Magnesium Stearate PDR NF

What exactly is magnesium stearate? It’s a chelated mineral, a metal ion joined with a chelating agent that forms several bonds with that metal, generally sold as a white powder that solidifies at room temperature. It occurs naturally as a fatty acid absorbed via normal dietary means and is readily manufactured by the body from other dietary fats. Most often, magnesium stearate is used by the pharmaceutical industry in a number of respects. Chemical supplier in Florida, Bell Chem, has created a list of the most common uses of magnesium stearate.

• As an anti-adherent, magnesium stearate allows the ingredients in tablets and capsules to pour smoothly without clumping. Many ingredients cause other additives to adhere to each other, which can cause too much or too little of an active ingredient to be included in each tablet or capsule; magnesium stearate prevents this process from occurring.

• The lubricating property of magnesium stearate keeps the active ingredients of medications and vitamins flowing smoothly through machinery before it reaches tablet form. Without magnesium stearate, these important ingredients would adhere to and possibly endanger machinery, forming clumps and, once more, causing inaccurate amounts of active ingredients from reaching the interior of each tablet.

• In the dry-coating process of forming tablets, magnesium stearate acts as a time-release element to deliver a set amount of medication over an extended period of time.

So-called health foods that tout tablets not containing magnesium stearate may lack the specific amounts of active ingredients printed on the label. Read more about Bell Chem’s, a chemical supplier in Florida, products by reading our blogs, or contact the knowledgeable professionals at (407) 339-BELL (2355).