Pregelatinized starch
Pregelatinized starch is starch (usually corn, potato, tapioca or rice) that has been cooked in water and then dried, typically on heated drums or by spray or extrusion cooking, and milled. Because the granules are already swollen, it thickens in cold liquid. In tablets, partially pregelatinized starch is used as a binder, filler and disintegrant, and in foods as an instant thickener. It can be fully or partially pregelatinized, and native or modified.
Suppliers sell different products under the same name. Specify the one you need.
Cooked and drum or spray dried so it thickens instantly in cold water or milk, used in instant puddings, sauces and mixes.
Starch 1500-type excipients that are only partly gelatinized, used as a binder-filler-disintegrant in direct compression tablets and capsules; made to the USP-NF or Ph. Eur. monograph.
Modified starch that is also precooked, for instant products that need process stability.
Corn, potato, tapioca and rice versions, with organic and non-GMO options from some suppliers.
Compare each result with your own specification when the lot arrives.
Store sealed in a cool, dry area off the floor. Pregelatinized starch absorbs moisture faster than native starch and lumps when damp, so reseal opened bags immediately. Shelf life or retest date is set by the supplier, and moisture and micro are retested on aged stock.
Degree of gelatinization, particle size and moisture vary by lot, and these change both thickening speed and tablet hardness. Record lot results for those tests and keep the same grade and supplier for validated tablet formulas.
Facts from regulators and standards bodies, each linked to its source.
FDA's Substances Added to Food inventory lists "Starch, pregelatinized" with the technical effect "stabilizer or thickener".
Source: hfpappexternal.fda.gov (opens in a new tab)Health Canada's Natural Health Products Ingredients Database lists pregelatinized starch with non-medicinal purposes of binder, diluent, disintegrant and gelling agent.
Source: webprod.hc-sc.gc.ca (opens in a new tab)This is general information, not regulatory advice. Status differs by country and by how the ingredient is used, so check the rules for your product and market.
Manufacturers and distributors whose own websites say they sell it.
Manufacturer · Muscatine, IA
Family-owned US corn processor making maltodextrins, corn syrup solids, tapioca maltodextrins and food starches for food, beverage, supplement and personal care formulators.
Suppliers are in alphabetical order and none pays to appear. Each claim is checked against the supplier’s own website on the date shown. Ask for the specification sheet and a recent COA before you order, and confirm details with the supplier.
Common forms include fully pregelatinized (food grade), partially pregelatinized (pharmaceutical grade), pregelatinized modified starch and by base starch. Ask each supplier for the specification sheet of the exact grade they quote.
Expect identity, cold-water solubles or swelling, moisture and pH, particle size and flow and microbiology, each with its method, specification and result for that lot.
Store sealed in a cool, dry area off the floor. Pregelatinized starch absorbs moisture faster than native starch and lumps when damp, so reseal opened bags immediately. Shelf life or retest date is set by the supplier, and moisture and micro are retested on aged stock.
FDA's Substances Added to Food inventory lists "Starch, pregelatinized" with the technical effect "stabilizer or thickener". Health Canada's Natural Health Products Ingredients Database lists pregelatinized starch with non-medicinal purposes of binder, diluent, disintegrant and gelling agent.
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