According to the different sources of plants, there are mainly the following types of plant capsules:
Starch capsule: Starch vegetable capsule is a new type of capsule that uses natural plant starch as the main raw material and does not use animal-derived ingredients. Starch plants are collected, washed, pressed and purified to obtain plant starch. The main plant sources are cassava, corn, potatoes, etc. Tapioca starch is mainly amylopectin, its water content is similar to that of gelatin, and it has good water resistance and oxygen barrier rate. Provides good protection for both powder and liquid products, just like gelatin.
Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose capsule: This is a vegetable source capsule. The water content of the hollow capsule is 4-6%, and can reach 3% with special requirements. The water content is low, not easy to become brittle, good toughness, and good chemical stability. It can ensure that the active ingredients of the content do not decrease during storage. The main plant sources are cotton, bark, etc. The vegetarian capsule has a unique anti-acid polymer property, which can resist the decomposition of gastric acid. It begins to decompose 20 minutes after leaving the acidic environment and reaching the intestinal environment with a pH of 5.8. It is therefore more suitable for carrying probiotics, enzymes and many other sports nutrients.
In addition, alginate mainly includes sodium alginate, carrageenan, pullulan and other types. Among them, sodium alginate is a polysaccharide carbohydrate extracted from kelp or horsetail of brown algae, which is a derivative of alginic acid; carrageenan is a polysaccharide extracted from marine red algae; pullulan is α-1 ,6-glycosidic bond combined with maltose to form a high-molecular polysaccharide dominated by homopolysaccharides. These polysaccharide-derived capsules have high surface finish, good gel properties and compounding properties, and can be used alone as a soft capsule shell material, or can be compounded with starch or other edible gums to prepare soft capsules. It is currently recognized as a new material for ideal plant soft capsules.
In the future, vegetable capsules will compete with gelatin capsules. Compared with the mature animal-derived capsule technology, domestic research on vegetable capsules is not deep enough and has not been widely recognized by the market. In addition, the cost of vegetable capsules is still relatively high, so the market share of domestic vegetable capsules is only about 1%, and there is still a lot of room for improvement. Gelatin capsules are prone to cross-linking reaction with the contents, are sensitive to temperature and humidity, and have low stability. And plant-based capsules play a role of maximizing strengths and circumventing weaknesses. It can use no additives, helping to further strengthen its appeal to organic food and clean label core consumers, while attracting more consumers in an increasingly aging and nutritious market. - especially those consumers looking for vegan products.
tljn.com 
