According to the different raw materials, there are gelatin capsules and vegetable capsules, gelatin capsules are currently the world's most popular two-section capsules, the main ingredient is high-quality medicinal gelatin, vegetable capsules are hollow capsules made of vegetable cellulose or water-soluble polysaccharides as raw materials, it retains the advantages of all standard hollow capsules. There are certain differences between the two in terms of raw materials, storage conditions, production processes and characteristics.
Capsule classification
Capsules are usually available as hard and soft. The hard capsule, also known as the hollow capsule, is composed of two parts of the cap body; Softgels are film-forming materials and contents processed into products at the same time. Hard capsules are divided into gelatin capsules and vegetable capsules according to different raw materials. Gelatin capsules are currently the most popular two-segment capsules in the world, and the capsules are composed of two precision-machined capsule shells. Capsules come in a variety of sizes, and capsules can also be color-printed for a unique, customized look. Vegetable capsules are hollow capsules made from vegetable cellulose or water-soluble polysaccharides, which retain all the advantages of standard hollow capsules: easy to take, effectively mask taste and odor, transparent and visible contents, etc.
What is the difference between gelatin capsules and vegetable capsules
1. The raw materials of gelatin capsules are different from those of vegetable capsules
The main ingredient of gelatin capsule is high-quality medicinal gelatin, which is derived from the collagen in the skin, tendon and bones of animals, and is a protein partially hydrolyzed from the collagen in the connective tissue or epidermal tissue of animals; The main ingredient of vegetable capsule is medicinal hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), that is, 2-hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, cellulose is a natural polymer rich in natural resources, HPMC is usually made of short cotton lint or wood pulp as raw material, and is made by etherification.
2. The storage conditions of gelatin capsules and vegetable capsules are different
In terms of storage conditions, after a large number of tests, it is almost not brittle under low humidity conditions, and the capsule shell properties are still stable under high temperature and humidity, and the indexes of vegetable capsules are not affected under extreme storage conditions. Gelatin capsules are easy to adhere to the capsule under high humidity conditions, and harden or brittle under low humidity conditions, and are highly dependent on the temperature, humidity and packaging materials of the storage environment.
3. The production process of gelatin capsules is different from that of vegetable capsules
Plant-based hydroxypropyl methylcellulose is still natural when it is made into a capsule. The main component of the hollow capsule is protein, so it is easy to breed breeding bacteria and microorganisms, preservatives need to be added in the production process, and ethylene oxide sterilization is also required before packaging of the finished product to ensure the microbial control index of the capsule. The production process of vegetable capsules does not need to add any preservatives and does not need to be sterilized, which fundamentally solves the problem of preservative residues.
4. The characteristics of gelatin capsules are different from those of vegetable capsules
Compared with the traditional gelatin hollow capsule, vegetable capsule has the advantages of wide adaptability, no risk of cross-linking reaction and high stability, relatively stable drug release speed, small individual differences, and is not absorbed after disintegration in the human body, and can excrete excretion.
The demand for vegetable capsules will grow rapidly in the future. Although vegetable capsules cannot replace the dominant position of traditional gelatin hollow capsules, vegetable capsules have obvious competitive advantages in traditional Chinese medicine preparations, biological preparations and functional foods in China, with the advantages of wide applicability, no risk of cross-linking reaction, high stability, and non-hygroscopicity. With people's understanding of vegetable capsules, as well as the change of the public's concept of medication at home and abroad, the market demand for vegetable capsules will grow rapidly.
