Sugar-Free Sweeteners for Pharmaceuticals

A sweetener is a substitute for sugar, that has very low calories. Sugar-free sweeteners simulate sweetness during consumption and can mask a bitter aftertaste in pharmaceutical applications.  They can be used in food & beverages, as health & sports nutrition, in low calorie food and drinks, as a sugar substitute for diabetics, and as pharmaceutical sweeteners.

There are two categories of sweeteners, nutritive, and non-nutritive. Nutritive sweeteners have food energy value, and deliver calories whereas non-nutritive sweeteners do not. In pharmaceuticals, sweetening agents are primarily added to either mask the unpleasant taste in oral pharmaceutical preparations such as tablets, syrup, suspension etc. Sweeteners are very common agents in pediatric medications and it enhances palatability and hence compliance. Many times, concentrated sucrose solution (syrup) or honey , if used to sweeten oral formulations  are not able to adequately mask the unpleasant taste of many  Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and excipients.

Pioma Chemicals is a manufacturer and supplier of sweeteners for pharmaceutical applications in India and has a wide variety of products to suit different applications.