hpmc complies with the standards for pharmaceutical products and is manufactured according to the relevant GMP guidelines in a fully controlled clean room environment.

Cellulose is a linear homopolymer consisting of repeating β-d-glucopyranosyl units linked via (1,4) glycosidic bonds. In its pure form, the straight chains are bound closely together by multiple intermolecular hydrogen bonds and van der Waals forces, producing a water-insoluble fibrous or crystalline substance which is relatively inert. The EFSA ANS Panel assessed recently the absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) of celluloses (EFSA, 2018) and draw the following conclusions concerning non-herbivore mammals: cellulose is not absorbed intact in the gastrointestinal tract of animals and humans but is fermented during its passage through the large intestine by the microbiota, with the limited production (9% of the administered dose in the rat) of short-chain fatty acids (mainly acetic acid and succinic acid), hydrogen, carbon dioxide and methane.

Celopro MT

3.2.1.1 Cellulose

The majority of the available studies have been performed in rats, just few of them in rabbits and dogs. Among those meeting the current criteria for toxicological testing, the no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) values for the different modified celluloses were identified most often corresponding to the highest tested level or changes in body or organ weights. For microcrystalline cellulose (E 460) the identified NOAELs in rats ranged from 3,769 mg/kg body weight (bw) per day to 9,000 mg/kg bw per day and in all cases corresponded to the highest levels of the test substance. For methyl cellulose (E 461), the dose level of 3% in rats (equivalent to 2,700 mg/kw bw per day) was selected as the NOAEL based on a decrease in body and organ weight displayed in male rats administered with the top additive level (10%, equivalent to 9,000 mg/kg bw per day and day).

The main findings of the studies evaluated in the previous assessments, in particular in the ANS Panel opinion (EFSA ANS Panel, 2018) are summarised below.

One particular manufacture (naming no names, but one of the big ones) lists it as E464 without the full name…it’s the same thing.

4. The water-retaining property of Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose depends on its addition amount and viscosity. With the same addition amount, the water-retention rate of Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose Hpmc is higher than that of MC.