Glucosamine Hydrochloride

Glucosamine hydrochloride is the simplest and most concentrated of the commercial glucosamine salts: one molecule of D-glucosamine with one of hydrochloric acid, C6H13NO5·HCl, molecular weight 215.63, CAS 66-84-2. Thovek ships it to the USP dietary supplement monograph - assay 98.0-102.0% on the dried basis, specific rotation +70.0° to +73.0°, pH 3.0 to 5.0 in a 20 mg/mL aqueous solution, loss on drying not more than 1.0% at 105 °C and residue on ignition not more than 0.1%, with sulphate limited to 0.24% and arsenic to 3 ppm. That residue-on-ignition figure is the practical difference between this salt and the sulphate double salts. Because there is no co-crystallised potassium or sodium chloride, glucosamine base makes up 83.1% of the powder against 59.2% for the 2KCl salt, the ash is negligible and nothing has to be added to the mineral panel on the label. A given glucosamine load therefore fits into a smaller tablet or a lower capsule fill, which is why the hydrochloride is the usual choice for high-strength single-ingredient tablets, crowded multi-ingredient stacks and any format where volume is tight. What it does not bring is the sulphate ion, so a buyer formulating to a sulphate-salt specification cannot simply swap one salt for the other - both forms appear in registered medicinal products in parts of Europe, and the registrations are salt-specific. Both source routes are available and the declaration follows the route. The crustacean route hydrolyses chitin from shrimp and crab shell and must be declared as a crustacean allergen; it is neither vegan nor vegetarian. The fermentation route grows Aspergillus niger on plant-derived glucose and yields a shellfish-free, non-animal powder that suits vegan positioning and avoids marine sourcing questions. On handling: the powder is hygroscopic, and as a reducing amino sugar it will brown in the presence of heat and moisture, so wet granulation and hot-fill liquid systems should be trialled before scale-up. Standard cuts are 30, 40, 60 and 80 mesh with a granular direct-compression grade on request, and every lot ships with CoA, allergen and origin declaration, heavy metals, residual solvent and microbiological data.