Study on the use of sweeteners in the production of gummy jelly from gelatin waste from soft capsule production

Abstract

Soft capsules are a type of drug form that contains liquid or semi-solid inside. The outer shell is flexible. It is usually composed of gelatin, glycerin and water. In the production of soft capsules, there is gelatin waste more than 50 percent. The objectives of this research were to study the use of sweeteners in the production of gummy jelly from gelatin waste from the soft capsule production by using 3 types of sugar alcohols: maltitol, sorbitol and xylitol to replace sucrose in the control formula and replace the lost sweetness with sucralose. The results of the experiment found that the use of sugar alcohols resulted in a decrease in the amount of water activity in the product. The control formula had the highest water activity at 0.44, followed by the formulas using maltitol, sorbitol, and xylitol, which had values of 0.43, 0.39, and 0.36, respectively. In term of physical quality of the product, it was found that the formula using maltitol had textural properties, including hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, and gumminess, closest to the control formula. For the chewiness of the four gummy jelly formulas, there was no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05). In term of the sensory quality assessment using the 9-point hedonic scale, it was found that the formula using maltitol received the liking score of colors, texture, overall taste, strawberry flavor and overall liking higher than 6.5 and the just about right score was higher than 70 percent in all characteristics. From the results of the study, maltitol can be used as a sweetener in gummy jelly product.