Mannitol is classified as a sugar alcohol
PROPERTIES AND APPEARANCE:
Pleasant, sweet taste with no aftertaste (0.6 relative to sucrose)
White crystalline,odourless, slightly sweet powder.
Low mouth-cooling effect.
Low solubility
Solubility in water:
0°C 9.1 g/100 g solution
20°C 14.5 g/100 g solution
60°C 37.5g/ 100 g solution
USE IN FOODS:
Functionally similar to sucrose.
Naturally occurring; low solubility in water.
Useful as an anti-adhesion agent
Less sweet than sugar
Due to low solubility, not generally used in soft drinks or ice-cream.
Low hygroscopicity; no browning reaction; chemically stable.
Applications: sugar-free confections, chocolates, chewing gums, tablets, vitamins;
use in chocolate, cocoa and confectioneries limited by low solubility
PHARMACEUTICAL USE:
Excipient: ideal for dry formulations due to pleasant taste, high physicochemical stability
and lack of reducing power and low hygroscopicity
ideal freeze-drying carrier due to quick-drying characteristics
has excellent flow and compression properties.
Used in chewable pharmaceutical products because it is inert to most drug components.
Special use in effervescent powders due to low hygroscopicity.