What are the different uses of glycerin?

Glycerin is a versatile compound that boasts a variety of industrial usage. For foods and beverages, it is used primarily as a humectant, or moisture retainer. As a food additive, glycerin serves as filler in commercially prepared low-fat foods and as thickener in liqueurs. Though the American Dietetic Association categorized glycerin as a carbohydrate and has the same calorie units as that of sucrose, it doesn’t induce hyperglycemia (or elevated blood sugar level) nor feed plaque-forming bacteria, making it a good alternative sweetener. Glycerin is a special component for the production of snus, a Swedish snuff. Its ester is manufactured into shortenings, margarines and emulsifiers.

Glycerin is added in medical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic formulations to serve as lubricant and gloss. It is blended in cough syrups, toothpastes, oral care products, lotions, shaving foams, hair care products, and soaps. Glycerin is also used as a caking agent in solid medical preparations such as pills. It is a popular laxative in suppository or enema form by encouraging a hyperosmotic effect through anal mucosa irritation.

In its purest form, glycerin is also an effective remedy for skin conditions like burns, bites, psoriasis, cuts, rashes, calluses, and bedsores. It can also be applied orally to control halitosis, as it is an effective bacterial dessicant. Glycerin is very effective with dental problems because it penetrates and eliminates bacterial flora quickly.

Glycerin also prevents chemical breakdown of herbal tinctures or ethanol extracts. When utilized in an extraction solvent base in proper concentrations, it allows stability for the extract’s components over several years. It can also be a good solvent substitute in herbal extraction preparations. Because of its bacteriostatic action, it is also an effective preservative for botanical products.

At www.WhatIsGlycerin.com, they offer glycerin products that are vegetable-based and of food grade varieties. Products have been manufactured under quality standards then repackaged and labeled into easy-to-use containers. What Is Glycerin is another quality website from Chemicals Direct, a chemical distributor based in Atlanta, Georgia that focuses on creating product-specific websites for ease of proper chemical identification and ordering.