GELITA® Soft Capsule Gelatin: Specialized Solutions for Efficiency and Quality
GELITA® Soft Capsule Gelatin is made from high-quality raw materials and ensures improved bioavailability of the active ingredients thanks to optimized dissolution. A comprehensive portfolio of special gelatins is available for soft capsules, which makes processes more efficient and maximize the quality of the capsules: The RXL® range ensures reduced crosslinking in the capsule and enables a controlled release of the fill. RAPISOL® is a speciality gelatin for particularly rapid release of the active ingredient. DELASOL® enables the production of enteric capsules with a delayed fill release in just one step, while EASYSEAL® minimizes leakers in soft capsules. For soft gelatin capsules, gelatins with a medium Bloom value of between 150 and 200g Bloom are generally used for the production of soft gelatin capsules.
What Are Softgels or Soft Capsules?
Compared to hard capsules, gelatin soft capsules have a thicker shell and require additional ingredients such as glycerin to achieve their soft texture.
Depending on the formulation, the thickness of the capsule, its elasticity and its residual moisture can be adjusted. Many consumers prefer soft capsules over hard capsules because they are easier to swallow.
Why Are Softgels Often Preferred?
Just like hard capsules, softgel capsules offer consumers and manufacturers many advantages – thanks to their main shell-ingredient.
Gelatin is colorless and neutral in taste, and has been used in foods and pharmaceuticals for centuries. It dissolves at body temperature and is ideal for capsules, as it protects the active ingredients from oxygen, light, moisture and dust.
Moreover, soft gelatin capsules are easy to swallow. Available in many colors and sizes, different medicines or food supplements in soft capsules are easy to identify.
Softgels are ideal for liquid or semi-solid fills, making them highly suitable for the delivery of oil-based formulations. Soft capsules are widely used to deliver pharmaceutical substances and a wide range of nutritional supplements, such as omega-3 fish oils.
Gelatin soft capsules begin to swell on contact with liquid and dissolve completely in the stomach within 20 to 30 minutes. The capsule formulation can be adjusted for different requirements: For example, fast-dissolving gelatins are available for painkillers that need to work quickly, while enteric capsules need to survive passage through the stomach, for example if they contain fillings with an unpleasant aftertaste.
For manufacturers and consumers alike, bioavailability, the ability of the active ingredients to be absorbed by the body, is a decisive factor for medicines and nutraceutical supplements, with the dosage form playing a major role. Soft capsules dissolve rather quickly. How fast and where this is to happen, is influenced by the choice of the right gelatin. Plus, gelatin capsules allow for an exact dosag.
Leading suppliers also offer gelatins with halal and kosher certifications, in order to meet the requirements of different consumer groups and target markets.
Gelatin is a foodstuff and not an additive. The gelatin in capsules is virtually non-allergenic and safe for consumption. It is a pure protein, easily digestible and free from side effects.
