Anhydrous Glucose
Anhydrous glucose, traded as dextrose anhydrous, is crystalline D-glucose carrying no water of crystallisation, as distinct from dextrose monohydrate which holds one molecule of water per molecule of sugar. That single difference sets everything about how the two are used: anhydrous material assays above 99 percent glucose on an as is basis against about 91 percent for the monohydrate, and it contributes no water to a formulation.
The distinction arises during crystallisation. Below roughly 50 degrees Celsius glucose crystallises from a supersaturated solution as the alpha monohydrate; above that temperature the anhydrous alpha form is the stable crystal, and a further beta anhydrous form crystallises from solution above about 100 degrees Celsius. Commercial anhydrous dextrose is normally the alpha form, produced by hot crystallisation, with beta anhydrous made in small volumes where its higher solubility and lower hygroscopicity are wanted.
The material is a white, odourless crystalline powder or granulate, about 70 to 80 percent as sweet as sucrose with a clean profile and a marked cooling effect on dissolution, since the heat of solution is strongly negative. It is a reducing sugar and browns readily in a Maillard reaction. Solubility in water is high and rises steeply with temperature. The anhydrous crystal is more hygroscopic than the monohydrate and will pick up moisture and cake if exposed to humid air, so it is packed with a moisture barrier and handled in conditioned rooms.
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Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | White odourless crystalline powder or granulate, sweet taste |
| Assay, dextrose on dry basis | 99.5 percent minimum |
| Identification | Infrared spectrum and specific rotation conform to reference |
| Specific rotation | Plus 52.5 to plus 53.3 degrees |
| Loss on drying | 0.5 percent maximum |
| Sulphated ash | 0.1 percent maximum |
| Solution colour and clarity, 10 percent | Clear, not more coloured than reference solution |
| pH, 10 percent aqueous solution | 4.0 to 6.5 |
| Chloride | 125 mg/kg maximum |
| Sulphate | 200 mg/kg maximum |
| Sulphur dioxide | 20 mg/kg maximum |
| Lead | 0.5 mg/kg maximum |
| Arsenic | 1.0 mg/kg maximum |
| Total plate count | 1000 cfu/g maximum |
| Yeast and mould | 100 cfu/g maximum |
| E. coli | Absent in 1 g |
| Salmonella | Absent in 25 g |
Common Markets Grades
Buyers choose a grade by end use rather than by chemistry, since assay is uniformly above 99 percent on the dry basis. Food grade meets the Food Chemicals Codex dextrose anhydrous specification. Pharmaceutical grade meets the USP-NF and European Pharmacopoeia dextrose anhydrous monographs, with tighter limits on colour, sulphated ash, chloride and sulphate. A separate grade intended for parenteral solutions adds a bacterial endotoxin limit and particulate controls, and is the article used in intravenous glucose infusions.
Physical form is the other variable. Standard crystal is used where the sugar will be dissolved. Milled and fine powder grades are made for dry blending and for chocolate and coating work. Spray dried and agglomerated grades, which are porous and free flowing, are produced for direct compression tabletting and for instant dissolving beverage powders. Fermentation grade anhydrous dextrose, made to a looser colour and appearance specification, is used where the sugar is a carbon source rather than an ingredient.
Applications
- Intravenous and parenteral nutrition solutions, in the pharmaceutical grade, as the energy source and tonicity agent
- Oral rehydration salts and sports drinks, as a rapidly absorbed carbohydrate contributing no formulation water
- Effervescent and chewable tablets, as a directly compressible filler with a pleasant cooling mouthfeel
- Dry beverage powders and instant mixes, where the monohydrate water would cause caking or premature reaction
- Chocolate and compound coatings, ground into the fat phase where any added water would seize the mass
- Dry seasoning and bakery premixes containing moisture sensitive components such as leavening acids or enzymes
- Confectionery and chewing gum, contributing bulk and a cooling effect
- Fermentation media for amino acids, organic acids, enzymes and yeast, as a concentrated carbon source
- Cured meat products, feeding the starter culture and supporting colour development
China Manufacturers of Anhydrous Glucose
Top Anhydrous Glucose manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
In the United States dextrose anhydrous is a food rather than a food additive, treated as generally recognised as safe in its ordinary food uses and labelled as dextrose. The Food Chemicals Codex carries identity and purity specifications for dextrose anhydrous, and the USP-NF dextrose anhydrous monograph governs pharmaceutical use, adding requirements that include a bacterial endotoxin limit where the material is intended for parenteral preparations.
In the European Union dextrose anhydrous is a sugar regulated under the sugars directive, which lays down its compositional criteria and reserves the name, and it carries no E number. Pharmaceutical grade complies with the European Pharmacopoeia anhydrous glucose monograph. Codex maintains a standard for sugars covering dextrose anhydrous alongside dextrose monohydrate and glucose syrup, setting the dextrose content, moisture, ash and sulphur dioxide criteria used in international trade. Where maize starch is the feedstock the finished sugar contains no maize protein and is not treated as an allergen.
Manufacturing Process
Production begins in the same way as for any crystalline dextrose. Starch milk, almost always from maize wet milling, is dosed with a thermostable alpha amylase and jet cooked at around 105 to 110 degrees Celsius, which gelatinises the granules and cleaves the chains to soluble dextrins. The liquefied stream is flashed, cooled and saccharified with glucoamylase, often together with a debranching pullulanase, over one to three days until the dextrose equivalent is above about 95. The liquor is filtered to remove protein and fat, decolourised over granular activated carbon and demineralised through cation and anion exchange resin beds.
The refined liquor is evaporated under vacuum to a supersaturated syrup and fed to the crystalliser. The step that distinguishes anhydrous from monohydrate manufacture is the crystallisation temperature: the massecuite is seeded and held above about 55 to 60 degrees Celsius, in the region where the anhydrous alpha crystal rather than the monohydrate is the stable form. Cooling is slow and stays within that window. Because the mother liquor is more viscous at high solids, crystallisation cycles are longer and yields per strike are lower than for the monohydrate, which is why anhydrous dextrose is the more expensive article. The crystals are separated on a basket or pusher centrifuge, washed with a small volume of water, dried in a fluid bed drier under conditions that avoid rehydrating the crystal, cooled, screened to granulation and packed into moisture barrier bags. Spray dried and agglomerated grades are made instead by atomising a refined liquor or by fluid bed granulating the crystal with a binder solution.
