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Aisle guide
Medicine, capsules and excipients
A tablet can be plant-derived and still sit in a porcine gelatin capsule. Check the active, then the shell, then the excipients. Necessity rulings belong to your own scholar.
Two-minute pharmacy check
- Split the dose from the shell. HPMC and pullulan capsules avoid the gelatin question.
- Then the flow agents. Magnesium stearate and glycerin are source-dependent.
- This is not a fatwa on necessity. If a medicine has no alternative, that is a question for a scholar and a clinician.
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Source-dependent
Gelatin capsules (medicines and supplements)
Nearly every softgel and most hard capsules are gelatin, and the bottle rarely says which animal. This is the supplement version of the gelatin proble…
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Halal
Hypromellose (HPMC)
Hypromellose (HPMC): A plant-derived cellulose polymer used in vegetarian capsules and coatings. Plant-derived; generally considered permissible.
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UnverifiedE1204
Pullulan
A capsule-shell polysaccharide from tapioca starch fermented by Aureobasidium pullulans. Secondary guides treat it as animal-free, which is why it is …
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Source-dependentE572
Magnesium stearate
If you take one supplement habit seriously, make it this one. Magnesium stearate is in most tablets and capsules, it can be plant or pork derived, and…
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Source-dependentE422
Glycerin (glycerol)
A sweet humectant that keeps foods moist. The molecule is identical whether it came from palm oil or pig fat — which is exactly why the source has to …
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HalalE171
E171 Titanium Dioxide
Halal
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Halal
Titanium Dioxide
Titanium Dioxide: Halal. Mineral sunscreen active and whitening pigment. Used in foundations, sunscreens, and food.
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Source-dependent
Lactose
Depends on process. Lactose from milk by membrane filtration is halal; lactose recovered from whey is doubtful unless the coagulating enzymes were mic…
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Source-dependent
Lactose Monohydrate
Lactose Monohydrate: The crystalline hydrated form of lactose used as the most common direct-compression filler in tablets and dry-powder inhalers. De…
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Source-dependentE441
Gelatin
The single most important ingredient to check in processed food. Gelatin is a protein boiled from animal skin, bones and connective tissue — and in We…
A procedure for reading a pack - not a product certification and not a fatwa. See the methodology.