The present invention relates to flavored softgel capsules and methods of manufacturing them.
Soft gel capsules have two principal components: a fill of a medicament, vitamin, or other dietary and nutritional supplement or the like; and a gelatin shell encapsulating the fill. In softgel capsules where the fill is not tasteful (e.g., if the fill is fish oil), the fill may be flavored to mask the taste of the fill.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of making a flavored softgel. The method preferably comprises forming a gelatin sheet (aka “ribbon”) and applying a flavored composition to at least a portion of the gelatin sheet. The resulting sheets are then used to encapsulate a fill.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for applying a flavored composition to sheets of gelatin. The apparatus includes a mechanism for generating sheets of gelatin, a vessel for holding the flavored composition, a roller mechanism having perforations associated therewith, the roller mechanism being adjacent to the sheets of gelatin; and a pump mechanism for delivering the flavored composition from the vessel to the roller mechanism.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for applying a flavored composition to sheets of gelatin. The apparatus includes a vessel for the flavored composition, a sprayer for the flavored composition, and a pump for delivering the flavored composition from the vessel, through the sprayer, and onto the sheets of gelatin.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of making a softgel, comprising the steps of drying softgel capsules and polishing softgel capsules. A flavored composition may be added to the step of drying and/or the step of polishing the capsules.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of making a softgel comprising the step of applying a flavored composition to a capsule after a fill is encapsulated. The flavored composition may be applied as the capsule is dried and/or as the capsule is polished.
The invention may be more readily understood by referring to the accompanying drawings in which:
Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
As shown in the drawings, for purposes of illustration, the invention is embodied in a flavored capsule and a method of making a flavored capsule.
As shown in
In a preferred embodiment, the gelatin shell 110 is prepared from a gel mass (not shown) including a flavoring such as a citrus flavoring. The gel mass includes gelatin; however, other film formers well-known in the art, such as non-animal films, may also be used.
The flavoring may be any water-soluble and/or oil-soluble flavoring as is known in the art, or a mixture thereof. Examples of flavorings include the following: lemon; strawberry; orange; grape; pineapple; berry; cinnamon; wintergreen; spearmint; any source of diacetyl, isoamyl acetate, cinnamic aldehyde, ethyl propionate, limonene, allyl hexanoate, ethyl maltol, methyl salicylate, and/or benzaldehyde; citric acid; tartaric acid; amaretto flavor; apple flavor; apricot flavor; bubble gum flavor; butter flavor; caramel flavor; coffee flavor; chocolate flavor; hazelnut flavor; lemon oil; licorice flavor; lime oil; tropical punch flavor; watermelon flavor; maple flavor; or mixtures thereof.
If, for example, a water-soluble flavoring is used, an emulsifier may be added to the lubrication oil (or any other carrier) in the flavored composition. Examples of emulsifiers include, without limitation, the following: glycerin fatty acid esters, acetic acid esters of monoglycerides, lactic acid esters of monoglycerides, citric acid esters of monoglycerides, succinic acid esters of monoglycerides, diacetyl tartaric acid esters of monoglycerides, polyglycerol esters of fatty acids, polyglycerol polyricinoleate, sorbitan esters of fatty acids, propylene glycol esters of fatty acids, sucrose esters of fatty acids, lecithin, and/or enzyme digested lecithin, or the like. The gel mass may be prepared by ways well known in the art. Typically, the gel mass employs from about 1% to about 6% by weight of the flavoring. However, the gel mass may employ more or less flavoring without departing from the scope of the present invention.
In accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention, at step 245, a flavoring is added to a lubricant oil, thereby forming a flavored composition. The flavored composition is applied, coated, or sprayed onto, to at least a portion of at least one sheet of gelatin in step 250. An apparatus for coating at least a portion of at least one sheet of gelatin with the flavored composition is described in
In another embodiment, apparatus 300 may include any other number of mechanisms for generating sheets of gelatin, vessels, pump mechanisms, and/or roller mechanisms, without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, in one embodiment, apparatus 300 may omit roller mechanism 320, and the flavored composition may be applied by spraying it onto the sheets of gelatin. Apparatus 300 may omit roller mechanism 320a or 320b and only apply the flavored composition to the top or the bottom (but not both) of the sheets of gelatin. As shown in
The vessel 310 preferably holds the flavored composition (not shown). The flavored composition may be a flavored oil composition or a flavored water-based composition. For example, the flavored composition may comprise a food-grade lubricant such as mineral oil or Miglyol (fractionated coconut oil/medium-chain triglycerides, available from Hulls America) and oil-soluble or water-soluble flavoring. The vessel 310 is connected to pump mechanism 330 by conduits 302a and 302b. Each of the conduits 302a and 302b carries the flavored composition from the vessel 310 to the pump mechanism 330. The pump mechanism 330 delivers the flavored composition from the vessel 310 to the roller mechanism 320. Preferably, the pump mechanism 330 delivers the flavored composition at a rate of speed sufficient to provide lubrication and flavoring to the gelatin sheets. Preferably, conduit 302a delivers the flavored composition to roller mechanism 320b, and conduit 302b delivers the flavored composition to roller mechanism 320a. Preferably, the roller mechanism 320 is adjacent to one or more sheets, or ribbons, of gelatin 340. Preferably, the roller mechanism 320 has perforations (not shown in
Two embodiments of the roller mechanism 320 for use with the apparatus 300 of the present invention are described as follows. However, as one skilled in the art would appreciate, the invention is not limited to the roller mechanisms 320 described below, and may be used with any mechanism for applying and/or coating material to gelatin sheets. In addition, apparatus 300 is not limited to the use of one embodiment of the roller mechanism described herein. As such, both embodiments may be included in the apparatus 300, without departing from the scope of the present invention.
