Capsules used for dietary supplements can be made from different substances. The traditional choice has been gelatin capsules. These are usually made from gelatin which is a protein from animals and this is not suitable for all people, mainly vegetarians and vegans. Many people at one point began to switch to pure cellulose as capsule shells, which is a vegetable substance. But cellulose can cause stomach and intestinal problems because it is difficult to break down in the stomach.
They therefore developed capsules in the form of vegetable starch, also called HPMC (which stands for hydroxypropylmethylcellulose). It is clearly better, but it undergoes a chemical modification and can cause stomach problems for those who take several capsules at once.
Our customers contacted us with these problems and needed a solution. The solution: we started manufacturing our nutritional supplements and used the pullulan as the capsule shell.
Pullulan (Latin; plant sprout) is a pure natural product, completely vegetable, made by fermentation of either mushrooms or tapioca, a root used as a staple food in Latin America.
Närokällan mostly uses pullulan capsules made from tapioca for its dietary supplements, which is a substance that breaks down quickly in the stomach. Pullulan capsules have a strong air barrier and protect the contents from oxidative deterioration. It is superiorly stable under non-ideal conditions, resistant to changes in temperature and humidity and does not interact with the contents.
Benefits of pullulan capsules
The pullulan is free of allergens, preservatives, gluten, and is odorless and tasteless so that it does not affect the content. The capsules are clearly easier for the stomach to break down than cellulose and HPMC, and are a more sustainable alternative to gelatin as pullulan is vegan. In other words, these capsules are environmentally friendly, sustainable and biodegradable. They are an ideal alternative for those looking for vegan alternatives to animal-based gelatin capsules as well as hard-to-digest cellulose capsules.