Gelatin is a translucent, colorless, brittle (when dry) and flavorless solid substance which is derived from the collagen. Mainly inside cow skin (hide) and bones. It is commonly used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceuticals, photography, and cosmetic manufacturing.
Substances containing Gelatin or functioning in a similar way are called Gelatinous. Gelatin is an irreversibly hydrolyzed form of collagen. Gelatine is extracted from fresh cow skin/bone or pig skin/bone or fish skin. Gelatin & Collagen are used in wide industrial applications.
Gelatin is extracted from animal skin or bone. As per its usage, there are various types as below.
- Pharmaceutical grade
- Food grade & edible gelatin
- Industrial & technical gelatin
According to the origin, there are various types as below.
- Fish
- Bovine & beef
- Pork gelatin
According to its shape, there are various types as below.
Gelatin powder, Gelatin sheet and gelatin granule.
1) Food Grade and Edible Gelatin
Food grade gelatin can be used in confectionery, jellies, desserts, dairy products and functional food. Its functionalities include firming agent, formulation and processing aid, stabilizer and thickener, surface-active agent, and water finishing agent.
Gelatin plays an important role in many different foods. In bakery products it has a unique function, helping to sustain sugar’s crystal-like shape and to stabilize the liquid phase of various bakery products like icing, cream fillings, glazes and marshmallows.
It is used with mousses and whipped toppings for its whipping and stabilizing
functions. It is used in canned foods like hams in order to conseal the juices that get extruded during the processing stage.
Gelatin for Wine and Juice Finning
By acting as a coagulant, gelatin can be used to precipitate impurities during the manufacture of wine, beer, cider and juices. It has the advantages of unlimited shelf life in its dry form, ease of handling, rapid preparation and brilliant clarification.
Rack the wine within 1–2 weeks. Gelatin derived from animal tissues, is a good fining agent for red wines because of its affinity for binding with phenol in precipitating suspended particles and for reducing tannin content.
Meat & Fish Edible Gelatin
Gelatin is used to gel aspics, head cheese, souse, chicken rolls, glazed and canned hams, and jellied meat products of all kinds. The gelatin functions to absorb meat juices and to give form and structure to products that would otherwise fall apart.
Normal usage level ranges from 1 to 5% depending upon the type of meat, amount of broth, gelatin Bloom, and texture desired in the final product.
2) Pharmaceutical Grade Gelatin
Gelatin is used in various pharmaceutical products. Hard capsules, soft capsules or tablets. Also used in more special applications as dietary/health supplements, syrups and so on.
Gelatin is used to make the shells of hard and soft capsule. It is highly digestible and serves as a natural protective coating for medicines.
Gelatin for Soft Capsule
Gelatin specifications:(Bloom) 120, 150, 160, 180, 200, 220, 240.
This applies its pharmaceutical methodology to all gelatines used for soft gelatin capsules, whether they are for pharmaceutical, nutritional, cosmetics or paint-ball use.
We consider their application equally demanding and carefully select out gelatines to provides a consistent repeatability.
Gelatin for hard capsule
Gelatin specifications:(Bloom) 180, 200, 220, 240, 260.
Hard capsules gelatin provides a strong and flexible file for tamper-evident form. These gelatines have been developed to meet stringent parameters.
Along with excellent disintegration and gliding properties, highest microbiological standards are also required.
Use Gelatin coating pharma tablets
Gelatin specifications:(Bloom) 120, 130, 150 and above.
Gelatin is a natural binding, coating and disintegration agent that meets the
requirements of those consumers concerned about the use of chemically modified ingredients.
It gives tablets lustrous appearance and a pleasant mouth feel. Many solid pharmaceutical dosage mediums are produced with coatings, either on the
external surface of tablets, or on materials dispensed within gelatin capsules.
