Actions: Emulsifying agent, stabilising agent, suspending agent, tablet binder and  viscosity-increasing agent. 

Acacia is mainly used in oral and topical pharmaceutical formulations and it is also used in the preparation of pastilles and lozenges, and as a tablet binder, although if used incautiously it can produce tablets with a prolonged disintegration time. 

Acacia is used in cosmetics, foods, and oral and topical pharmaceutical formulations. Although it is generally regarded as an essentially nontoxic material. 

Actions: Adjust pH in solutions, food antioxidant and a stabilising agent. 

The body can absorb about 500 mg of ascorbic acid daily with any excess immediately excreted by the kidneys. 

However, no adverse effects have been reported at the levels employed as an antioxidant in foods and pharmaceuticals. The WHO has set an acceptable daily intake of ascorbic acid, potassium ascorbate, and sodium ascorbate, as antioxidants in food, at up to 15mg/kg body-weight in addition to that naturally present in food.

Actions: increases the aqueous solubility of active substances, reduces or eliminates unpleasant smells or tastes, prevents drug-drug or drug-additive interactions within a formulation, or to convert oils and liquid drugs into microcrystalline or amorphous powders. 

Actions: Buffering agent, bulking agent, coating agent, opacifier, tablet and capsule diluent, therapeutic agent 

Calcium carbonate is also used as a food additive and therapeutically as an antacid and calcium supplement. Calcium carbonate is mainly used in oral pharmaceutical formulations and is generally regarded as a nontoxic material.

Actions: Diluent

Diluents are added to pharmaceutical tablets or capsules to make the product large enough for swallowing and handling, and more stable.

Some calcium phosphate salts can be anhydrous, meaning the water has been removed from the salt form. Other calcium phosphates are termed dibasic, meaning they have two replaceable hydrogen atoms.

Calcium phosphate dihydrate dibasic is on the FDA Generally Regarded as Safe List (GRAS). There is no evidence in the available information on calcium phopshate that demonstrates or suggests reasonable grounds to suspect a hazard to the public when they are used at levels that are now current.

Actions: Adsorbent, anti-caking agent, emulsion stabiliser, suspending agent, tablet disintegrant, thermal stabiliser,  viscosity-increasing agent. 

Its small particle size and large specific surface area give it desirable flow characteristics that are used to improve the flow properties of dry powders in a number of processes such as tableting. 

Colloidal silicon dioxide is widely used in oral and topical pharmaceutical products and is generally regarded as an essentially nontoxic and non irritant excipient.

Actions: Tablet and capsule disintegrant. 

In tablet formulations, croscarmellose sodium may be used in both direct-compression and wet-granulation processes. When used in wet granulations, the croscarmellose sodium should be added in both the wet and dry stages of the process (intra- and extra granularly) so that the wicking and swelling ability of the disintegrant is best utilised. 

Croscarmellose sodium is mainly used as a disintegrant in oral pharmaceutical formulations and is generally regarded as an essentially nontoxic and nonirritant material. 

Action: Tablet disintegrant & dissolution agent

Crospovidone is used in oral pharmaceutical formulations and is generally regarded as a nontoxic and nonirritant material. Short-term animal toxicity studies have shown no adverse effects associated with crospovidone.

Actions: Chelating agent. 

Disodium edetate is used widely in topical, oral, and parenteral pharmaceutical formulations; it is used extensively in cosmetic and food products. 

Disodium edetate and edetate calcium disodium are used in a greater number and variety of pharmaceutical formulations than is edetic acid. Both disodium edetate and edetate calcium disodium are poorly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and are associated with few adverse effects when used as excipients in pharmaceutical formulations. 

Gellan gum is a nature-based ingredient that has a variety of purposes in foods and beverages, including stabilisation, suspension and thickening/texturising.

Actions: Tablet and capsule lubricant and tablet binder. 

Hydrogenated vegetable oil is additionally used as the matrix-forming material in lipophilic-based controlled-release formulations: it may also be used as a coating aid in controlled-release formulations. 

Other uses of hydrogenated vegetable oil include use as a viscosity modifier in the preparation of oil-based liquid and semisolid formulations; in the preparation of suppositories, to reduce the sedimentation of suspended components and to improve the solidification process; and in the formulation of liquid and semisolid fills for hard gelatin capsules. 

Hydrogenated vegetable oil is used in food products and oral pharmaceutical formulations and is generally regarded as a nontoxic and nonirritant excipient.

Actions: Coating agent, film-former, rate-controlling polymer for sustained release;, stabilizing agent, suspending agent, tablet binder, and a viscosity-increasing agent. 

