dilute (10 - 25%) glycerol solution is > 98%. The solution contains 5 - 10% sodium chloride and less than 2% of other impurities. This aqueous glycerol solution containing sodium chloride is evaporated in a multistage evaporation plant under vacuum to a glycerol concentration of > 75%; precipitated sodium chloride is separated at the same time. The glycerol solution is then distilled under high vacuum (about 0.5 - 1.0 kPa); co-distilled water is separated by fractional condensation. Residual inorganic salts and higher oligomers of glycerol remaining after the evaporation must be worked up further or discarded. The glycerol, practically free of water, is treated further to remove colored impurities and odorous material; this can be performed, for example, with activated carbon.

  • Production from propylene oxide: ... Propene is epoxidized to propylene oxide, which is then isomerized to allyl alcohol by the Progil process. A second epoxidation is carried out with peracetic acid, and the resulting glycidol is hydrolyzed to glycerol.

PubChem : Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) · 2026-10-29 · Christoph R et al; Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 7th ed. (1999-2011). New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons; Glycerol. Online Posting Date: April 15, 2006.

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Odour described

  • MILD ODOR

  • Odorless

PubChem : Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) · 2026-10-29 · Furia, T.E. (ed.). CRC Handbook of Food Additives. 2nd ed. Volume 2. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press, Inc., 1980., p. 275; Lewis, R.J. Sr.; Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary 15th Edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York, NY 2007., p. 611.

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Stability

  • Mixtures of glycerin with water, ethanol (95%), and propylene glycol are chemically stable. Glycerin may crystallize if stored at low temperatures; the crystals do not melt until warmed to 20 °C.

  • Stability During Transport: Stable

PubChem : Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) · 2026-10-29 · Rowe, R.C., Sheskey, P.J., Quinn, M.E.; (Eds.), Handbook of Pharmaceutical Excipients 6th edition Pharmaceutical Press, London, England 2009, p. 284; U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Transportation. CHRIS - Hazardous Chemical Data. Volume II. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1984-5..

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Taste described

  • Sweet, warm taste

PubChem : Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) · 2026-10-29 · O'Neil, M.J. (ed.). The Merck Index - An Encyclopedia of Chemicals, Drugs, and Biologicals. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck and Co., Inc., 2006., p. 774.

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Use classification

  • Cosmetics -> Humectant; Denaturant; Solvent

  • EPA Safer Chemical Functional Use Classes -> Solvents

  • Food additives

  • Plastics -> Other functions -> Slip promoter

  • Plastics -> Polymer Type -> N.a.

  • SOLVENTS

  • Safer Chemical Classes -> Green circle - The chemical has been verified to be of low concern

PubChem : NORMAN Suspect List Exchange · 2026-10-29 · S13 | EUCOSMETICS | Combined Inventory of Ingredients Employed in Cosmetic Products (2000) and Revised Inventory (2006) | DOI:10.5281/zenodo.2624118; S47 | ECHAPLASTICS | A list from the Plastic Additives Initiative Mapping Exercise by ECHAEuropean Chemicals Agency. | DOI:10.5281/zenodo.2658139.

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PubChem : EPA Safer Choice · 2026-10-29 · https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice/safer-ingredients.

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PubChem : EU Food Improvement Agents · 2026-10-29 · https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2012/231/oj.

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PubChem : USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center · 2026-10-29 · https://www.cerc.usgs.gov/data/acute/qrychemdesc.asp?Chemical=G0040.

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Uses

  • For Glycerin (USEPA/OPP Pesticide Code: 063507) there are 0 labels match. /SRP: Not registered for current use in the U.S., but approved pesticide uses may change periodically and so federal, state and local authorities must be consulted for currently approved uses./

  • Glycerol has a ubiquitous use pattern and can be found in industrial, professional and consumer products. Glycerol is used as a constituent in numerous products and as an intermediate in industrial applications for the manufacture of products such as soaps/detergents and glycerol esters. It is found in consumer products such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, tobacco, food and drinks and is present in numerous other products such as paints, resins and paper. For example, it is used as a down hole lubricant in oil and gas fields and as a wetting agent in pesticide formulations. There is no single use which dominates the use pattern.

  • MEDICATION

  • The active ingredient is no longer contained in any registered pesticide products ... "cancelled."

PubChem : Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) · 2026-10-29 · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency/Office of Pesticide Program's Chemical Ingredients Database on Glycerin (56-81-5). Available from, as of October 24, 2002: https://npirspublic.ceris.purdue.edu/ppis/; United Nations Environment Programme: Screening Information Data Sheets on Glycerol (56-81-5) (March 2002) Available from, as of July 14, 2009: https://www.chem.unep.ch/irptc/sids/OECDSIDS/sidspub.html; https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/source/hsdb/492; USEPA/OPP; Status of Pesticides in Registration, Reregistration and Special Review p.313 (Spring, 1998) EPA 738-R-98-002.

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In plain words

À quoi il sert, selon les fabricants

Objectifs les plus souvent annoncés pour les compléments qui en contiennent (Glycérol) : système nerveux (83 produits), immunité (74 produits), digestion (65 produits), voies respiratoires (58 produits), peau (57 produits).

Ce sont les objectifs déclarés par les fabricants à l'administration, pas des effets démontrés. Sur l'emballage, seules les allégations de santé autorisées par l'Union peuvent être écrites.

Declared daily quantities

Declared daily quantities: Glycérol
UnitProductsMedianMinimumMaximum
mg37047.50.0114,500

Calculated from Compl'Alim declarations that provide a quantity. These are quantities declared by manufacturers, not measurements, and preparation is not distinguished (powder, extract of varying concentration): differences between products can be very large.

Products

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