What Is Glyceryl Monostearate GMS (E471)? Applications, Dosage, Alternatives & Specifications

Glyceryl Monostearate, abbreviated as GMS, also known as Monostearin or Glycerol Monostearate, is a nonionic surfactant produced by the esterification of glycerol with stearic acid. It is an important category of polyol fatty acid esters, with wide application value in the global food industry, pharmaceutical industry, daily chemical industry, and plastics industry. Its molecular formula is C21H42O4, and its molecular weight is 358.56. Commercial GMS typically appears as a white to light yellow waxy solid, flake, or powder, odorless, with a slight fatty or sweet taste. GMS belongs to the glyceryl fatty acid ester family. Its molecular structure contains both hydrophilic hydroxyl groups and lipophilic longchain alkyl groups. This amphiphilic structure gives it excellent surface activity, enabling it to significantly reduce the interfacial tension between oil and water phases, thus performing multiple functions including emulsification, dispersion, stabilization, lubrication, defoaming, and antistatic effects. The HLB value of GMS is approximately 3.8–4.2, making it a W/O emulsifier. In food additive national standards, GMS falls under the category of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (INS 471). The truly emulsifying components are the monoglycerides. Common chemically synthesized GMS typically contains about 40%-60% monoglycerides, while products refined by molecular distillation can achieve monoglyceride contents of over 90%, 95%, or even 99.2%, with emulsifying power several times that of ordinary GMS. Glyceryl Monostearate was first researched in the mid19th century, achieved industrial production in the United States in 1929, and highpurity monoglyceride became available after the application of molecular distillation technology in 1943. Global consumption of GMS has now reached over 200,000 metric tons and continues to grow at approximately 3% per year.

Glyceryl Monostearate is recognized as the world‘s most widely used food emulsifier, holding an irreplaceable foundation position in the modern food industry, pharmaceutical preparations, and daily chemical industry. Its most outstanding core advantages lie in its excellent multifunctionality due to its unique amphiphilic structure, extremely high safety, and exceptionally broad application adaptability.

Excellent Emulsification and Stabilization Performance: As a nonionic surfactant, GMS significantly reduces the interfacial tension between oil and water phases, effectively preventing oilwater separation, fat crystallization, and protein precipitation. Whether in ice cream for fat globule dispersion, in bread dough for oil emulsification, or in beverages for uniform suspension of ingredients, GMS plays a critical role.