Vegetable glycerine 99.7% is produced primarily from soy, palm, or coconut oil, although other oils may also be used in its manufacture. Glycerine is odorless, colorless, viscous (thick), and has a sweet taste. Purer forms of glycerine – above 99% – are the standard for use in foods, pharmaceutical products, and cosmetics.
- Cosmetics: Glycerine is a humectant, attracting water to the skin. This makes it ideal for use in lotions, shampoos, and conditioners.
- Foods: Because it is metabolized differently than table sugar, glycerine can replace sugar in low carbohydrate foods, keeping the amount of sweet taste the same. Glycerol contains seven more kilocalories per teaspoon compared to table sugar and is 60% as sweet as sucrose. When added to products such as icing, it increases spreadability without setting into a hard, tough shell.
- Personal care: When added to toothpaste and mouthwash, glycerine sweetens the taste but is not a food source for the bacteria that form plaques and cause tooth decay. Glycerine soaps draw moisture to the skin’s surface and prevent that moisture from escaping into the surrounding atmosphere as evaporation. For consumers with extra dry or sensitive skin, glycerine soap is the perfect alternative for skin care.
- Herbal and botanical tinctures: Glycerine can replace the alcoholic content in herbal and botanical tinctures to give products more body and none of the alcohol odor. For those who wish for alcohol-free herbal and botanical products, glycerine is ideal.
- Pharmaceuticals: Humectants boost the solubility of active ingredients, so glycerine delivers products more effectively as either a topical application, where the medicine is absorbed into the skin more rapidly, or in capsule form, where glycerine is considered a tablet-holding agent. Cough syrups and elixirs have improved smoothness with glycerine.
Glycerine is a multi-use product utilized in several different food and beverage industries. Because it can be used as a humectant, solvent, preservative, filler and thickening agent, and sweetener, glycerine serves several roles in one easy to use product.
