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Tablets & Capsules April 2020 27 fish oil attenuates muscle stiffness after eccentric contractions of human elbow flexors," Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, Vol. 16, No. 1, pages 19-23. 4. A. Hirose, M. Terauchi, Y. Osaka, M. Akiyoshi, K. Kato, and N. Miyasaka, "Effect of soy lecithin on fatigue and menopausal symptoms in middle-aged women: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study," Nutrition Journal, Vol. 17, No. 1, pages 4-12. Wenming Zeng, PhD, is a senior for- mulator of research and development, Denise Doerflein Fulk is manager of research and development, Lana L. Woshnak is division vice-president of research and development, and Susan Hazels Mitmesser, PhD, is vice-president of science and technology at Pharmavite, Valencia, CA (818 602 0159, www.pharmavite.com). The authors thank Mike Naddell for completing all the cleaning trials and Dr. Dan Wang, Dr. Rodney D. Schluter, Dr. Tian Hao, and Christy Kadharmestan for evaluating all the samples. MCTs are triglycerides whose fatty acids have an aliphatic tail of 6 to 12 carbon atoms [2]. Like all triglycerides, MCTs are composed of a glycerol backbone and three fatty acids, as shown in Figure 2. The fatty acids found in MCTs are medium-chain fatty acids. MCT oil is a polar solvent, meaning that its molecules have a slight electrical charge due to their structure. Fish oil, which is abundant in docosahex- aenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapen- taenoic acid (EPA) [3] (Figure 3), is also a polar liquid. The fill in this study contained fish oil, vitamins, and minerals. Fish oil and vitamins are polar molecules, while minerals are ionic compounds. Because MCT oil is a solvent with similar polar properties, it can dissolve and clean all the fill materials from the capsule surface. Mineral oil, on the other hand, is a hydrophobic, non-polar solvent, so it cannot completely clean all of these materials, leaving the softgels with a dull surface appearance. Now let's look at why adding lecithin to the mineral oil or MCT oil didn't help to remove residue from the softgels. Lecithin is a phospholipid that consists of glyc- erol, two fatty acids, a phosphate group, and choline, as shown in Figure 4. Lecithin has a polar head region that contains a trimethyl-ammonium-phosphate zwitterion and hydro- phobic tails [4]. Due to its hydrophilic property, leci- thin may absorb water from its environment, and that water can dissolve some water-soluble fill ingredients. Water-soluble fills can stick to the capsule surface, mak- ing it more difficult to clean, which is why the softgels cleaned using mineral oil with 1 percent lecithin or MCT oil with 1 percent lecithin still showed surface residue. Conclusions The sample evaluations indicate that MCT oil alone is the most efficient agent at cleaning the residue from multivitamin-mineral-fish oil softgels. Mineral oil was less efficient at cleaning and polishing the softgels due to its non-polar property. Adding 1 percent lecithin oil to either mineral oil or MCT oil did not aid in cleaning the residue from the softgels. T&C References 1. S. Hulmajage et. al., "A Review on: Soft gelatin capsule," International Journal of Innovative Pharmaceutical Sci- ences and Research, Vol. 6, No. 6, pages 1-71. 2. I. Johansson and P. Somasundaran, Handbook for cleaning/decontamination of surfaces. Elsevier, 2007, pages 57-102. 3. Y. Tsuchiya, K. Yanagimoto, H. Ueda, and E. Ochi, "Supplementation of eicosapentaenoic acid-rich Fish oil and vitamins are polar molecules, while minerals are ionic compounds. Because MCT oil is a solvent with similar polar properties, it can dissolve and clean all the fill materials from the capsule surface.