Pharmaceutical glaze

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Pharmaceutical glaze is an alcohol based solution of various types of food grade shellac. It is also known as confectioner's glaze, resinous glaze, pure food glaze and natural glaze. Since the primary ingredient carries a negative connotation, these are euphemismistically derived phrases to what is described in the manufacturing as beetle juice due to its derivation from the lac insect Kerria lacca (which is not a beetle, but a scale insect).

Pharmaceutical glaze may contain denatured alcoholic solution of 20-57% shellac, waxes and titanium dioxide as an opacifying agent.

This is used by the drug and nutritional supplement industry as a coating material for tablets and capsules. It serves to improve the product's appearance, extend shelf life and protect it from moisture, as well as provide a solid finishing film for preprint coatings. It also serves to mask unpleasant odors and aid in the swallowing of the tablet.

The shellac coating is insoluble in stomach acid and may make the tablet difficult for the body to break down or assimilate. For this reason it can also be used as an ingredient in time-released, sustained or delayed action pills. The product is listed on the FDA's inactive ingredient list and has been accepted as safe. It is generally regarded as an acceptable ingredient to a pharmaceutical-grade tablet, and is used in quality manufactured products in a GMP environment.

A competitive non-animal-based product is zein, which is a corn protein.