Gelatin

Gelatin or gelatine (from Latin: gelatus meaning "stiff" or "frozen") is a translucent, colorless, flavorless food ingredient, commonly derived from collagen taken from animal body parts. It is brittle when dry and gummy when moist. It may also be referred to as hydrolyzed collagen, collagen hydrolysate, gelatine hydrolysate, hydrolyzed gelatine, and collagen peptides after it has undergone hydrolysis. It is commonly used as a gelling agent in food, beverages, medications, drug and vitamin capsules, photographic films and papers, and cosmetics.

Substances containing gelatin or functioning in a similar way are called gelatinous substances. Gelatin is an irreversibly hydrolyzed form of collagen, wherein the hydrolysis reduces protein fibrils into smaller peptides; depending on the physical and chemical methods of denaturation, the molecular weight of the peptides falls within a broad range. Gelatin is in gelatin desserts, most gummy candy and marshmallows, ice creams, dips, and yogurts. Gelatin for cooking comes as powder, granules, and sheets. Instant types can be added to the food as they are; others must soak in water beforehand.

Functional Category

Coating agent; film-forming agent; gelling agent; suspending agent;

tablet binder; viscosity-increasing agent.

Applications in Pharmaceutical Formulation or

Technology

Gelatin is widely used in a variety of pharmaceutical formulations, including its use as a biodegradable matrix material in an

implantable delivery system, although it is most frequently used to form either hard or soft gelatin capsules.

Gelatin capsules are unit-dosage forms designed mainly for oral administration. Soft capsules on the market also include those for rectal and vaginal administration. Hard capsules can be filled with solid (powders, granules, pellets, tablets, and mixtures thereof), semisolid and liquid fillings, whereas soft capsules are mainly filled with semisolid or liquid fillings. In hard capsules, the active drug is always incorporated into the filling, while in soft capsules the drug substance can also be incorporated into the thick soft capsule shell. Gelatin is soluble in warm water (>308C), and a gelatin capsule will initially swell and finally dissolve in gastric fluid to release its contents rapidly. Hard capsules are manufactured in two pieces by dipping lubricated stainless steel mold pins into a 45–558C gelatin solution

of defined viscosity, which depends on the size of the capsules and whether cap or body are to be formed. The gelatin is taken up by the pins as a result of gelation, and the resulting film thickness is governed by the viscosity of the solution. The capsule shells are passed through a stream of cool air to aid setting of the gelatin, and afterwards they are slowly dried with large volumes of humidity controlled air heated to a few degrees above ambient temperature and blown directly over the pins.

Description

Gelatin occurs as a light-amber to faintly yellow-colored, vitreous, brittle solid. It is practically odorless and tasteless, and is available as translucent sheets, flakes, and granules, or as a coarse powder.