6 Common Capsule Dosage Form: What Do You Know?

1.What Is Capsule Dosage Form?

Capsules filled with granules- Picture Courtesy: mankindpharma.com

Capsule is one of the popular solid dosage forms which is used to deliver drugs and supplements in pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and beauty care industry. Capsule is characterized by its shell inside which the single dosage is encapsulated which can be in form of powder, granules, pellets, or liquid. Similarly, the shell of capsule may be hard or soft.

Due to convenient swallowing, easy drug administration, and limited side effects, the use of capsules is becoming more important and now it is available in many types depending upon their dosage form. Moreover, capsules come in variety of shapes and sizes such as round, oval, and oblong etc.

Components

All types of capsules are mainly composed of two components:

Shell:Shell is the outer layer of capsule which is used to enclose ingredients. It is made from different substances such as gelatin which is animal byproduct. However, with growing health concerns, now plant based substances are used in combination with plasticizers and colorants to make the shell of capsules.

Content:It refers to the active ingredient laying inside capsule. Unlike tablets, which lack the shell and therefore content is a mixture of active ingredients and excipients, capsules often encase active ingredients in solid and liquid form. It is because the preservatives are often added to the shell.

Types

Various softgel capsules- Picture Courtesy: sunsho.co.jp

Generally, capsules can be divided into two types on the basis of their structure. These include:

Hard gel capsules:Hard gel capsules are type of capsules with hard outer shell. Such capsules consist of a body and a cap and often employed for delivering solid and semi-solid substances such as powder, granules, and oil etc.

Softgel capsules:As the name indicates, these capsules have single layer soft shells and they are used to deliver aqueous and liquid substances such as fish oil, capsule essence, and other liquid formulation. These capsules are made by using special encapsulation machines.

Limitations

Capsule dosage form do have potential limitations due to their side effects which are as follows:

Cause allergic reaction due to the use of gelatin.

The excessive use of capsules may lead to certain illnesses as unnecessary material is used in shell formation.

2.6 Common Capsule Dosage Form- What Do You Know?

Although, capsule is itself a form of solid dosage, it can be further categorized into 6 common capsule dosage form on several basis. You will know the each capsule dosage form in the details given below:

Hard Gelatin Capsule

Hard gel capsules- Picture Courtesy: gelita.com

Hard gelatin capsule is the common capsule dosage form comprising two piece hard shell. It is made by dipping finger-shaped pins into a liquid gelatin mixture. Similarly, after their cooling down and drying, shells of capsules are formed. The body and cap of capsules are supplied to machine which then fill the drug dosage in empty capsules.

Hard gelatin capsules are often used to deliver solid ingredients in form of powder or granules, however, they may also be used to encase semi-liquid solution. Such capsules are commonly used for drug delivery and they are immediate release capsules.

Soft Gelatin Capsule

Softgel capsules

Soft gelatin capsule is one-piece capsule created from soft gelatin. The shell of capsule is elastic with use of flexible gelatin in combination with certain other plasticizers such as glycerin, sorbitol, and flavors. These capsules are often opaque thus the inside content can be seen clearly.

Soft gelatin capsules are used for delivering liquid substances like oil, liquid essence, and activate ingredients suspended in fluid. These capsules offer great significance for easy swallowing and they have longer shelf life due to their resistance to moisture and air. However, the production of soft gelatin capsules is an expensive method due to its requirement of sophisticated machines.

Enteric Coated Capsules

Enteric coated capsules- Picture Courtesy: vitamondo.com

Another capsule dosage form is enteric coated capsules. These capsules are distinct in a way that special coating is introduced to them after their encapsulation of ingredients. The purpose of coating is to enable these capsules to sustain stomach acids such as enzymes and probiotics and pass through it into small intestine for selective dissolution. They are designed to dissolve in low level of pH.

The manufacturing process of enteric coated capsules simply involve the preparation of coating solution. Afterwards, this slurry is introduced to the already filled gelatin or soft gelatin capsules and they are dried. In this way, the possible side effects of capsules such as irritation and nausea are eliminated due to their unbroken early transportation through stomach.