In one preferred embodiment, and as shown in
In this embodiment, the pump mechanism 330 (shown in
In another preferred embodiment, as shown in
Referring now to
Water from the gelatin evaporates as the capsules are dried and/or polished in step 280, as is well-known in the art and as is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0292217, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.
In an embodiment of the invention, the flavored composition may be applied to/brushed onto the capsules in step 280. The flavored composition may be added to the drying and/or polishing step, depending on the type of drying system used. Preferably, the flavored composition is applied to the capsules via lint-free towels or towels substantially free of lint. In another embodiment, the flavored composition may be applied to/brushed onto the capsules in the drying and/or polishing step by any means known in the art.
In one embodiment of the invention, the capsules may be dried in step 280 through a conventional capsule drying system. The capsule drying system may include a sequential series of drying tumbler baskets that are located in a controlled environment conducive to drying the soft gelatin capsules. The freshly-formed capsules enter a tumbler basket. The tumbler rotates continuously to provide air-flow over the capsule bed, thus promoting moisture removal from the capsule's gel shell. Preferably, lint-free or substantially lint-free towels are introduced to the tumblers to apply/brush the flavored composition onto the capsules. The flavored composition may thereby bleed through the matrix of the gelatin shell of the capsules. In another embodiment, the capsules may be dried by passing them through a secession of rotating drums and placing them onto trays placed in environmentally controlled rooms to continue the drying process. Towels including the flavored composition may be added to the rotating drums, thereby applying/brushing the flavored composition to the capsules as they come into contact with them.
In another embodiment, steps 250 and 260 may be performed simultaneously. For example, as the sheets of gelatin are pressed, the flavored composition may be applied to at least a portion of at least one of the sheets of gelatin. In addition, the flavoring in each of step 220 and step 245 may be the same or different. The amount of the flavoring added in step 220 may be the same as the amount of flavoring applied in step 245, or may be different. More than one type of flavoring may be added in each of step 220 and step 245. In an alternate embodiment, step 220 may be omitted, without departing from the scope of the present invention. In yet another embodiment, steps 220 and 250 may be omitted, and the flavored composition may be added in step 280 only.
In another embodiment, step 245 may be modified. The flavoring may be directly added to at least a portion of one of the sheets of gelatin, without being added to the lubricant oil first. As such, the flavoring may be oil-soluble or may be water-soluble. If water-soluble, an emulsifier may be mixed with the flavoring. Likewise, the lubricant oil may be omitted, without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Preferably, the concentration of flavoring in the gelatin shell 110 is greater than the concentration of flavoring in the gel mass used to make the gelatin shell 110. As such, the final concentration of flavoring in the shell of the softgel is greater than it would be if the flavored composition were not applied to the gelatin sheets.
Preferably, the flavored composition includes a flavoring and a carrier such as oil or water. In a preferred embodiment, the concentration of flavoring in the flavored composition is from about 2% by weight to about 40% by weight of the composition, with the remainder being a carrier such as oil or water. If oil is used, mineral oil or migli oil (medium chain triglycerides) are preferred. In a more preferred embodiment, the concentration of flavoring in the flavored composition is from about 5% by weight to about 35% by weight of the composition, with the remainder being a carrier such as oil or water. In a highly preferred embodiment, the concentration of flavoring in the flavored composition is about 25% by weight of the composition, with the remainder being a carrier such as oil or water. In one aspect of this highly preferred embodiment, the concentration of flavoring is about 25% by weight, and the concentration of mineral oil, or other carrier, is about 75% by weight. However, the concentration of flavoring in the flavored composition may be more or less than the foregoing, without departing from the scope of the present invention.
To further illustrate the present invention, it should be appreciated that by employing the process of the present invention using the flavored composition, the concentration of the flavoring in the final gelatin shell is higher than if the gel mass were processed without using the flavored composition and solely relying upon the flavoring added to the gel mass and/or fill. Preferably the concentration of flavoring in the gelatin shell is increased by 15% by the present invention, more preferably by at least 30%, and even more preferably by at least 40%, compared to adding the flavoring in the gel mass/fill alone. In addition, the present invention improves the odor and taste of the capsule.
The embodiments described above are exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art may now make numerous uses of, and departures from, the above-described embodiments without departing from the inventive concepts disclosed herein. Accordingly, the present invention is to be defined solely by the scope of the following claims.