PATENTED TECHNOLOGY IN SOFT GELATIN CAPSULE: A REVIEW

Abstract

Since the introduction of Soft Capsule Making Machine in the 1970s, formulations have continually become more popular
with rapid developments in recent years. Soft Gelatin Capsules (Softgel) were developed in the 19th century to mask
unpleasant taste and odour of drug substances. After then, many improvements have been made with respect to the
production of these soft capsules. In the pharmaceutical field, the softgel dosage forms are increasingly being preferred.
Technologically with Softgel, content uniformity of low-dose drugs has been achieved and also has consumer preference
as is easy to swallow. Interesting advances have recently been made in the area of developing liquid and semi-solid
formulations in a soft gelatin capsule to address particular bio-performance issues. The Softgel dosage form therefore
offers several advantages over other oral dosage forms, such as delivering a liquid matrix designed to solubilize rapidly.
This improves the oral bioavailability of poorly soluble compounds. Delivery of low and ultra-low doses of a compound
using softgel also ensures decreased plasma variability. However, due to the dynamic nature of the softgel dosage form,
its development and shelf-life stability optimization are fraught with several challenges. This has led to the commercial
pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries opting for the development of alternative shell forming materials instead of
the traditional capsule shell material gelatin. This review discusses establishment and the on-going development of the
manufacturing technology for liquid fill capsules with focus on progress and challenges of soft gelatin capsules
formulation in oral administration for improved solubility and as an absorption-enhancing technique. This considerations
form a basis for new applications in oral drug delivery.