Glycerol,also called glycerin in British English and glycerin in American English, is a simple polyol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, viscous liquid that is sweet-tasting and non-toxic.
The glycerol backbone is found in lipids known as glycerides. Due to having antimicrobial and antiviral properties it is widely used in FDA approved wound and burn treatments.
Conversely, it is also used as a bacterial culture medium. It can be used as an effective marker to measure liver disease. It is also widely used as a sweetener in the food industry and as a humectant in pharmaceutical formulations. Owing to the presence of three hydroxyl groups, glycerol is miscible with water and is hygroscopic in nature.