Thiamine mononitrate is a stable nitrate salt form of thiamine (vitamin B1). It occurs as a white crystalline powder and is prepared from thiamine hydrochloride. It is used as a food or nutritional supplement and is the preferred form of the vitamin for food fortification. Thiamin mononitrate is used in the pharmaceutical industry to treat beriberi and general malnutrition or malabsorption. Thiamine can be found naturally in foods like grains, yeast, molasses, pork and animal organ meats. Dairy, eggs and legumes have smaller amounts. Though thiamine is found naturally in foods, thiamine mononitrate is not. Thiamine mononitrate is synthesized by removing a chloride ion from thiamin hydrochloride and mixing the final product with nitric acid. Thiamine hydrochloride is hygroscopic (water-absorbing) whereas the mononitrate has almost no hygroscopic properties. For this reason, the mononitrate is the more stable form of the vitamin in fortified flours and cereals. Thiamine mononitrate is also specifically known as mononitrate de thiamine, nitrate de thiamine, and thiamine nitrate. In addition, as a vitamer of thiamine, it is also known by all the generic names of thiamine, such as thiamine, antiberiberi factor, antiberiberi vitamin, antineuritic factor, antineuritic vitamin, facteur anti-béribéri, facteur antineuritique, tiamina, vitamin B1, vitamin B-1, vitamina B1, vitamine anti-béribéri, vitamine antineuritique, vitamine B1.