Lactose – a muti-talent Excipient

Meggle took a closer look at the multi-functional excipient lactose. Have a look at the background information for lactose as a pharmaceutical excipient:

Multi-talent milk – Components at a glance

Besides fat, minerals, proteins, and water, a very specific sugar is one of the main components of milk: Lactose or milk sugar. Lactose is a so called disaccharide comprising one moiety of glucose and galactose, and appears a white, water-soluble powder when extracted as pure substance.

Value Chain Milk – Lactose (by Meggle)
(click graphic to enlarge)

The importance of Lactose for life is based on its unique, multifunctional attributes. In physiological systems and nutrition it serves as an important fuel molecule, supplying cells with energy to maintain their biological order. Lactose is important as complexing agent supporting transport and uptake of essential minerals like calcium or magnesium to ensure healthy bones and teeth, as well as, enabling muscle contraction or nerve transmission. It actively assists in the introduction of complementary food to growing infants, supporting breastfeeding for additional babies.

FULL RANGE OF MEGGLE EXCIPIENTS IN OUR EXCIPIENT SHOP

Excipient with numerous areas of application

Within food and pharmaceutical applications Lactose fulfills numerous tasks, and is highly appreciated due to its convenient handling properties as economic and world-wide available filler. Nowadays, extraction from whey, a byproduct of cheese production is used to meet the demand.

Delicious recipes powered by lactose

Milk sugar is an ingredient in various delicious recipes and can help to optimize the color, odor, taste, and texture of dishes. Its reduced sweetness and ability to carry aromas and scent still allows the come through of tastes of its own.
INFO: Did you know that the MEGGLE Business Unit Food Ingredients serves the food industry with innovative products in the areas of nutrition, dairy, bakery & sweets as well as savoury?

Lactose: No. 1 carrier for pharmaceutical tablets

In medication, Lactose is of utmost importance as it is an integral part of oral solid dosage forms like capsules, powder preparations, or tablets. Through constant modification, it has been equipped with excellent compaction, flow and stability properties. It guarantees a homogeneous distribution of even highly potent active pharmaceutical ingredients and thus strongly contributes to drug availability and safety.

A broad selection of qualities, adapted to application form, production machinery, or processes allows to find solutions for almost every formulation challenge. Willingly, Lactose can be intimately combined with other excipients to optimize performance and functionality by co-processing.

Prepared for the future

Lactose invents itself again and again, Lactose-based drug delivery to the lungs is the latest mode of administration ensuring a minimum of side effects and a maximum of effectiveness.

So called dry powder inhalers generally do not use environmental harmful propellants. This could permanently cut the CO2 footprint of permanent asthma medication by more than 50 %.

FULL RANGE OF MEGGLE EXCIPIENTS IN OUR EXCIPIENT SHOP

See also the interesting video on the Inhalac product range for DPI:

Company: MEGGLE is one of the world´s leading manufacturers of pharmaceutical grade lactose and co-processed excipients with expertise of more than 70 years. We encounter lactose in so many areas of our life – reason enough to take a closer look at this multi-functional “white powder”.

MEGGLE GmbH & Co. KG
Business Unit Excipients
T +49 8071 73-0
[email protected]

Source: Meggle website “Our heart beats for lactose“