about the product
Hypromellose, also known as hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), is a semisynthetic polymer used as eye drops. It’s also an excipient and controlled-delivery component in oral medicaments. As a food additive, it’s used as a thickening agent, binder, film former, and hydrophilic matrix material, making it an alternative to animal gelatin.
Plant-derived hypromellose is used as a vegetarian substitute for gluten in making bread made from oats and other grains. Like gluten, hypromellose can trap air bubbles formed by the yeast in bread dough, causing the bread to rise.
Aside from being a food additive, hypromellose has also been used in oral tablet and capsule formulations. Depending on the grade, it functions as a controlled release agent to delay a medicinal compound’s release into the digestive tract.
As eye drops, it relieves dryness and irritation caused by reduced tear flow. Hypromellose can also be used to moisten hard contact lenses and artificial eyes.