What is the difference between food and pharma grade trehalose?

GRAS food grade suits food and cosmetics; Ph.Eur./injection grade (low endotoxin) is used for parenteral and lyophilised drug products.

Is it kosher, halal or vegan?

It is made enzymatically from plant starch — non-animal in origin and commonly certified kosher/halal/vegan.

Cool, dry and sealed. As a non-reducing sugar it is chemically stable.

Why choose trehalose over sucrose as a lyophilisation excipient?

Mainly the glass transition. Trehalose forms a stiffer amorphous glass — its dry Tg is around 117 °C, the highest of the common disaccharides — and its freeze-concentrate glass transition sits a few degrees above sucrose, which permits a slightly warmer and therefore faster primary drying step. Sucrose still wins in some formulations, so the two are normally screened against each other.

What does non-reducing mean in practice?

It means trehalose has no free carbonyl group available for the Maillard reaction. Reducing sugars such as glucose and lactose can condense with lysine residues on a protein during storage, discolouring the product and modifying the active. Trehalose does not, which is why it appears where colour and potency have to hold.

Trehalose Dihydrate

CAS 6138-23-4 C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁·2H₂O

CAS number: 6138-23-4
Formula: C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁·2H₂O
Molar mass: 378.33 g/mol
Appearance: White crystals/powder, odourless; ~45% the sweetness of sucrose; low hygroscopicity; highly water-soluble.

Trehalose dihydrate is a non-reducing disaccharide used to stabilise proteins and cells through drying and freezing. Its two glucose units are joined through both anomeric carbons, so there is no free aldehyde to react with protein amine groups and it will not brown a formulation the way glucose or lactose can. It also forms an unusually stiff amorphous glass for a sugar, which restricts molecular mobility in the dried cake. Together those properties make it a first-choice lyophilisation excipient for proteins, vaccines and liposomes. Ehlinar supplies food and low-endotoxin pharma grades.

Applications

BiopharmaLyophilisation excipient stabilising proteins, mAbs, vaccines and liposomes

CryopreservationCell, tissue and blood cryoprotectant

FoodStabiliser, sweetener and cryoprotectant

CosmeticsMoisture retention

DiagnosticsAssay and reagent stabiliser

Grades & packaging

Food grade (GRAS, ≥98–99%), pharma/injection grade (Ph.Eur./NF, low endotoxin) and reagent grade.

20 / 25 kg kraft bags/cartons with PE liner
Pharma grades in lined drums

How we supply

Supplier documentation on request

Certificate of Analysis (CoA), lot-specific where available
Safety Data Sheet (SDS / MSDS)
Technical Data Sheet (TDS)
Certificate of Origin / Certificate of Conformity

Quality assurance

Independent third-party inspection can be arranged on request, with the agency and scope agreed per trade. Representative samples can be requested for qualification, subject to supplier availability. We recommend incoming quality control against the agreed CoA.

Delivery & terms

Quoted on standard Incoterms (e.g. EXW, FOB, CIF, DAP) as agreed per trade. Delivery region, packaging and grade are confirmed per quote.

Documents and services above are subject to supplier availability and confirmed per quote; nothing here is an offer.

Typical / indicative values — not a binding specification

Property	Typical
Assay (food grade)	≥98–99%
Relative sweetness	~45% of sucrose
Water solubility	High
Hygroscopicity	Low

Also known as

D-(+)-trehalose dihydrate · α,α-trehalose dihydrate · Mycose

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between food and pharma grade trehalose?: GRAS food grade suits food and cosmetics; Ph.Eur./injection grade (low endotoxin) is used for parenteral and lyophilised drug products.
Is it kosher, halal or vegan?: It is made enzymatically from plant starch — non-animal in origin and commonly certified kosher/halal/vegan.
How is it stored?: Cool, dry and sealed. As a non-reducing sugar it is chemically stable.
Why choose trehalose over sucrose as a lyophilisation excipient?: Mainly the glass transition. Trehalose forms a stiffer amorphous glass — its dry Tg is around 117 °C, the highest of the common disaccharides — and its freeze-concentrate glass transition sits a few degrees above sucrose, which permits a slightly warmer and therefore faster primary drying step. Sucrose still wins in some formulations, so the two are normally screened against each other.
What does non-reducing mean in practice?: It means trehalose has no free carbonyl group available for the Maillard reaction. Reducing sugars such as glucose and lactose can condense with lysine residues on a protein during storage, discolouring the product and modifying the active. Trehalose does not, which is why it appears where colour and potency have to hold.

Enquire about Trehalose Dihydrate

Related products

Figures and identifiers here are compiled from public references and provided for general information; they are indicative, not a specification. See all products.