In the last few years, the skyrocketing growth of the natural health care market has helped cultivate a demand for the materials that are needed to produce custom dietary supplements: empty capsules, capsule filling machines, and raw vitamins and herbs. From these simple materials, even people without a background in natural health or pharmaceuticals can produce their own supplements quickly, easily, and without any hassle. Turning empty capsules in complete vitamin packages is a simple way to fortify your daily diet.

The Two Most Common Types of Empty Capsules

Gelatin, which is made from animal collagen, is the main ingredient in many types of pharmaceutical capsules. Long thought to contain concentrated doses of protein, gelatin is actually strong in amino acids, which are the building blocks of all proteins. The collagen in gelatin may promote joint growth and flexibility, as well, though some nutritionists dispute this claim.

An alternative to gelatin capsules, for people who wish to avoid animal products, is vegetarian capsules. Sometimes called VG capsules, vegetarian capsules are made from agar, a type of East Asian seaweed (called kanten in Japanese). Though agar doesn't contain the same amino acids as gelatin, it also doesn't contain animal collagen, which some people are allergic to (especially bovine collagen, which is a relatively common allergen).

Important Properties of Gelatin and Agar

There are a few shared properties of both gelatin and agar that make it ideal for the production of empty capsules. Firstly, both gelatin and agar are solid when cooled to room temperature, but easily dissolve or liquefy when placed in warm liquid (or stomach acids). This makes them incredibly easy to digest, even for pets and people with weak stomach acids.

Secondly, both are colorless, odorless, and have little or no taste of their own. In solid capsule form, both gelatin and agar can mask the pungency that some herbs have--eliminating the taste of even the harshest compounds. If cooked correctly, gelatin and agar can also absorb the taste and color of other materials, making them perfect for use as a solidifying agent in thick soups and desserts.

Producing Custom Supplements from Empty Capsules

Many people use personal capsule filling machines to help them turn empty capsules into filled, finished products. Personal capsules machines, like their professional counterparts, are relatively simple machines that allow users to fill multiple empty capsules simultaneously. They do so by holding a batch of empty capsules open for filling, then allowing users to quickly seal the filled capsules without any danger of spilling them.

Most capsule filling machines have, as their central component, a flat, perforated fill tray. They fill tray holds the capsules upright, with their upper, open edge flush to the top of the tray. By simply pouring a quantity of the dietary supplement mixture on the tray and sweeping it into the empty capsules, users can quickly fill between 50 to 200 capsules (depending on the machine). On many machines, a reservoir is attached to the fill tray to catch any excess contents that may spill over the edge of the tray.

When used correctly, home capsule filling machines allow people to turn thousands of empty capsules into individual dosages of custom dietary supplements every hour. The number of capsules that can be filled depends on the filling machine--the simplest personal filling machines claim upwards of 2,000 capsules per hour, while slightly more expensive machines can fill nearly 8,000 capsules every hour. Professional-grade filling machines may also contain other capsule filling equipment, such as analytical scales, capsule orienting devices, or computerized dispensing tools that mechanically fill the empty capsules.