Are the JP capsules vegan/What are the JP capsules made of?
Because Juice PlusÒ contains such a rich variety of whole food nutrients from so many plant sources, there were no existing vegan capsules in the existing marketplace that had the chemical properties to protect all that nutrition. After years of investment into research and development, and market trials, the Juice PlusÒ Company finally has a great vegan capsule that works.
These vegan capsules are made from a polysaccharide called pullulan that comes from tapioca starch.
There is a very small amount of carrageenan used in the manufacture of the capsules (see the section of carrageenan if you have any concerns). The purpose small amount of carrageenan is to help the pullulan form in a way that keeps it pliable – so that it doesn’t get brittle and shatter like the earlier vegan capsule versions did, while retaining the ability to provide a barrier function for the capsules. Pullulan capsules have the best barrier against both moisture and oxygen of all of the possible polymers that capsules could be made from. Thus, pullulan helps keep away moisture and oxygen which is paramount to keep the nutrients in the capsules intact longer.