Delayed Release Capsules

Delayed release capsules- Picture Courtesy: capsuline.com

Delayed release capsules are developed to reduce the dissolution efficiency of capsules. For this purpose, special coating is used to delay the drug release timing. This method is frequently adopted for hard gelatin capsules. Similarly, the possible side effects of capsules are limited and drug is absorbed in body upon crossing stomach.

In this way, the daily dose of capsule is also minimized from immediate release capsules of 3 to 4 times till 2 to 3 times.

Extended Release Capsules

Extended release black seed oil softgel capsules- Picture Courtesy: alkhairnatural.com

Extended release capsules is a form of modified release drugs technology where capsules are created in such a way that they stay in your body until desired time is completed. These capsules are made by using different techniques and methods, therefore, the production process is both lengthy and costly.

Despite these limitations, extended release capsules are extremely beneficial to limit the potential side effects of capsules and enhance the therapeutic effect of drugs in body for longer. Consequently, the dosage taking is also less frequent per day.

Controlled Release Capsules

Enteric coated controlled release capsules- Picture Courtesy: healthcapsulespk.com

Controlled release capsules are created to control the capsule dissolution in a way that timing is strictly predetermined. Its primary purpose is to maintain drug plasma level and ensure that medication is released into bloodstream at nearly constant rate.

Thus, drug is absorbed into body in a predictable manner with no such harsh reaction. Such type of capsules are frequently used for increasing patient compliance with medication which ultimately reduce the capsule taken per day. However, these capsules are prepared by using advanced machines, therefore, they are costly compared to other capsule dosage form.

3.6 Common Capsule Dosage Form- Making Process?

The making process for 6 common capsule dosage form is almost same requiring certain steps as described below:

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Mixture Preparation

Firstly, the capsule content is prepared by mixing active ingredients along with required excipients. Now, the prepared mixture can be in form of fine powder which is often made for immediate release hard gelatin capsules. However, for modified release capsules, the content is further processed to make small granules or pellets. Apart from this, liquid or semi-liquid formulation is used especially for soft gelatin capsules.

Capsule Shell Formation

The next step is capsule shell formulation, which is done by mixing gelatin with plasticizers, glycerin, sorbitol, and other flavoring and coloring agents. For gelatin free capsules, plant based gelling agents are used. Now, the capsule shells are of two types:

Hard gelatin shell:These shells are used by dipping the nips of metallic tools in liquid solution which are then dried and trimmed to make body and cap of capsules.

Soft gelatin shell:These shells are made during the encapsulation where flexible gelatin strips are joined through opposite rollers.

Capsule Filling

This step involves the filing of capsule shells. The prepared capsule content precisely weighed and infused into capsule shells through relevant filling machines.

Capsule Sealing

After filling, capsules are tightly sealed. Here, hard gelatin capsules are sealed by placing and pushing caps into the bodies, while as, soft gelatin capsules are sealed right after the injection of dosage into ribbons during die rotation.

4.6 Common Capsule Dosage Form- Enumerate The Advantages?

6 common capsule dosage form carry enormous benefits which are all enlisted below:

Easy Swallowing

Capsule swallowing- Picture Courtesy: sunsho.co.jp

The foremost thing for which capsule dosage form is admired, is the convenience in swallowing. The reason is because capsule easily mask the unpleasant taste and smell of the inside content.

Dosage Demarcation

As explained above, each capsule dosage form is meant contain prescribed medication. Similarly, it eliminates the most common complication of patients which is their concern about how many capsules should be taken per day. For instance, immediate release capsules are suitable to be taken 3 to 4 times per day. In contrast, 1 to 2 extended release capsules are enough for a day.

Sustainability

Each of the 6 common capsule dosage form has relevant sustainability properties. They are strong enough to first counter the environmental effects and then undergo the internal conditions of body and release content at desired rate and level.

Variety

Various softgel capsules- Picture Courtesy: sunsho.co.jp

Another crucial benefit is that now you can choose between these 6 common capsule dosage form for delivering your vary medications whether powder, granules, liquids, immediate release or modified release. In addition, capsules offer range of sizes and shapes.

