Those things about softgels | Gelken

What is softgels?

Softgels, also known as gel pills, belong to a kind of packaging of capsules, commonly used in medicines or health foods, it is a kind of capsule made by treating liquid drugs or liquid solid drugs and sealing them in soft capsules. Softgels are made of gelatin, glycerin or other suitable pharmaceutical excipients for capsules, either alone or in combination.

Characteristic:

• The liquid oily substance can be directly sealed into the capsule, without the use of adsorption, encapsulation and other additives, the oil content of the soft capsule can reach 60%~85% (weight), while the oil content of the general encapsulation content is less than 50%.
• If a thick gelatin film is used, it can be completely sealed into the air, the capsule strength and film shielding are high, and the content can be stable for a long time. It has been determined that the oxygen shielding performance of gelatin film is more than 30 times that of polyethylene film, and it is very stable to oxygen in the air, which can prevent oxidation and moisture absorption of air.
• After ingestion, the contents are released rapidly, and the utilization rate and absorption rate in the body are high.
• The contents are homogeneous, and the deviation of the contents is extremely low.
• Volatile substances with low boiling point (such as spices, etc.) can be stably preserved, and some contraindicated ingredients can be added to the secondary content separately.
• In the process of production and storage, the softgels should meet the following requirements: small doses of drugs should be diluted with appropriate diluents and mixed evenly; The appearance should be neat, no bonding, deformation or cracking, and no peculiar smell; Unless otherwise specified, it should be stored in an airtight space.

Composition and shape

Softgel capsules are made of gelatin, glycerin, plasticizers, preservatives, opacifiers, pigments and other suitable medicinal materials. There are many sizes and shapes, including spherical (0.15~0.3ml), oval (0.10~0.5ml), rectangular (0.3~0.8ml) and cylindrical (0.4~4.5ml), etc., which can be made into different varieties for internal or external use according to clinical needs.

Advantages of softgels:

1. After disintegration, it is directly absorbed in the intestine, without dissolving process, and the absorption is fast;
2. Accurate softgel content;
3. High bioavailability, reduce the dose taken by patients;
4. The functional substance has good stability and is not easy to absorb moisture;
5. Good sealing, covering the bad smell of the drug;

Softgels and hard capsules the difference:

1. Hard capsule is made by adding a certain amount of medicinal material extract to medicinal powder or excipients to make a uniform powder or granule, filling it in a hollow capsule, or directly filling the medicinal material powder in a hollow capsule.

Softgels are a type of packaging for capsules, which are commonly used in pharmaceuticals or health foods. It is a kind of capsule made by treating liquid drugs or liquid fruit drugs and sealing them in soft capsules.

• Softgels encapsulate a certain amount of liquid drug directly, or dissolve or disperse a solid drug in a suitable excipient to make a solution, suspension, emulsion or semi-solid, sealed in a spherical or oval-shaped soft capsule.

Hard capsules use appropriate preparation technology to make powders, granules, tablets, pellets, semi-solids or liquids from drugs or add suitable excipients, and fill them in hollow capsules.

• The liquid oily content of the softgel can be directly sealed into the capsule, without the use of additives such as adsorption and encapsulation, and the oily content of the softgel is as high as 60%~85% (weight), while the content of the general encapsulation is less than 50%.