Hypromellose is widely used in oral, ophthalmic and topical pharmaceutical formulations. In oral products, hypromellose is primarily used as a tablet binder, in film-coating, and as a matrix for use in extended-release tablet formulations. 

Hypromellose is widely used as an excipient in oral and topical pharmaceutical formulations. It is also used extensively in cosmetics and food products. 

Hypromellose is generally regarded as a nontoxic and nonirritant material.

Colorants Iron oxides occur as yellow, red, black, or brown powder. The colour depends on the particle size and shape, and the amount of combined water. Iron oxides are widely used in cosmetics, foods, and oral and topical pharmaceutical applications. They are generally regarded as nontoxic and nonirritant excipients.

Action: Coating agent, tablet and capsule diluent, tablet binder, and a viscosity-increasing agent. 

Maltodextrin may also be used in pharmaceutical formulations to increase the viscosity of solutions and to prevent the crystallisation of syrups. 

Maltodextrin is also widely used in confectionery and food products, as well as personal care applications. Maltodextrin is a readily digestible carbohydrate.

In the USA, it is generally recognised as safe (GRAS) as a direct human food ingredient at levels consistent with current good manufacturing practices. As an excipient, maltodextrin is generally regarded as a nonirritant and nontoxic material.

(Polyethylene Glycol, PEG’s) 

Actions: Ointment base, plasticiser, solvent, suppository base, tablet and capsule lubricant. 

In solid-dosage formulations, higher-molecular-weight polyethylene glycols can enhance the effectiveness of tablet binders and impart plasticity to granules. Polyethylene glycols are widely used in a variety of pharmaceutical formulations. Generally, they are regarded as nontoxic and nonirritant materials.

Actions: Tablet and capsule lubricant. 

Magnesium stearate is widely used as a pharmaceutical excipient and is generally regarded as being nontoxic following oral administration.

Synonyms: Polacrilin Potassium, Amberlite IRP-88; with divinylbenzene, potassium salt; polacrilinum kalii. 

Actions: Tablet and capsule disintegrant. 

Methacrylic acid polymer is a cation-exchange resin used in oral pharmaceutical formulations as a tablet disintegrant. Methacrylic acid polymer is used in oral pharmaceutical formulations and are generally regarded as nontoxic and nonirritant materials. 

Actions: Adsorbent, suspending agent, tablet and capsule diluent, also has some lubricant and disintegrant properties that make it useful in tableting.

Microcrystalline cellulose is widely used in oral pharmaceutical formulations and food products and is generally regarded as a relatively nontoxic and nonirritant material. 

Microcrystalline cellulose is not absorbed systemically following oral administration and thus has little toxic potential. 

Actions: Coating agent, lubricant, stabilising agent, viscosity-increasing agent. 

Polyvinyl alcohol is used primarily in topical pharmaceutical and ophthalmic formulations; Polyvinyl alcohol is generally considered a nontoxic material.

Action: Solvent. 

The term ‘water’ is used to describe potable water that is freshly drawn direct from the public supply and is suitable for drinking. The chemical composition of potable water is variable and the nature and concentrations of the impurities in it depend upon the source from which it is drawn. Although potable water must be both palatable and safe to drink, for most pharmaceutical applications potable water is purified by distillation, ion exchange treatment, reverse osmosis, or some other suitable process to produce ‘purified water’. Water is the base for many biological life forms, and its safety in pharmaceutical formulations is unquestioned provided it meets standards of quality for potability.

Actions: Acidity regulator & Preservative

In Pharmaceutical uses, its main purpose is as an alternative of potassium chloride to treat and prevent hypokalaemia. Oral ingestion is generally regarded as non-toxic and non-irritant and, as such, is considered safe for human consumption. 

Diabasic potassium phospate:

Action: pH buffering agent

Both potassium and phosphate are organic minerals consumed naturally as part of a typical human diet and are therefore safe for human consumption.

Actions: filler, lubricant, glidant and bulking agent.

Purified talc is a mineral clay composed of magnesium, silicon and oxygen. Most of the concern surrounding talc relates to contamination of its natural form with asbestos found in underground talc deposits, which has been associated with carcinogenic effects, unlike the purified talc in consumer products.

Research suggests that adverse health effects associated with talc relate to topical, intranasal or intravenous abuse of talc-containing products. Comparatively, oral ingestion is regarded as non-toxic and, as such, is appropriate for use in manufacturing.

Actions: Plasticiser.

