Excipient (pharmacologically inactive substance)

What is it?

Sodium starch glycolate type A potato is the sodium salt of carboxymethyl ether of starch from potato origin. Starch glycolates are also of rice, wheat or corn origin. It is a white to off-white, tasteless, odorless, relatively free-flowing powder.

Sodium starch glycolate is used as a pharmaceutical grade dissolution excipient for tablets and capsules. Sodium starch glycolate absorbs water rapidly, resulting in swelling which leads to rapid disintegration of tablets and granules. It is used as a disintegrant, a suspending agent and as a gelling agent. Without a disintegrant, tablets may not dissolve appropriately and may effect the amount of active ingredient absorbed, thereby decreasing effectiveness.^{[1] [2]}