MEDICAL CAPSULE COVERS

• Gelatine: Provides structure, forms the base material.
• Methyl and Propyl Paraben*: Act as preservatives.
• Sodium Lauryl Sulphate*: Manufacturing aid.
• PVP-K30 (Polyvinylpyrrolidone): Retains moisture.
• Silicon dioxide (SiO2): Static property.
• Titanium dioxide (TiO2): Opacifying agent.
• Soluble Colorants: Colouring agents.

Your curiosity ends here with this two-minute read.

MEDICAL CAPSULE COVERS, whether soft or hard appears as if it is made up of an edible plastic. Are plastics edible and are capsules really manufactured from plastic?

The answer is a big NO.

MEDICAL CAPSULE COVERS

To end up the mystery, capsules are made of animal-derived material – GELATIN, which is a translucent, colourless, flavourless food ingredient, commonly derived from collagen taken from animal body parts. It is brittle when dry and gummy when moist.

Majority of the MEDICAL CAPSULE COVERS are manufactured from Gelatine, though there are also other raw materials i.e., HPMC (Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose or Hypromellose) and Pullulan.

HPMC and Pullulan are derived from plants and thus makes the vegetarian class.

Apart from the base material, there are other ingredients added to maintain the steady structure of capsule and direct them for specific drug delivery.

Since the major market of capsules is covered by Gelatine, the following ingredients are added to make a proper, hard capsule structure: