Why do capsules come in various colors?

Many patients have such doubts when taking medicine: Why do medicines have various colors? This is not just for good looks, but also has a great effect on preservation and treatment.

① Shading to avoid deterioration. Pigments have more or less shading effect. Colorants and shading agents are often added to capsules to prevent light from passing through, stabilize the ingredients in the content, and improve the stability of light-sensitive active ingredients. For example, if the quinolone drugs ciprofloxacin, the pyridine antihypertensive drugs nifedipine, and nimodipine are not stored in the dark, they will cause the active ingredients to decompose when exposed to light and reduce the efficacy of the drug. The pigment on the tablet sugar coating can also play a role in shading, thus avoiding the deterioration of the medicine.

② Color to distinguish medicines. For example, many patients, especially chronic and elderly patients, may need to take multiple drugs at the same time. Different colors also help patients distinguish different medicines and avoid missed or mistakenly taken.

③ Beautiful and attractive to children. The various colors of pills and capsules help to reduce children’s fear of taking medicine. For example, some preparations for children are light yellow, orange and other colors, and even have small animal patterns, making it more like a candy. This will increase the attractiveness of the drug to children and increase the compliance of children with medication. Although the colorful pills are beautiful, they should be kept out of children's reach to prevent them from taking them as candy and mistakenly taking them.

④Discoloration indicates deterioration. According to the change in the color of the medicine, it also helps to determine whether the medicine has expired. For example, if the bright color becomes light or discolored, it may indicate that the medicine has deteriorated. You should stop using it and consult a doctor or pharmacist. In addition, if the medicine itself is yellow, such as Xinxibao brand zinc-selenium treasure tablets, the color changes from yellow to dark, and it should be suspected whether it has expired or is left in the air for too long and should not be taken anymore. Some medicines are transparent. Even if the color does not change significantly, but it is no longer transparent, it is best not to take it.

Some people worry that the pigments used for coloring medicines will have an impact on the body. Under normal circumstances, the pigments added in medicines are divided into two categories: natural pigments and artificial synthetic pigments. Commonly used natural pigments include caramel, chlorophyll, carotene (for example: selenium vitamin chewable tablets), beet red and iron oxide, etc. ; Synthetic pigments will be approved as coloring materials for pharmaceuticals only after rigorous safety tests and prove that they have no obvious toxic effects on the human body, and have little effect on the body.

Wecaps is globally recognized manufacturer of empty hard capsules. We cater to customers from the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and dietary supplement industries across 40+ markets. We produce Gelatin Capsules, Vegetarian Capsules, and Safety Capsules, in wide range of sizes, and customized colors.

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