Glycérol in food supplements

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

Other names in the Compl'Alim list: glycerol, glycérine.

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."

Use classification

• EPA Safer Chemical Functional Use Classes -> Solvents

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

• Food additives

• Cosmetics -> Humectant; Denaturant; Solvent

• Plastics -> Other functions -> Slip promoter

• Plastics -> Polymer Type -> N.a.

• SOLVENTS

A molecule found naturally in plants or organisms; in a supplement it may be extracted from them, made by fermentation or synthesised: the declaration does not say which.

Basis: one CosIngThe European Commission's database of cosmetic ingredients. CAS and natural occurrence recorded in Wikidata (LOTUS database).

Natural occurrence recorded in Wikidata (LOTUS database): 46 taxa; examples: Salacia reticulata, Salacia oblonga, Aristolochia arcuata, Aristolochia lagesiana, Castela texana.

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.

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

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

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

• 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.]

Odour described

• MILD ODOR

• Odorless

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

Taste described

• Sweet, warm taste

Other names: glicerol (Spanish), glicerolo (Italian), glicerol (Portuguese).

Health claims register (European Union): 0 authorised and 1 refused claim(s) for this substance.

Compl'Alim ingredient list (France): listed.

Canada, licensed natural health products (LNHPD): 10 products.

United States, supplement labels (DSLD; supplements need no prior approval): 269 products.

Poland, notified supplements: 3 products.

Taiwan, registered products: 2762 products.

United States, supplements listed by the USDA: 9 products.