A nutritional table for CELLETS®

A nutritional table for CELLETS®, what is it about? CELLETS® are made of 100% microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), developed for state of the art oral dosage forms, such as MUPS, capsules, sachets, stick pack units. Anyway, some pharmaceutical applications move towards food products and vice versa. This field of nutraceutical applications are extending market share and we got more frequently asked about energy and nutritional levels of MCC. So, let’s shed some light on this.

MCC is a modified form of cellulose that is often used as a filler and stabilizer in the food and pharmaceutical industries. It consists of plant fibers and serves primarily as a dietary fiber, but contains practically no usable nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, proteins or fats. It is calorie-free as it is not digested in the human body.
As microcrystalline cellulose is not metabolized, it does not provide any usable macro- or micronutrients. A nutritional table for 100 g of microcrystalline cellulose would therefore look like this:

Substance	quantity per 100 g
Energy	0 kcal
Protein	0 g
Fat	0 g
Carbohydrates	0 g
Dietary fiber	100 g
Sugar	0 g
Salt	0 g
Vitamins & minerals	0 mg

Microcrystalline cellulose is a pure dietary fiber with no nutritional value and is not broken down or absorbed in the human digestive tract [1]. It therefore has no calories and provides no nutrients to the body. This nutritional table also holds for CELLETS® but has rare importance in pharmaceutical formulations.