Thiamine
Compiled from published pharmacological and botanical literature. Not independently verified by Herbuno. Spotted an error or have a correction? Flag it below →
| Compound | Thiamine (vitamin B1) |
|---|---|
| Chemical class | Thiazole-pyrimidine vitamin — cationic, supplied as a salt |
| CAS | 67-03-8 (thiamine HCl) · 532-43-4 (thiamine mononitrate) · 59-43-8 (thiamine) |
| Salt equivalence | HCl 337.27 g/mol → ~78.7% thiamine · mononitrate 327.36 → ~81.1% |
| Active cofactor | Thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP) — PDH, α-KGDH, transketolase, BCKDH |
| Critical incompatibility | Destroyed by sulphites · least heat-stable B vitamin · worsens as pH rises |
| Claim strength | High for the cofactor biochemistry and stability chemistry |
| Buy from Herbuno | Liposomal Vitamin B1 (Thiamine HCl) Powder · plain thiamine HCl / mononitrate: availability on request |
| Origin | Processed / Sourced from India |
| MOQ | R&D 100 g / 250 g (subject to stock) · Pilot batch 1–5 kg · Bulk 10 kg, 25 kg and above |
| Lead Time | Dispatch within 72 hrs from stock · fresh-batch production (typically 50 kg+): 10 working days |
| Documentation | CoA & MSDS standard with every lot |
Name origin: From the thiazole ring in its structure plus amine, named by Robert Williams who determined the structure in 1935. It was the first B vitamin isolated, which is why it carries the number 1, and the work that identified it began with Christiaan Eijkman's observations on polyneuritis in chickens fed polished rice in the 1890s — the beriberi connection that founded nutritional biochemistry.
Why it is always a salt: Thiamine is a cation at physiological pH, carrying a permanent positive charge on the quaternised thiazolium nitrogen, and the free base is not a practical article. Commercially it moves as the hydrochloride or the mononitrate, and these are not interchangeable: the hydrochloride is more soluble and markedly more hygroscopic, the mononitrate is less hygroscopic and is the standard for dry premixes and flour fortification.
Biochemical position: Thiamine is phosphorylated to thiamine pyrophosphate, which is the cofactor for pyruvate dehydrogenase, alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, transketolase and the branched-chain ketoacid dehydrogenase complex. Those four enzymes sit at the entry to the tricarboxylic acid cycle, within it, in the pentose phosphate pathway, and in branched-chain amino acid catabolism respectively, which is why thiamine deficiency presents as a disorder of energy metabolism in the most oxidatively demanding tissues — nerve and heart.
Commercial source: Thiamine is produced by chemical synthesis and, increasingly, by fermentation. The hydrochloride and mononitrate are separate articles with separate CAS numbers and different physical specifications. Lipid-soluble derivatives — benfotiamine, fursultiamine, sulbutiamine — are distinct compounds with their own pharmacokinetics and are not thiamine salts.
Evidence for Thiamine Applications
Thiamine is the least heat-stable of the B vitamins and the loss worsens sharply as pH rises, which should govern process design rather than be checked afterwards. Thiamine is reasonably stable in acid but degrades rapidly in neutral and alkaline conditions, so retention through a thermal step depends on the matrix pH as much as on the temperature and time. A thiamine inclusion calculated from the assay and not validated on finished goods will usually overstate what the consumer receives. In any heated, near-neutral format, overage or a protected form is the realistic answer. Claim strength: High.
Sulphites destroy thiamine, which rules out several preservative systems outright. Bisulphite cleaves the methylene bridge between the thiazole and pyrimidine rings, inactivating the vitamin, and the reaction is fast enough to matter at normal preservative concentrations. Any formulation using sulphur dioxide, sodium metabisulphite or related preservatives is incompatible with thiamine, and this includes matrices where sulphite arrives with an ingredient rather than being added deliberately — some dried fruit, some juice concentrates, some starches. Claim strength: High.
The hydrochloride and mononitrate are not interchangeable on a label or in a blend. Thiamine HCl is 337.27 g/mol giving approximately 78.7% thiamine, the mononitrate 327.36 giving approximately 81.1%, so the declared quantities differ before any other consideration. More importantly the hydrochloride is substantially more hygroscopic, which makes the mononitrate the standard choice for dry premixes, flour fortification and tableting, while the hydrochloride's higher solubility suits liquids and parenteral preparations. Specify by CAS number. Claim strength: High.
Absorption is saturable, so high oral doses have low fractional absorption. Thiamine is transported by the carrier systems THTR-1 and THTR-2 at physiological intakes, and that transport saturates; above it, uptake is passive and inefficient. The practical consequence is that increasing an oral dose produces a progressively smaller increase in absorbed thiamine, and a high-dose oral product does not deliver proportionally. This is also the pharmacological argument for the lipid-soluble derivatives, which bypass the saturable route. Claim strength: High.
Thiamine antagonists in foods are a real and under-considered formulation issue. Thiaminases in raw fish and some shellfish cleave the vitamin enzymatically, and polyphenols and tannins — in tea, coffee, betel and some botanical extracts — oxidise the thiazole ring and reduce thiamine availability. For a botanical blend carrying a tannin-rich extract alongside thiamine, this is a genuine compatibility question rather than a theoretical one, and ascorbate partially protects against the polyphenol effect. Claim strength: Moderate.
Deficiency presentations are clinically important and are disease endpoints. Beriberi, in its wet cardiac and dry neuropathic forms, and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome are the classical presentations, and thiamine deficiency is a recognised risk in chronic alcohol use, in bariatric surgery patients, in hyperemesis, in prolonged parenteral nutrition without supplementation, and in refeeding after starvation, where carbohydrate loading precipitates acute deficiency. These inform technical documentation and clinical nutrition formulation; none can be used in supplement claims. Claim strength: High.