Marketability

Capsules with brand logo- Picture Courtesy: packagingsouthasia.com

Marketability is what every manufacturer looks for and you can avail this opportunity by using any of the 6 common capsule dosage form. For instance, you can imprint your company name or brand logo on capsules to market your produced capsules.

5.6 Common Capsule Dosage Form- Explain The Sources?

As far as the sources of 6 common capsule dosage form is concerned, so, they are different both in terms of active therapeutic ingredients and the formulation of shell. These are explained below:

Animal Sources

Omega-3 capsules- Picture Courtesy: compoundingrxusa.com

For capsule formation, animal sources play key role by providing the base ingredient of gelatin for capsule shell which is derived from the bones and tendons of animals. It also provide substances for the inside content in form of fish oil and Omega-3.

Plant Sources

Nutraceucal capsules

Plants are inevitable for making capsules. Almost all kinds of the active ingredients are directly taken from the leaves of plants, herbs, and fruits etc. These all examples are directly or indirectly associated with plant sources. Similarly, for making the shell of capsules, now, chlorophyll and pullulan work as natural pigment and plasticizer respectively. Herbal, nutraceucal, and pharmaceutical capsules are the most common examples.

6.How Long Do 6 Common Capsule Dosage Form Take To Dissolve?

The dissolution time of 6 common capsule dosage form vary due to the variation in composition of each capsule dosage form. However, it can be easily understand by explaining them under two headings:

Capsule dissolution- Picture Courtesy: sunsho.co.jp

Immediate Release Capsules

Such capsules are meant to be released quickly into body after interacting the stomach fluids present in form of enzymes. Therefore, they only take 20 to 30 minutes for dissolution and releasing inside content to be circulated in bloodstream. The common examples of immediate release capsules include uncoated hard gel capsules and gelatin based softgel capsules.

Modified Release Capsules

Modified release capsules are also known as extended or delayed release capsules. Such capsules are made in such a way that their strength to combat stomach acids is enhanced, therefore, they will dissolve in small intestine. The dissolution timing for modified release capsules vary from 2 hours to 12 hours, depending upon the technique being used. The common example include enteric coated hard gel and softgel capsules.

7.How To Differentiate Between 6 Common Capsule Dosage Form?

After knowing the details above, you might be able to understand the 6 common capsule dosage form. However, for further clearing your thoughts, this question has been designed to mark the line of differentiation between these types. So, you can distinguish each capsule dosage form from other on several basis:

Abundant hard gelatin capsules- Picture Courtesy: contractpharma.com

Shell Structure

The most easy factor which can help you differ between the various capsule dosage form is knowing their shell structure. In addition, you can find the answer by checking whether it is hard gelatin capsule or soft gelatin capsule.

Releasing Properties

Another key aspect is to check the releasing properties or class of capsules. For instance, if the capsule dosage form dissolve instantly, then it comes under the category of immediate release capsules. In contrast, if the capsule take longer time to show effects, then it must have modified release capsules properties.

Outer Covering

You can also check the outer covering of capsules for their differentiation. For example, you need to find if the capsule is coated or uncoated. Similarly, the coated capsule dosage form will be enteric coated capsule and the uncoated one will be simple hard gel or softgel capsule.

Capsule Shape

Last but not least, capsule shape will definitely help you find out what capsule dosage form you are taking. It is easy, because hard gel capsules only cone in oblong shape, while as, softgel capsules are produced in various shapes encompassing round, oval, heart, fish, and oblong.

Conclusion

Finally, we are about to conclude our article on 6 Common Capsule Dosage Form: What Do You Know? We are glad to have helped you in knowing the eclectic capsule dosage form. They are all necessary for drug delivery and we often consume these capsule dosage form to fulfill our daily intake of vitamins, minerals and proteins and for treating certain disease. Therefore, it is important to have proper knowledge about these 6 common capsule dosage form, how they are made and differ from one another. So, if you are a keen learner, make sure to visit our website for relevant content!