Tablets in Nutraceuticals:
The Most Versatile Format in Supplement Delivery
Tablets are the most widely used solid dosage form in both pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals. In the supplement industry, tablets are valued for their efficiency, flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and ability to support both standard and advanced delivery systems – from simple vitamins to multi-phase botanical complexes or modified-release adaptogens. Thanks to advances in tableting technologies and excipient systems, nutraceutical tablets can now be manufactured to meet nearly any consumer need – whether it’s fast-dissolving, sustained-release, chewable, effervescent, film-coated, or taste-masked.
Why Tablets Matter in Nutraceuticals
Tablets remain a cornerstone of nutraceutical delivery due to their numerous advantages across formulation, manufacturing, and marketing. One of their key strengths is high dose capacity, allowing tablets to accommodate larger amounts of active ingredients compared to capsules or gummies – ideal for high-potency formulations. From a production standpoint, tablets offer efficient manufacturing, making them a cost-effective and highly scalable choice for high-volume operations. They also provide excellent stability and shelf life, as their lower moisture content helps protect sensitive actives better than softer delivery formats like gummies or softgels.
Tablets can be engineered with flexible release profiles, offering immediate, sustained, or targeted release to suit different therapeutic needs. Their format diversity is another major benefit, spanning traditional swallowable tablets to chewables, orally disintegrating tablets (ODTs), and effervescents. Additionally, Tablets align well with modern labeling and branding trends, supporting clean-label claims, vegan formulations, sugar-free options, and natural ingredient positioning – allowing brands to meet diverse consumer preferences and regulatory standards.
Common Types of Tablets in Nutraceutical Products
Tablets are a highly versatile format in nutraceuticals, available in a variety of specialized forms to meet different consumer needs and product goals. Standard compressed tablets are the most basic and widely used type, ideal for multivitamins, minerals, and herbal blends. They can be left uncoated or film-coated for improved taste masking and visual appeal. Chewable tablets are formulated for a pleasant taste and mouthfeel, making them especially popular in pediatric, sports, and general wellness supplements. They typically incorporate sweeteners, flavors, and excipients like mannitol or xylitol to enhance palatability.
Effervescent tablets disintegrate in water to form a fizzy beverage, offering enhanced bioavailability and a more enjoyable consumer experience – particularly effective for electrolytes, vitamin C, and energy products. Orally disintegrating tablets (ODTs) or fast melts dissolve quickly in the mouth without the need for water, serving consumers who dislike swallowing pills. These tablets require specialized binders, superdisintegrants, and taste-masking strategies. Modified-release tablets – including sustained-release (SR), extended-release (ER), or controlled-release (CR) formats – are designed to release actives slowly over time. They are commonly used in products targeting sleep support, energy maintenance, blood sugar regulation, cognitive health, and adaptogens.
Multilayer or bi-phase tablets combine different active ingredients or release profiles within one tablet, offering complex functionality. A common example includes fast-release caffeine paired with slow-release L-theanine, often positioned as a premium offering. Finally, sublingual or buccal tablets are designed to dissolve under the tongue or between the gum and cheek, enhancing absorption for ingredients like melatonin, vitamin B12, and CBD, where rapid onset or bypassing digestion is beneficial.
Key Excipients Used in Nutraceutical Tablet Formulation
Fillers / Diluents
Increase tablet mass and improve flow
- Microcrystalline Cellulose (MCC) – Avicel®, Vivapur®
- Dicalcium Phosphate (DCP)
- Mannitol (especially in chewables and ODTs)
- Lactose, Sorbitol, Isomalt, Calcium Carbonate, Maltodextrin
Binders
Provide cohesion during compression
- MCC (dual role as filler and binder)
- Pregelatinized Starch – Starch 1500®, Lycatab®
- Povidone (PVP) – Kollidon®
- HPMC / HPC – Used in direct compression and SR tablets
- Gums – Acacia, xanthan (used in natural tablets)
Disintegrants
Help the tablet break apart quickly after ingestion
- Croscarmellose Sodium (CCS) – Ac-Di-Sol®
- Sodium Starch Glycolate (SSG) – Explotab®, Primojel®
- Crospovidone (PVPP) – Kollidon® CL
- Alginates, MCC, Effervescent systems (citric acid + Na bicarbonate)
Lubricants
Reduce friction during compression and ejection
- Magnesium Stearate (most common)
- Stearic Acid, Calcium Stearate
- Sodium Stearyl Fumarate (SSF) – PRUV®
- Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils, Leucine (natural alternatives)
Glidants / Flow Aids
- Colloidal Silicon Dioxide
- Talc
- Starch derivatives
Sweeteners & Flavors
Used in chewables, effervescents, and ODTs
- Mannitol, Xylitol, Sorbitol, Erythritol
- Stevia, Sucralose, Monk Fruit, Natural flavors
Coating Agents
Improve swallowability, taste, or modify release
- Film-coating systems – HPMC, PVA, cellulose acetate
- Functional coatings – Eudragit® for enteric or sustained release
- Natural coatings – Shellac, pullulan, starch derivatives
Tablet Manufacturing Techniques in Nutraceuticals
Several manufacturing techniques are used to produce nutraceutical tablets, each suited to different formulation needs. Direct compression is the fastest and most cost-effective method, relying on compressible blends of actives and excipients. It is ideal for stable ingredients with good flow properties and uniformity. Wet granulation is employed when actives have poor flow characteristics or are prone to segregation. This method binds powders together with a liquid solution to form granules, improving blend consistency and tablet strength.
Dry granulation is preferred for moisture-sensitive actives, avoiding the use of water altogether. This technique compresses powders into slugs or compacts, which are then milled into granules before final compression. Finally, multi-compression techniques, such as bilayer or multi-layer tablet manufacturing, are used to create complex tablets. These formats allow for time-release profiles or the separation of incompatible ingredients within a single tablet, supporting advanced formulations.
Trends and Innovations in Nutraceutical Tablet Design
The design of nutraceutical tablets is evolving rapidly to meet consumer expectations and leverage new technologies. Clean-label tablets are gaining popularity, featuring natural sweeteners, plant-based binders, and the elimination of synthetic dyes to appeal to health-conscious buyers. There is also a strong shift toward vegan and organic excipient systems, allowing brands to position their products as fully plant-based and certified organic where possible. Innovation in smart tablet technology is opening new possibilities, including the integration of microbeads, enteric microcapsules, and timed-release layers within a single tablet to optimize active ingredient delivery and improve efficacy. Digital printing and laser scoring are being adopted for tablet branding, dose personalization, and even security features, offering greater differentiation and flexibility.
Additionally, advanced taste-masking technologies are being integrated directly into tablet cores or coatings, greatly improving the palatability of products without compromising clean-label claims or formulation simplicity. Together, these trends are helping nutraceutical tablets deliver better functionality, superior consumer experiences, and stronger market appeal.
Conclusion
Tablets remain the workhorse of the nutraceutical industry – offering unmatched versatility, efficiency, and consumer familiarity. With advances in excipient science, taste masking, and release technologies, tablets can now deliver more than ever: from convenience and performance to clean-label claims and innovative formats. For formulators, tablets provide a customizable platform that can support nearly any therapeutic category. For consumers, they offer a trusted, compact, and consistent way to support health and wellness – making tablets a mainstay of modern supplement strategies.