Benefits of Capsules over Tablets

Capsules

are a kind of medication that is enclosed in an outer shell. Once the outer shell
breaks down in the digestive tract, it is absorbed into the bloodstream and metabolized like a
tablet While Tablets are the most common medication units made by compressing one or
more powdered ingredients and additives to form a hard, smooth-coated pill that breaks down
in the digestive tract.
This article was blogged on the basis of:

• Consumer Preference
• Digestion & Absorption
• Nutraceutical Dosage

Differences betweenTablets and Capsules

Capsules

•  Expensive
• Used for limited doses
• Act faster once disintegrated inside the body
• Easier to swallow
• Tasteless
• Convenient dosage form
• Non-split
• Less acidic to stomach
• More absorption
• Less dissolution time

Tablets

•  Inexpensive
• Used for high dosages
• Take longer to be absorbed in the body
• Difficult to swallow
• May be Bitter in Taste (Non-palatable)
• Difficult dosage form
• Split into two or more pieces
• More acidic to stomach
• Less absorption as compared to capsules
• More dissolution time

Do Consumers Prefer Taking Capsules or Tablets?

⁽¹⁾Capsugel, a capsule provider, has done a study completed by the Povlin Research Group in 1997 to look at the preferences among consumers for dosage forms of herbals and vitamins. A total of 400 herbal users and 300 vitamin users were interviewed. Relevant results were that:

• 74% of herbal users expressed a preference for two-piece capsules.
• Vitamin users preferred the two-piece capsule over a tablet by a 2-to-1 margin.
• Ease-of-swallowing was the dominant reason (66%) for preferring capsules over tablets.

⁽²⁾Capsugel performed two other studies to examine consumer preferences regarding dietary supplement and mediation delivery forms. The first study was conducted in 2002 and was followed by a duplicate study completed in 2009, which provided insight as changes in consumer habits. More than 750 consumers in 25 major U.S. markets were asked what they used, what they preferred, and what they were willing to pay more for. The findings were:

• While tablets are still a major solid oral dosage form used by consumers, capsules and liquid-filled gels are nearly as predominant.
• Consumer preference for liquid-filled gel coats and capsules has significantly exceeded the preference for tablets, a major change from 2002.
• Consumers still cite ease of swallowing as the most important attribute, with the speed of action and gentleness on the stomach increasing in importance.
• The top attribute, “easy to swallow,” is still closely linked to capsules.

Aside from Capsugel sponsored research, other studies have also been conducted revealing the following:

⁽³⁾A study examining solid dosage forms used in psychiatric practice in England found that capsules were consumed more consistently than tablets, and patients were more consistent in requesting continuation of medication and felt that capsules of the same medication had a greater positive effect.

⁽⁴⁾In a study evaluating the dosage form preferred for medication by 1,000 patients, results were 54% chose capsules, while only 13% preferred tablets.

⁽⁵⁾Another study with several hundred patients in Copenhagen hospitals found that 66% preferred capsules, while 22% preferred tablets.

Conclude that: The evidence clearly suggests that consumers prefer capsules over tablets.

Are Capsules More Easily Digested and Absorbed Than Tablets?

⁽⁶⁾Actually, if properly formulated they should both be roughly equal. This was demonstrated in one recent study where healthy male subjects consumed choline alfoscerate tablets and choline alfoscerate softgel capsules. The results were that both dosage forms had roughly the same level of absorption.

^{(7) (8)} Similar results were seen in a study in which tablets and capsules were used for medication. However, another study on a medication found that capsules had the best overall bioavailability compared to tablets.

⁽⁹⁾Yet another study on a combination of micro-nutrients showed contradictory results (depending upon the nutrient) for absorption between tablets and softgel capsules.

Conclude that: It seems that both tablets and capsules have good digestion and absorption. An exception, however, is with people who have impaired gastric pH conditions. For those people, capsules may be easier to digest.

How to Decide Whether an Ingredient Combination Goes into a Tablet or a Capsule?

If your ingredients are inert to the additives present in capsule coatings and are absorbed directly into the bloodstream, capsules are a good idea. Or, stick with tablets. The coatings present on some tablets don’t allow the tablet contents to disintegrate till it reaches the intestine. If your ingredient combination is supposed to be broken down in the intestine, stick with tablets.