Coating serves several purposes:
- Protects the tablet (or the capsule contents) from stomach acids
- The stomach lining is protected from aggressive drugs such as enteric coated aspirin
- Provides a delayed release of the medication
- Helps maintain the shape of the tablet
Ideally, the tablet should release the material gradually and the drug should be
available for digestion beyond the stomach. The coating can be specially formulated to regulate how fast the tablet dissolves and where the active drugs are to be absorbed into the body after ingestion.
Many factors can affect the end-use properties of pharmaceutical tablets:
- Chemical composition
- Coating process
- Drying time
- Storage and environmental monitoring
3) Industrial Grade Gelatin & Technical Gelatin
Industrial Gelatin often used for making fodder, quality abrasive paper of gauze, polished cloth, black glue, rubber packing, handicraft adhesive card, wooden furniture, data plate sign, light at leather, can dye and knit sizing, smelting and plating the liquid, making up styling gel. Its viscosity is very important and even acts as the crucial parameter.
Paintball
Paintball is very popular sport all over the world; paintballs are the ammunition used in the paintball gun. Gelatin is one of main material in producing paintball; the dosage of gelatin is 40-45%. The gelatines applied in paintball are to lower the force of its impact. The gelatin is formulated in a way that it establishes the optimal balance between elasticity and brittleness. This enable the paintballs to break open on impact and not break when initially fired. Paintball burst open when they hit someone without causing any tissue damage beyond mild bruising.
The quality of paintball is dependent on the brittleness of the ball’s shell, the
roundness of the sphere, and the thickness of the fill.
Higher quality balls are almost perfectly spherical with a very thin shell to guarantee breaking upon impact. They have thick, brightly colored fill that is difficult to hide or wipe off during the game.
Match Sticks
Gelatin is used in match sticks because of the foaming capability of colloid. it can also provide the pores needed for instant ignition.
Adhesive Agent
Gelatin has high strength, elasticity and tenacity hence it is used as adhesive agent.
Electrolysis
Gelatin is added into electrolyte to help produce smooth and compact deposits on cathode
Textile
Gelatin can form a film on yarn to increase the tenacity, strength, smoothness and elasticity of fibre to prevent rupturing
Abrasive Industry
Gelatin is used in manufacturing emery cloth and emery paper.
Photosensitive Material
Mainly used in production of Photosensitive material. Photographic gelatin or photographic adhesive can be widely used in producing various kinds of film, roll film, medical X-ray film, Photographic paper and other photo sensitive material.
HYDROLYZED BOVINE & FISH COLLAGEN
Collagen is hydrolysate product to function better in the digestion and absorption process. With its low molecular weight, the absorption in the small intestine is superior to other collagen products. which leads to a more efficient collagen synthesis in different parts of the body.
Other name used to describe is protein concentrate or hydrolyzed gelatin. Gelatin & Collagen are closely related which many people dont know.
It is extracted from beef, pig, fish or Chicken. It is white or light yellow powder.
Its protein content is above 95%, having 18 kinds amino acids, 7 kinds of which are essential for people.
Functions of Collagen
Collagen are widely used in cosmetic field.
- Improve skin moisturizing effect.
- Make the skin capillaries, temperature to rise.
- Adjust skin surface oil into the appropriate amount.
- Make skin more closely with the organization.
- Make the skin surface smooth.
- The skin wrinkles are due to the true cortex collagen ageing, so collagen protein not only removes wrinkles but also moisturizes.
Collagen is the most abundant protein in your body – it gives your skin strength and elasticity. Referred to as the ‘youth protein’, collagen accelerates the turnover of skin cells and provides support to the structure of your skin.
Maximizing the collagen in your skin will keep it smooth, plump, and wrinkle-free. Collagen masks are designed to boost your skin’s collagen content and slow down collagen degradation.
It is essential for the health and appearance of your skin. This protein is as well necessary to reduce the typical signs of aging.
Collagen is an important building block for elasticity, and its ability to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. This protein is necessary to make skin firm as well even out your skin tone.
Collagen improves joint, tissue health and also keeps your skin flawless. While the aging process cannot be avoided, you can improve your health and have flawless skin by adding collagen supplements to your routine.