Evening Primrose Oil Softgels (GLA 9-10%)

Thovek fills soft gelatin capsules with Oenothera biennis seed oil, standardised so that gamma-linolenic acid runs at 9.0 to 10.0 per cent of total fatty acids with linoleic acid making up 65 to 85 per cent. The arithmetic matters when a brand writes its label: a 500 mg fill of the 10 per cent grade delivers 50 mg of GLA and a 1,000 mg fill delivers 100 mg, while the 9 per cent floor gives 45 mg and 90 mg respectively. The Ph. Eur. monograph for refined evening primrose oil permits a GLA band of 7.0 to 14.0 per cent, so a buyer quoting an incumbent supplier's figure should establish which end of that band is actually being encapsulated before comparing prices. The shell is the commercial decision on this product, not the oil. Bovine gelatin is the default and ships with halal and BSE/TSE-free documentation, but it places the finished capsule outside a vegetarian or vegan claim. A fish-gelatin shell has to be declared as fish on the allergen line, which rules it out for most women's ranges. A vegan shell on modified starch or HPMC keeps the allergen line clean and the diet claim intact, and it is what Thovek recommends for this category. The oil itself is vegan and free of all fourteen EU-listed allergens whichever shell is chosen. Evening primrose oil is oxidatively fragile, so the fill runs under nitrogen with free fatty acids held to 0.1 per cent as oleic and peroxide value to 5 milliequivalents of oxygen per kilogram at the point of encapsulation, with mixed tocopherols available as a declared addition. Every lot carries GLA assay by GC-FID, fill-weight variation, seal and leak testing, disintegration, heavy metals, pesticide residues, PAH and microbiology. Seed is non-GMO and contracted from China, Canada, Europe or New Zealand, with pressing, refining, encapsulation and packing done in India and crop origin declared per lot. Thovek supplies composition data; serving size and all label wording remain the buyer's responsibility in the destination market.