Potassium chloride is a metal halide salt composed of potassium and chloride found in the human body and in nature.

It appears as a white crystalline powder, soluble in water and has a salty taste.

What it is used for and where

Food

Ingredient included in the list of European food additives as E508.

It is used to reduce the amount of salt in food, food supplement, gelling agent, nutritional yeast, salt substitute and flavour enhancer.

Medical and pharmaceuticals

Serum protein biochemical test, laxative. In medicinal tablets it is a gelling and flavouring agent.

It is a salt commonly used in various ophthalmic solutions (eye drops) for several reasons:

1. Electrolyte Balance

   • Potassium is one of the fundamental electrolytes for maintaining cellular balance. In ophthalmic formulations, potassium chloride helps ensure an electrolyte composition similar to the fluids naturally found in the eye.

2. Osmolarity Control

   • Along with other salts, potassium chloride helps regulate the osmolarity (i.e., the concentration of solutes) of the drops, preventing discomfort or stinging upon application. Proper osmolarity is important to prevent eye dryness or irritation.

3. Solution Stability

   • Like other mineral salts, potassium chloride can help stabilize the eye drop formulation, improving its shelf life and effectiveness over time.

In essence, potassium chloride is present in eye drops to help maintain a suitable environment within the eye, reduce potential irritation, and ensure good hydration of the ocular surface.

Agriculture

Basic raw material for the production of various potassium salts such as potassium carbonate and potassium persulphate. Fast-acting fertiliser that can be absorbed into the soil and has a long persistence. Promotes flowering and fruiting, cold resistance, improves drought resistance, disease resistance and resistance to pests and insects.

Cosmetics

Viscosity control agent. It controls and adapts viscosity to the required level for optimal chemical and physical stability of the product and dosage in gels, suspensions, emulsions, solutions. 

Other applications

Analytical reagent, chromatographic reagent, reference reagent, and buffer. Photography, electroplating, heat treatment of steel. Glass industry as penetrating agent. Textile softener.

The most relevant studies on this ingredient have been selected with a summary of their contents:

     Potassium chloride studies

Typical commercial product characteristics Potassium Chloride

• Molecular Formula   KCl o ClK
• Molecular Weight    74.548 g/mol
• Exact Mass    73.932564
• CAS   7447-40-7  14336-88-0
• EC Number    231-211-8
• UNIII    660YQ98I10
• DSSTox Substance ID  DTXSID5021178
• IUPAC  potassium;chloride
• InChI=1S/ClH.K/h1H;/q;+1/p-1
• InChl Key      WCUXLLCKKVVCTQ-UHFFFAOYSA-M
• SMILES   [Cl-].[K+]
• MDL number  MFCD00011360
• PubChem Substance ID    329820194
• ChEBI  32588
• ICSC    1450
• RXCUI  8591  
• RTECS   TS8050000
• NACRES NA.21
• NCI   C47679

Synonyms

• Enseal
• Chlorvescent
• Muriate of potash
• Klotrix

Potassium chloride finds applications in various fields.

Food

Sodium intake, globally, is exceeding the guidelines and potassium chloride can effectively be used for salt reduction in food products. Therefore, a modeling study was conducted using Dutch National Food Survey data to examine the impact of the reformulation diet. It could be considered safe for the adult general population and recruitment remains compatible with EFSA guidelines. Based on current models, potassium chloride is a precious and safe substitute for sodium chloride (salt) in food products (1).

Medicine

It is commonly used in the homogenization buffer and in protein extraction procedures and is known to facilitate the release of membrane-associated molecules (2).

Agriculture

During the cultivation of the Panax notoginseng tuber, potassium chloride and potassium sulfate were used as a fertilizer additive. The results showed that potassium chloride as a fertilizer significantly improved the growth of Panax notoginseng and increased the yield and saponin content (3).

References________________________________

(1) Dietary Impact of Adding Potassium Chloride to Foods as a Sodium Reduction Technique.
van Buren L, Dötsch-Klerk M, Seewi G, Newson RS. n - Nutrients. 2016 Apr
(2) Molecular Integrity of Mitochondria Alters by Potassium Chloride.
Mishra S, Mishra R. - Int J Proteomics. 2015
(3) Different proportion of potassium chloride and potassium sulphate application on cultivation of Panax notoginseng.
Zheng DM, Ou XH, Mi YH, Jing H, Yang Y, Liu DH.
Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi. 2014 Feb