HPMC stands for hydroxypropyl methylcellulose or hypromellose for short. HPMC is the material from which most supplement capsules are made. It is a clear, tasteless, vegetarian and vegan appropriate material. It is normally made by extraction from wood pulp.
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Of course, there are plenty of other materials that supplement capsules can be made from. HPMC is by far the most common, but bovine gelatine capsules are still used occasionally, or there are more unusual options, such as pullulan, which is made from a tapioca extract.
Once upon a time, almost all vitamin capsules were made from bovine gelatin. As vegetarianism and sustainability became more popular, market trends moved away from gelatin based capsules. Today most supplement products in the UK and European market would be made from HPMC. Bovine gelatin tends to only be used in very lost cost products, or products where it would not matter that it is not vegetarian, such as a collagen capsule.
G&G favors the use of HPMC capsules as they allow us to manufacture supplements without additives like magnesium stearate. Manufacturing tablets requires glue, binders, fillers, and coating. With an HPMC capsule you can fill it with just the active ingredient, and thus minimize the number of additional ingredients required.
HPMC is vegan and vegetarian friendly. Nobody really wants to swallow a capsule made from boiled cow bones if they have a choice, so gelatin capsules have become unpopular with educated consumers. HPMC has no natural taste, smell or colour, although many capsules will have colours added. Most people find HPMC easy to swallow. It also dissolves in the stomach quite quickly, often in just 5-10 minutes. Bovine gelatin capsules take longer to dissolve at more like 20 minutes. Tablets can take hours to dissolve completely. This makes HPMC capsules an ideal delivery method for most supplements, where we want the powdered vitamin or mineral content to arrive quickly and comfortably into the users stomach.
European law allows for the use of HPMC capsules in the manufacture of organic product, where exceptions are not made for other shell materials. HPMC is not as cheap to buy as gelatin capsules, but is relatively inexpensive.
The HPMC capsule itself is made from a wood source, so is often described as natural. Of course the contents of the capsules you buy may or may not be from a natural source, but the shell itself will be.
Where the HPMC capsule has been coated with a colour, the coating may well be synthetic. Titanium dioxide is commonly used to colour capsules, and this synthetic colourant has some associated health risks and warnings. It is possible to naturally colour capsules, but only in certain colours. Shades of green can be achieved with a coating of chlorophyll, and a purple capsule shell is available using a purple carrot extract.
To order your HPMC capsules contact G&G today.
Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose is obtained from various natural sources, mainly wood pulp and cotton linters. 1
Since , HPMC has been used as a gluten replacement for the manufacture of baked goods.3
HPMC can serve several functions in baked goods such as:1, 2
Stabilizer of emulsions and foams: critical for dough development during baking.
Thickener: increases viscosity by thickening the aqueous phase.
Fat-replacer: acts as a lubricant to help maintain creamy mouthfeel.
Gluten-substitute: most effectively when combined with carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) in baked goods.
Bulking agent
Coating agent: film and barrier formation for coating.
Binder
Water retention: extends shelf-life.
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Controls water balance during freezing and thawing.
HPMC is considered a non-fermentable soluble dietary fiber, thus providing several health benefits including reduction of total and low density lipoprotein cholesterol, reducing risk factors of type 2 diabetes and aiding intestinal movements.3
Using HPMC in gluten-free baked goods helps with diet management for patients with celiac disease.3
HPMC is manufactured following this process:1, 2
Alkalinization: wood pulp cellulose is treated with a 50 wt% sodium hydroxide solution in a reactor.
Etherification: addition of methyl chloride followed by propylene oxide to introduce methoxy and propylene glycol groups, respectively.
Neutralization: using hydrogen chloride solution.
Purification: HPMC is washed several times with hot water, and filtered.
Drying and sizing: the purified product is dried, ground to desirable particle size followed by packaging.
HPMC can be used in the manufacture of several baked products, fillings, foams and coatings. It is a great alternative for gluten substitution in gluten-free baked products in combination with CMC.
Some considerations when adding HPMC to food products include:1, 3
Solubilizing HPMC/CMC before addition for full performance.
Consider the water activity of the systems, 5-10% of water may be needed in some formulations.
HPMC should be added after proteins are activated.
HPMC accommodates high sugar levels, up to 50%.
Methods of incorporating of HPMC/CMC mixtures in food products:3
HPMC/CMC should be dispersed in one third of the required water.
Add the rest of HPMC/CMC with the dry ingredients to avoid lump formation.
Disperse the blend in the required oil and then add to the bakery mix.
HPMC is permitted for its direct addition to food products by the FDA.4
In the EU, HPMC (E 464) is considered safe when used for its intended purpose.5 Accepted HPMC types must have between 19 -30 % methyl and 3 -12% hydroxyprop(ox)yl groups content.
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