Medical gelatin that cares for your health
The importance of gelatin in pharmaceutical and medical applications has been proven in all researches and industries. Ever since the 1800s, gelatin has had a long and varied history in the medicinal and pharmaceutical industries. The advances in the manufacturing of gelatin as a medicinal product has undergone many, many phases. Today, gelatin is a common product used as an ingredient in varied number of pharmaceutical and medical applications around the world. Gelatin’s well-established track-record as a reliable and versatile product, makes it now an important ingredient in life-changing regenerative medicine. There is a wide spectrum of products that use gelatin as an ingredient component, and it plays a vital role in medical fields. For example, it is used to produce hydrogels that support cell growth.
As stated above, the history of gelatin in pharmaceutical and medical applications has undergone many advances over the past decades.
In the year 1834 the gelatin capsule was invented by a young French pharmacist, Francois Mothes. During this period of time, doctors found it extremely difficult to have their patients adhere to the medical protocols because of the very bad taste of liquid or powder medicines. Another problem doctors faced at the time was their inability to correctly measure the right dosage for each type of medicine. It was only due to the innovative research of Mothes that a method was developed to encapsulate the exact amount of dosage of each medicine into a thin coating of gelatin. The gelatin was made into molds of hot liquid which would pass through a cooling process in order for it to harden. The hard capsule would then be filled with the required amount of medicine, and then would be swallowed by the patient. Since gelatin had no taste or smell, it was easy for patients to swallow the capsules easily. Once the capsule was inside the patient’s body it would dissolve at body temperature releasing the active ingredient of the medicine without the patient feeling the sourness or bad taste of the medicine.
In following years, exactly in 1847, came the invention of the first two-piece gelatin hard capsule. This new type of capsule was invented by the English inventor James Murdock. While Mothes’ invention was the capsule that contained liquid medicine, Murdock’s new invention allowed doctors and pharmacists to use gelatin capsules to envelope powdered forms of medicine. As with Mothes’ invention, the new capsule developed by Murdock enabled patients to take the correct amount of powdered medicine, which was difficult to measure without capsules.
It was towards the end of the 19th Century that the United States of American became the world leader in the development of medicinal gelatin capsules. Between the years 1894 and 1897, the American pharmaceutical company, Eli Lilly, established their first capsule-manufacturing factory which was famous for its production of high-quality two-piece, self-locking hard capsules.
In 1930 came the following important invention in the use of medicinal gelatin. Robert Schere, a famous pharmacist and researcher, developed a new machine that made it possible to automatically and continuously fill the soft gelatin capsules with medicine. This allowed for mass production of the gelatin capsules. The soft capsules were referred to as ‘softgels’. Today’s medicinal and pharmaceutical industries widely use hard and soft gelatin capsules.
In 1915, a completely new innovative invention was introduced. Dr. James Logan was successful in administering a gelatin-based plasma substitute. Plasma substitutes are a colloidal solution used to replace blood volume and restore blood pressure during medical operations and surgeries.
It was only during the years 1940 to 1952 that Logan’s invention of gelatin-based plasma substitutes became well-known and in wide use. Clinical research and experiments proved that gelatin was a much more effective plasma substitute and much safer than other solutions. In 1952 a new generation of chemically modified medical gelatin was invented; referred to as succinylated gelatin.
This new scientific development of medical gelatin (sucinylated gelatin) enabled scientists, physicians and researchers to create a finely tuned gelatin that was high in molecular weight and low in viscosity, making the new product ideal for plasma substitutes. This opened the door to research and development in this area which is today is of major importance in the medicinal and pharmaceutical fields.
Another major and important usage of gelatin in medical fields is the gelatin-based hemostats. Hemostat is the biological process for stopping and preventing bleeding, it is a medical device that is used by doctors and surgeons during and after operations to stop bleeding and enable after-surgery healing.
The first gelatin-based hemostat was developed in the year 1940. Prior to this development, patients were always under the risk of infection and delay in healing due to the usage of other types of hemostats. Gelatin-based hemostat was an ideal invention because of its purity and safety measures, in addition to its functionality and excellent physical properties. Until today, the gelatin-based hemostats are considered a standard set of all surgeon’s equipment and tools.
The different uses of gelatin in the medical and pharmaceutical industries are diverse. It is used as an active substance in the production of hard and soft capsules. It has many features that make it the best choice for such fields. Its production cost is low, the method of production is not complex, and in general its pharmaceutical properties are safe and clean. Gelatin-based capsules also help protect the sensitive medical substance from oxygen, light and other forms of contamination.
Additionally, pharmaceutical gelatin is considered a natural ingredient in accordance with the ISO technical specification. Gelatin is also used as a medical tablet binder.
The usage of gelatin is also known in the fields of medical vaccinations. It is used to stabilize some vaccines because of its many benefits. For example, it helps keep the medical component of the vaccine stable, it reduces the side effects that could be encountered, and it ensures the patient’s safety.
In addition to the benefits of gelatin in the above mentioned medical and pharmaceutical fields, gelatin is used in many medical devices. For instance, we have discussed above the gelatin-based hemostats. As mentioned earlier, hemostat is the biological process for stopping and preventing bleeding, it is the medical device that is used by surgeons during and after surgeries to enable the healing process and to minimize blood loss during surgeries. Gelatin-based hemostats are made from collagen and come in the form of sponges, strips and powder.
In summary, it is important to note that over the centuries, gelatin has played a vital role in the medical and pharmaceutical industry. It is also important to note that over the decades, gelatin’s role in medicine has helped save lives of people around the world. Medical advances and research and development of gelatin-based medical supplies and tools has progressed tremendously over the years.
At El Amin gelatin factories, we manufacture the highest qualities of gelatin that is exported to all countries around the world. Our products are manufactured to the highest international standards.
El Amin factories produce the type of gelatin that used in the food industry, as well as the type of gelatin used in the pharmaceutical and medical industries. The difference between the two types is that gelatin used in the food industry contains protein, salts and minerals, which are necessary material for human consumption. The type of gelatin produced for pharmaceutical usages includes the removal of protein, salt and minerals. El Amin factories in Egypt have the necessary high-tech equipment required for the removal of protein and salts from gelatin, thus necessary for the production of pharmaceutical gelatin.
Gelatin produced at El Amin factories are exported to global markets to be used in the food industry as well as the medical and pharmaceutical industry. We are also proud to supply our high-quality gelatin to local pharmaceutical companies for the production of the different medical products, mainly hard and soft capsules and other related medical requirements and products.
It is also important to note that El Amin gelatin is produced according to the highest and strictest quality standards. On a local level, the quality of El Amin gelatin products is monitored and checked both by the Ministry of Health and the Veterinary Authority. Additionally, El Amin factories are ISO 20000 and ISO 18000 certified. This, of course, is in addition to the Halal certification by Al Azhar.
Additionally, there are always period control checks by the Ministry of Health and the Veterinary Authority. This is to ensure that the production cycle is always according to the highest levels and standards. El Amin factories also have internal quality control checks and microbiology labs to ensure the production process is always monitored and controlled during all phases of production, as well as after the final product is ready.
Finally, certification is obtained when the gelatin products are exported outside the country. This ensures that El Amin gelatin is according to international standards of the importing countries.
At El Amin factories for gelatin, we are proud of our history and heritage, and look forward to future advances that make our gelatin products one of the best products in the world