Calcium Citrate Malate CAS 142606-53-9 Bioavailability Guide

Calcium Citrate Malate

A nutritional supplement formulator in California spent three months trying to understand why a high-calcium bone health product was showing variable bioavailability results in a clinical pilot. The formula had not changed. The raw material supplier had not changed. The calcium source was the same on every purchase order. It took an outside consultant — a former regulatory chemist from a major pharmaceutical firm — to ask the question that cracked it: what exactly is your calcium source, and have you verified the mineralogical form batch by batch? The calcium ingredient was Calcium Citrate Malate, CAS 142606-53-9. The short answer was that it had not been verified, and that two different production lots had turned out to have meaningfully different calcium release profiles.

♦Calcium Citrate Malate is a mixed calcium salt combining the organic acids citrate and malate in a coordinated structure with calcium. It occupies a specific position in the functional ingredient market: considerably more soluble and bioavailable than calcium carbonate, particularly in low-acid gastric environments such as those found in elderly populations or individuals using proton pump inhibitors, yet more stable and less hygroscopic than calcium chloride. Those properties have made it the preferred calcium source in a number of premium bone-health, fortified beverage, and pediatric nutrition applications where calcium uptake efficiency is a selling point.
The variable bioavailability problem in California traced back to manufacturing process differences between two Chinese suppliers whose material had been substituted without systematic verification. The mineralogical ratio of citrate to malate in the coordination complex affects the dissolution rate; two samples both passing a generic calcium assay and an HPLC organic acid screen can behave differently in a simulated gastric dissolution test. The lesson the formulator took from that experience was straightforward: for a functional ingredient where the mechanism of action depends on the chemical form, not just the elemental content, you need a supplier who understands and controls the specific form — and who can provide characterization data that goes beyond basic purity.
When evaluating a Calcium Citrate Malate supplier, the meaningful specifications beyond calcium assay percentage are organic acid ratio (citrate to malate), moisture content, heavy metals (particularly lead), microbiological limits, and dissolution profile under simulated gastric conditions if the application is clinical or pharmaceutical. A supplier who can provide all of that — not just a purity figure — is one who has genuinely invested in understanding what they are making.
 
Shandong Lookchemical Co., Ltd. supplies Calcium Citrate Malate (CAS 142606-53-9) with documentation covering calcium content, organic acid profile by HPLC, heavy metals by ICP, loss on drying, and microbiological testing on each commercial lot. The documentation package includes a batch-specific CoA, GHS-compliant SDS, and export documents suitable for US dietary supplement and EU food supplement import clearance. MOQ is 1 kg; standard lead time is 5 to 10 business days. Contact:sales01@sdlookchemical.com | sdlookchem.com | Shandong Lookchemical Co., Ltd.

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