Views: 259 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2021-03-16 Origin: Site
Although the capsules look similar, there are actually two different types of capsules according to the raw materials, gelatin capsules and vegetable capsules (vegetarian capsules). So what are the advantages of vegetable capsule compared with gelatin capsule? Let's take a look at it.
Gelatin capsules are very popular two-section form capsules. It is composed of two precision machined capsule shells. There are various sizes of capsules, including 000#, 00# and 0#-5# capsules. The capsules are filled with different fillers, such as 000 capsule filler, size 2 capsule filler, size 4 capsule filler, etc. The capsule can also be colored and printed to give a unique custom appearance.
The capsule body has a conical edge, which can be successfully encapsulated on the small capsule filling machine. The double locking ring system enables the capsules to be pre closed before filling, while the capsules can be completely nested together after the pill filler powder is filled. The design of the capsule also includes air vents to avoid unnecessary air pressure inside the capsule during high-speed filling, which may cause rebound.
Gelatin capsule is made from boiled beef bone and pig skin, then gel is obtained, cooled and processed. It is generally cheaper than vegetable capsules.
Because some pill capsule filler has strong irritation to the stomach and does harm to the stomach, but it has no damage to the intestinal tract, so enteric coated capsules have been developed, correspondingly as well as gastric coated capsules. Enteric coated capsules are generally that the gelatin capsules were treated with anti gastric acid, while there is no anti dissolution effect for the mixed digestive juice in the intestine at the same time. Enteric coated capsules should be used when drugs need to be dissolved and absorbed in the digestive tract (e.g. small intestine).
Although the traditional gelatin capsule is also a good choice, for some people who have diet preference and restriction and religious belief, they need other substitutes. This is vegetable capsule (also called vegetarian capsule). Vegetable capsules can also be made from capsule filling machine, small automatic capsule filling machine, etc.
There are two kinds of vegetable capsule, starch capsule and HPMC capsule. Starch capsules are made from modified starches, such as corn flour and cassava flour, and purified water. HPMC capsules are generally made of hydroxypropyl methyl plant cellulose, which is obtained from the bark of pine and fir trees.
Vegetable capsules do not contain animal ingredients, preservatives, SLS, gelatin, wheat, sugar, starch and dairy products. Its ingredients of automatic capsule making are safer and easier to be absorbed by human body, so the cost is relatively high. It can be dissolved quickly and completely in the stomach without disturbing digestion. These advantages of plant capsule are not possessed by gelatin capsule. Its advantages include plant origin, no infection with animal diseases, no violation of religious beliefs, and catering to vegetarianism. It is suitable for filling of capsules with hygroscopic or water sensitive contents because of its low moisture content and relatively small influence by humidity. HPMC has good stability, the compatibility problem is small and it has no cross-linking problem.
If people are vegetarians, they can take vegetable capsules. In addition, it is only a matter of time before vegetable capsules surpass or even replace gelatin capsules in the future because of their small safety risk and compliance with the trend of vegetarianism.
