Шеллак

Shellac is a natural resin that may be obtained in a variety of colors ranging from light yellow to dark red in the form of hard, brittle flakes with or without wax, depending on the refining process; see Sections 4 and 13. The different types of shellac include bleached shellac, bleached dewaxed shellac, dewaxed and decolorized shellac, dewaxed flake shellac, dewaxed orange shellac, dewaxed shellac, orange shellac, purified shellac, refined bleached shellac, regular bleached shellac, regular waxy shellac, wax-containing shellac, and white shellac. The flakes may be crushed or milled to a coarse or fine powder. Bleached shellac is supplied as a coarse offwhite powder. Shellac is tasteless and may have a faint odor. The typical odor of shellac is the result of a complex fragrance system.

Shellac is used in the preparation of cosmetic products such as mascara and acrylic nail products. It is also used in the formulation of aqueous-core capsules for riboflavin release.

shellac: A hard resin produced as asecretion by a plant parasite, thesouth-east Asian lac insect Laciferlacca. It is used in sealing wax, varnish(French polish), and electrical insulators.

(Alcohol solution) Flammable, dangerous fire risk.

Shellac is widely used as a moisture barrier coating for tablets and pellets due to its low water vapor and oxygen permeability. It has usually been applied in the form of alcoholic or aqueous solutions (pharmaceutical glazes). However, due to stability problems with alcoholic shellac solutions, it has had limited use in the pharmaceutical industry for modified-release or enteric coatings.
Shellac, particularly novel aqueous shellac solutions, is mainly used in food products and nutritional supplements. Recent research results indicate good application properties and chemical stability of shellac films from aqueous shellac solutions. Aqueous ammonium shellac solutions, based on dewaxed orange shellac, do not show the problems exhibited by alcoholic shellac solutions and are used as an enteric coating for pellets, tablets, soft and hard gelatine capsules, primarily in nutritional supplements.
Shellac is a primary ingredient of pharmaceutical printing inks for capsules and tablets, and can be applied as a 40% w/v alcoholic solution. It has also been used to apply one or two sealing coats to tablet cores to protect them from moisture before being film- or sugar-coated.
Other applications of shellac are the coating or encapsulation of powders or granules, e.g. in probiotics. Prior to the introduction of film coating, a combination of shellac, cetostearyl alcohol and stearic acid was used as an enteric coating. In cosmetics, shellac is used in hairsprays, mascara and lipstick formulations. Aqueous shellac solutions are also used for colonic drug delivery.

Shellac is used in oral pharmaceutical formulations, food products, and cosmetics. It is generally regarded as an essentially nonirritant and nontoxic material at the levels employed as an excipient.

After long periods of storage, shellac becomes less readily soluble in alcohol, less fluid on heating, and darker in color.
Shellac should be stored in a well-closed container at temperatures below 15°C. Wax-containing grades should be mixed before use to ensure uniform distribution of the wax. Orange and dewaxed orange shellac have a shelf-life of 1 to 2 years. The shelf-life of bleached shellac is approximately 6 months.

Shellac is chemically reactive with aqueous alkalis, organic bases, alcohols, and agents that esterify carboxyl groups. Therefore, shellac should be used with caution in the presence of such compounds.

Accepted as a food additive in the USA, Europe, and Japan. Included in the FDA Inactive Ingredients Database (oral capsules and tablets). Included in nonparenteral medicines (oral tablets and capsules, often in printing ink formulations) licensed in the UK. Included in the Canadian List of Acceptable Non-medicinal Ingredients.