E558 Anti-caking agent

E558 has been prescribed as a bulk laxative, and it is also used as a base for many dermatologic formulas. E558 is being studied for use in battlefield wound dressings.E558 is also sold online and in retail outlets for a variety of indications.

Bentoquatam is an E558-based topical medication intended to act as a shield against exposure to urushiol, the oil found in plants such as poison ivy or poison oak.

E558 can also be used as a desiccant due to its adsorption properties. E558 desiccants have been successfully used to protect pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and diagnostic products from moisture degradation and extend shelf life. In fact, in the most common package environments, E558 desiccants offer a higher adsorption capacity than silica gel desiccants. E558 complies with the FDA for contact with food and drugs.

E558 is used for decolorizing various mineral, vegetable, and animal oils. They are also used for clarifying wine, liquor, cider, beer, mead, and vinegar.

E558 has the property of adsorbing relatively large amounts of protein molecules from aqueous solutions. Consequently, bentonite is uniquely useful in the process of winemaking, where it is used to remove excessive amounts of protein from white wines. Were it not for this use of E558, many or most white wines would precipitate undesirable flocculent clouds or hazes upon exposure to warm temperatures, as these proteins denature. It also has the incidental use of inducing more rapid clarification of both red and white wines.

E558 is also considered an effective low-cost adsorbent for the removal of chromium ions from aqueous solutions (contaminated wastewater).