Sourcing thiamine from Herbuno. We hold thiamine hydrochloride in a liposomal format at around 15% loading; plain thiamine HCl and thiamine mononitrate are availability on request.
Specify the salt by CAS number and state whether the declared quantity is thiamine or the salt — 67-03-8 for the hydrochloride, 532-43-4 for the mononitrate, with equivalences of roughly 78.7% and 81.1% respectively. The two are not interchangeable: mononitrate for dry premixes and flour fortification on hygroscopicity grounds, hydrochloride for liquids on solubility grounds. All lots ship with CoA and MSDS; request a quotation for pilot or bulk volumes.
Dosage & Formulator Specification
Dose on thiamine content and state the basis. Thiamine HCl is approximately 78.7% thiamine and the mononitrate approximately 81.1%, so a 1.5 milligram thiamine target requires about 1.91 milligrams of hydrochloride or about 1.85 milligrams of mononitrate. Adult reference intakes sit around 1.1 to 1.2 milligrams daily. Supplemental products commonly carry 10 to 100 milligrams, and clinical repletion protocols use considerably more, though the saturable absorption means high oral doses deliver far less than proportionally.
Stability planning should come before the inclusion calculation. Establish the finished matrix pH, the thermal load, and whether any sulphite is present from any source, then decide whether overage, a protected form or a format change is needed. Thiamine's retention in a heated near-neutral product can be poor enough that an assay-based inclusion materially overstates delivery, so validate on finished goods and on accelerated stability rather than on the premix. Light is a lesser concern for thiamine than for riboflavin but is not negligible.
Handling differs between the two salts in ways that matter operationally. Thiamine hydrochloride is freely soluble, around 100 grams per 100 millilitres, and markedly hygroscopic, requiring sealed packaging with desiccant and humidity-controlled weighing; it will cake in an open container. The mononitrate is much less soluble, around 2.7 grams per 100 millilitres, and far less hygroscopic, which is why it dominates dry premix use. Both carry a distinct sulphurous note that becomes noticeable in unflavoured bases at higher inclusion rates.
Co-formulation requires checking several common incompatibilities. Sulphites inactivate thiamine outright. Tannin-rich botanical extracts reduce availability, with ascorbate offering partial protection. Alkaline minerals and buffers raise matrix pH into the range where thermal loss accelerates. Thiamine is also one of the vitamins most affected by the presence of other B vitamins in a concentrated premix, where local pH and moisture microenvironments can accelerate degradation, so a multivitamin premix should be stability-tested as a premix rather than inferred from single-vitamin data.
For analytical control, specify identity and assay by HPLC with the basis stated — thiamine or salt — and the salt confirmed by CAS number and by counter-ion determination, chloride for the hydrochloride and nitrate for the mononitrate. Water content matters particularly for the hydrochloride. Standard coverage includes heavy metals, residual solvents, microbiological limits, loss on drying and sulphated ash, with the production route named and, for fermentation-derived material, residual host-cell protein, endotoxin, organism and substrate stated.
One article distinction worth stating because it recurs in enquiries. Benfotiamine, fursultiamine and sulbutiamine are lipid-soluble thiamine derivatives, not thiamine salts. They are separate compounds with separate CAS numbers, different pharmacokinetics — the argument for them is that they bypass the saturable THTR transport and achieve higher plasma and tissue concentrations — and in some markets a different regulatory position. Their evidence should not be attributed to thiamine salts, nor thiamine's reference intakes applied to them on a weight basis. Where a customer asks for "high-absorption B1", they may mean one of these, and it is worth clarifying which article is wanted before quoting.
Frequently Asked Questions — Thiamine
Is thiamine HCl interchangeable with thiamine mononitrate?
No. They are separate articles with separate CAS numbers — 67-03-8 and 532-43-4 — and differ in thiamine equivalence (78.7% versus 81.1%), solubility and, most importantly, hygroscopicity. The hydrochloride is freely soluble and markedly hygroscopic; the mononitrate is less soluble and far less hygroscopic, which is why it dominates dry premix and flour fortification.
What destroys thiamine in a formulation?
Sulphites, first and absolutely — bisulphite cleaves the methylene bridge between the rings and inactivates it, including sulphite arriving with an ingredient rather than added. Then heat, worsening sharply as pH rises above about 6. Then tannins and polyphenols from tea, coffee, betel or botanical extracts, against which ascorbate offers partial protection.
Why doesn't a high oral dose deliver proportionally?
Saturable transport. Thiamine is carried by THTR-1 and THTR-2 at physiological intakes, and those saturate; above that, uptake is passive and inefficient. So each increment of oral dose yields a progressively smaller increase in absorbed thiamine. That saturation is the pharmacological argument for the lipid-soluble derivatives.
How should I plan stability?
Settle matrix pH, thermal load and any sulphite source before calculating the inclusion. Retention in a heated near-neutral product can be poor enough that an assay-based inclusion materially overstates delivery. Validate on finished goods and accelerated stability, not on the premix — and stability-test a multivitamin premix as a premix.
Is benfotiamine a thiamine salt?
No. Benfotiamine, fursultiamine and sulbutiamine are lipid-soluble derivatives — separate compounds with separate CAS numbers, different pharmacokinetics, and in some markets a different regulatory position. Their evidence should not be attributed to thiamine salts, nor thiamine reference intakes applied to them on a weight basis.
Will it smell?
A distinct sulphurous note, from the thiazole ring sulphur, which becomes noticeable in unflavoured bases at higher inclusion rates. Both salts carry it. In a flavoured format it is usually manageable; in a neutral or dairy base it needs addressing at formulation rather than being masked later.