Triethyl citrate and the related esters acetyl-triethyl citrate, tributyl citrate, and acetyl-tributyl are used to plasticise polymers in formulated pharmaceutical coatings. The coating applications include capsules, tablets, beads, and granules for taste masking, immediate release, sustained-release, and enteric formulations. 

Actions: Tablet and capsule lubricant, although it may also be used as a binder. 

Stearic acid is widely used in oral and topical pharmaceutical formulations; it is also used in cosmetics and food products. 

Stearic acid is generally regarded as a nontoxic and non irritant material.

Actions: Coating agent, opacifier, pigment. 

In pharmaceutical formulations, titanium dioxide is used as a white pigment in film-coating suspensions, sugar-coated tablets, and gelatin capsules. Titanium dioxide may also be admixed with other pigments. 

Titanium dioxide is widely used in foods and oral and topical pharmaceutical formulations. It is generally regarded as an essentially nonirritant and nontoxic excipient.

Actions: Alkalising agent and therapeutic agent. 

Sodium bicarbonate is generally used in pharmaceutical formulations as a source of carbon dioxide in effervescent tablets and granules. It is also widely used to produce or maintain an alkaline pH in a preparation. 

Sodium bicarbonate is used in a number of pharmaceutical formulations including injections and ophthalmic, otic, topical, and oral preparations. 

Sodium bicarbonate is metabolised to the sodium cation, which is eliminated from the body by renal excretion. When used as an excipient, sodium bicarbonate is generally regarded as an essentially nontoxic and non irritant material.

Action: Sweetener.

The applicable part of stevia is the leaf. It contains steviol glycosides, which are responsible for the sweet properties of the plant. The steviol glycosides include stevioside and rebaudiosides A and C. Stevioside and rebaudioside A are non-caloric, heat and acid stable, and 200-300 times sweeter than sucrose. It is deemed as Likely Safe when the stevia constituents, stevioside or rebaudioside A, are used orally as sweeteners in foods.

Actions: Base for medicated confectionery, coating agent, granulating agent, sugar coating adjunct, suspending agent, sweetening agent, tablet binder, tablet and capsule diluent, tablet filler and a viscosity-increasing agent. 

Sucrose is widely used in oral pharmaceutical formulations. Sucrose syrup is used in tableting as a binding agent for wet granulation. In the powdered form, sucrose serves as a dry binder or as a bulking agent and sweetener in chewable tablets and lozenges. Tablets that contain large amounts of sucrose may harden to give poor disintegration. 

Sucrose is hydrolyzed in the small intestine by the enzyme sucrase to yield dextrose and fructose, which are then absorbed. When administered intravenously, sucrose is excreted unchanged in the urine. 

Although sucrose is very widely used in foods and pharmaceutical formulations, sucrose consumption is a cause of concern and should be monitored in patients with diabetes mellitus or other metabolic sugar intolerance. 

Sucrose is also considered to be more cariogenic than other carbohydrates since it is more easily converted to dental plaque. For this reason, its use in oral pharmaceutical formulations is declining. Although sucrose has been associated with obesity, renal damage, and a number of other diseases, conclusive evidence linking sucrose intake with some diseases could not be established. It was, however, recommended that sucrose intake in the diet should be reduced.

Actions: Antimicrobial preservative, base for medicated confectionery, coating agent, emollient, humectant, sweetening agent, tablet and capsule diluent. 

Xylitol is used as a non-cariogenic sweetening agent in a variety of pharmaceutical dosage forms, including tablets, syrups, and coatings. It is also widely used as an alternative to sucrose in foods and confectionery. 

Xylitol is finding increasing application in chewing gum, mouthrinses and toothpastes as an agent that decreases dental plaque and tooth decay (dental caries). Unlike sucrose, xylitol is not fermented into cariogenic acid end products and it has been shown to reduce dental caries by inhibiting the growth of cariogenic Streptococcus mutans bacteria. As xylitol has an equal sweetness intensity to sucrose, combined with a distinct cooling effect upon dissolution of the crystal, it is highly effective in enhancing the flavour of tablets and syrups and masking the unpleasant or bitter flavours associated with some pharmaceutical actives and excipients. 

Xylitol is used in oral pharmaceutical formulations, confectionery, and food products and is generally regarded as an essentially nontoxic, nonallergenic, and nonirritant material. 

Xylitol has an extremely low glycemic index and is metabolised independently of insulin. Following ingestion of xylitol, the blood glucose and serum insulin responses are significantly lower than following ingestion of glucose or sucrose. These factors make xylitol a suitable sweetener for use in diabetic or carbohydrate-controlled diets.