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The Empty Capsule is a drug form (or galenic form) used when the drug (or any other substance to be used by oral way) it contains, has a strong odor or an unpleasant taste that you wishes to mask. It's also used when the drug has a texture not easy to put in the form of tablet.

Normally, the active product must be a dry powder, because the gelatin disaggregates when in contact with water. It's possible to putliquids in a capsule, but only is included in an absorbing substate (aerosil for example), or right before swallowing the capsule (it is the case for essential oils). Therefore, the Gelatin Capsules or Empty Gelatin Capsules are widely used. Nevertheless, the capsules can be filled with oily liquids, but in industrial environment only. It's possible to hide in a capsule a smaller product as a compressed tablet or another smaller capsule, for example for clinical trials (known as in "double blind").

Composition

The traditional capsule consists of gelatin of ox or pig (this gelatin is obtained by partial hydrolysis of the collagen contained in the bones or the skin); the gelatin can be added with opacifying products (titanium dioxide for example) and with dyes. It can also be simply left transparent.

There is also vegetable capsules, containing modified cellulose (Hydroxypropylmethylcellullose, or "HPMC", or "Hypromellose") which had a certain success at the time of the "mad cow" epidemic (or "ESB|"). It should be noted that the traditional gelatin capsules from now on are guaranteed free from risks related to this disease. The vegetable capsules continue to be preferred for the "bio" products. Finally, there is also capsules made with fish gelatin.

Except that, there are other different kinds of capsules like Halal Capsule, Pearl Capsules, Color Capsule, Hpmc Capsules and Pullulan Capsules.

Size and weight

For the regular capsules, the various sizes go from "000" (largest) to 5 (smallest). There is also much larger capsules, for veterinary use, as well as "lengthened" capsules, or even capsules especially reserved for the clinical trials