The effects of humidity and storage time on the behavior of maltodextrins for direct compression

Abstract The effects of the relative humidity of the surrounding atmosphere on the powder and tablet properties of different types of physically processed maltodextrins were investigated. The maltodextrins' properties were affected due to moisture sorption and desorption. The density and flow behavior of the maltodextrins were influenced by the moisture content of the powder at the time of testing. Tablets of maltodextrin, after equilibration at 52.8% relative humidity, generally became smaller, denser, and stronger after transfer to low humidity conditions, while they became larger, less dense, and weaker when transferred to high humidity conditions. The effect of storage time on tablet properties of maltodextrins was that the crushing force values decreased with time. This was especially significant from the storage time period from immediately after ejection until 24 h after ejection from the die.