Magnesium Stearate

Description

Magnesium Stearate is a white substance, powder which becomes solid at room temperature.  It is a salt containing two equivalents of stearate (the anion of stearic acid) and one magnesium cation (Mg2+). Magnesium Stearate melts at about 88 °C, is not soluble in water, and is generally considered safe for human consumption at levels below 2500 mg/kg per day.

The primary use for Magnesium Stearate is as an anti-adherent in the manufacture of medical tablets, capsules and powders.In this regard, the substance is also useful, because it has lubricating properties, preventing ingredients from sticking to manufacturing equipment during the compression of chemical powders into solid tablets and is in fact  is the most commonly used lubricant for this purpose.

It can also be used efficiently in dry coating processes and studies have shown that it may affect the release time of the active ingredients in tablets, etc., but not that it reduces the overall bioavailability of those ingredients.

Also called Octadecanoic Acid,