Microcrystalline cellulose

Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC, MKZ, E 460 i ) is white, free-flowing cellulose in powder form that is used in the food and pharmaceutical industries .

description

Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) serves u. a. as indigestible fiber for low-calorie foods (such as salad dressings, desserts and ice creams), as a separating agent or as a carrier . In the pharmaceutical industry, it is used as a binder and carrier for tablet production. Microcrystalline cellulose is particularly used in direct tableting .

MCC is available as a white, free-flowing powder with different grain sizes. It is obtained from woody parts of plants (not from waste paper). In this process, the plant cellulose is freed from non-crystalline cellulose components with dilute hydrochloric acid at temperatures above 100 ° C. Carboxylation can then optionally take place in order to increase the hydrophilicity .

MCC is insoluble in water, alcohols and organic solvents. It is a non-absorbable and indigestible fiber. With small particle sizes, there is a suspicion of a certain resorbability with unclear consequences.

literature

• Glandorf / Kuhnert / Lück: Handbook of food additives. Behr's Verlag, 1991, ISBN 3-925673-89-X . (Google Books)
• Belitz / Grosch / Schieberle: Textbook of food chemistry. Springer, 2007, ISBN 3-540-73201-2 . (Google Books)

Web links

• K.-U. Möritz, et al .: Influence of various pharmacological and biochemical parameters in the hybrid rabbit by microcrystalline cellulose in acute and subchronic experiments. In: Food / nutrition. 23, 1979, pp. 611-620, doi : 10.1002 / food.19790230606