Conclude that: Tablets have the advantage of being able to accommodate a larger overall dose of one or more nutraceuticals per pill than capsules.

Conclusion

• Consumers tend to prefer taking capsules over tablets.
• Both capsules and tablets have good digestion and absorption rates.
• Tablets can accommodate a larger overall dose per pill than capsules.

Frequently Asked Questions! 

Q1: Why is enteric coating more commonly used on tablets than capsules?

Ans: Because of the materials used during the enteric coating process, a hazy film or residue is apparent on the finished pill. When this coating is applied to capsules, it creates an unpleasant haze that you or your customers may find to be odd.

Q2: Why are some tablet products packaged in glass bottles?

Ans: Glass bottles are ideal for either marketing purposes or to serve as a protective barrier. In some cases, a plastic bottle can implode and ruin a product’s appearance.

Q3: Why do some tablets have a line down the middle?

Ans: The line you might find on some tablets is called a Score. The purpose of the score is to allow the tablet to be broken in half if the dosage calls for it. If your product does not have a score, you may want to advise your customers not to break the tablet in half without consulting with you, the brand, or their physician first. In some cases (i.e. the tablet is a slow release formula), breaking the tablet in half could be hazardous.

Q4: If capsules are so popular, why aren’t all pills in capsule form?

Ans: Space is typically the reason for this. Because there is a limited amount of space in a capsule, larger formulations sometimes are more practical in a tablet. Calcium is a perfect example of this.

Q5: Why do some capsules have such a strong odor?

Ans: Some ingredients used in your formulation make an unpleasant or strong odor unavoidable.  Make sure you speak to your contract supplement manufacturer about your formulation ahead of time if this is something that concerns you.

Q6: Why does capsule weight vary by product?

Ans: Certain ingredients have different densities, and by mixing these ingredients into a formula, it creates a unique capsule weight based on the finished blend density and what can fit into a capsule.

References

1. Povlin Study. United States 700 consumers; 1997
2. Study of Consumer Preferences: Sold Oral Dosage Forms. Capsugel; 2009: 16 pgs.
3. Hussain MZ. Effect of shape of medication in treatment of anxiety states. British Journal of Psychiatry. 1972;120(558):507-9.
4. Overgaard ABA, et al. Patients’ evaluation of shape, size and colour of solid dosage forms. Pharmacy World & Science; Oct. 2001;23(5):185-8.
5. Kaplan MR, et al. A preference study: calcium acetate tablets versus gelcaps in hemodialysis patients. Nephrology Nursing Journal. Jul 2002;4:636-5.
6. Min MH, et al. Formulation and bioequivalence studies of choline alfoscerate tablet comparing with soft gelatin capsule in healthy male volunteers. Drug Des Devel Ther. 2019 Apr 5;13:1049-1058.
7. Seng Yue C, et al. When Bioequivalence in Healthy Volunteers May not Translate to Bioequivalence in Patients: Differential Effects of Increased Gastric pH on the Pharmacokinetics of Levothyroxine Capsules and Tablets. J Pharm Pharm Sci. 2015;18(5):844-55.
8. Manitpisitkul P, et al. Bioavailability and Pharmacokinetics of TRPV1 Antagonist

Mavatrep (JNJ-39439335) Tablet and Capsule Formulations in Healthy Men: Two Open-Label, Crossover, Single-Dose Phase 1 Studies. Clin Pharmacol Drug Dev. 2018 Sep;7(7):699-711.

9. Johnson EJ, et al. Bioavailability of AREDS1 micronutrients from softgel capsules and tablets: a pilot study. Mol Vis. 2014 Sep 11;20:1228-42.
10. Seng Yue C, et al. When Bioequivalence in Healthy Volunteers May not Translate to Bioequivalence in Patients: Differential Effects of Increased Gastric pH on the Pharmacokinetics of Levothyroxine Capsules and Tablets. J Pharm Pharm Sci. 2015;18(5):844-55.
11. Courtesy By: http/nutrasciencelabs.com

Blog By: Dr. Asim