Gelatin is a natural excipient with excellent human biocompatibility and digestibility, and outstanding technological properties for encapsulation processes. Soft gelatin (softgel) capsules are commonly used for oily fills, including oxygen-sensitive omega-3 oils.
A key task for softgel capsules filled with omega-3 oils is control of lipid auto-oxidation, enzymatic oxidation and photo-oxidation processes to ensure acceptable fill stability during processing and storage. This is because lipid oxidation not only reduces the amount of actives in the fill, but also has negative effects on taste, appearance and shelf life. With softgel capsules, the oils are directly injected from a closed tank and encapsulated into the capsule in one step, at low temperature and without direct contact of the fill with air. Furthermore, gelatin as a protein in the capsule shell can act as a buffer to limit or stop lipid oxygenation of the fill.
Strategies for reducing lipid oxygenation in softgel capsule production include fill stabilization during processing via added antioxidants, and optimizing the manufacturing process and fill formulation/dosage form. GELITA offers a range of softgel capsule solutions with enhanced protection mechanisms for sensitive omega-3 oils. These include DELASOL®, which has true enteric performance and a one-step capsule production process, resulting in a delayed release of non-oxidized omega-3s after passing through the highly oxidative environment of the stomach, which leads to a significant dosage reduction in smaller capsules while ensuring optimal active nutritional ingredients reaching the gut. This can be hugely beneficial during omega-3 shortages, such as those experienced in recent years as a result of challenging fishing seasons. Manufacturers using DELASOL® can streamline production into a single step, reduce omega-3 dosage per capsule, and enjoy significant savings in terms of cost, time, and resources.