Sorbitol Powder — Frequently Asked Questions

Because the hydroxyl groups are engaged in the crystal lattice rather than being free to bind atmospheric water. In the liquid grade those six hydroxyls are available and make the syrup strongly hygroscopic; once crystallised, they are occupied holding the crystal together, so the powder is comparatively stable in air and can be handled as a dry solid.

That the grade is engineered with a particle structure which binds under tableting pressure without requiring a wet granulation step first. Granulation adds a mixing, wetting and drying stage to a tablet line, with the cost and validation burden that implies. A directly compressible excipient allows the powder blend to be compressed straight into tablets.

Because its dissolution is endothermic, meaning it absorbs heat from its surroundings as it dissolves. On the tongue that heat comes from the mouth, producing a distinct cooling effect. It is welcome in mint and medicated products, where it also helps mask bitterness, and conspicuous in others, so it has to be designed around.

The liquid is normally more economic where sorbitol is being bought purely as a polyol or as a vitamin C precursor, since crystallisation adds cost and the water is removed in the process anyway. The powder is specified where a dry, free-flowing or compressible solid is genuinely required.