Drug – bio-affecting and body treating compositions – Chewing gum type
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-19
2002-12-17
Travers, Russell (Department: 1617)
Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions
Chewing gum type
C426S003000, C426S548000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06495121
ABSTRACT:
The invention relates to chewing gums containing dipeptide sweetener. The term “chewing gums” as used in this application refers to all forms of chewing gum products and includes the normal chewing gums and the so-called “bubble gums”, both in a sugar-free and in a sugar-containing form. The term “chewing gums” also includes all other forms of chewable products sweetened with dipeptide sweetener, such as chewing tablets based on gum. The invention is intended to improve the flavour of such chewing gums, both insofar as the quality of flavour is concerned and also insofar as the persistence of the flavour is concerned. In particular the invention relates to chewing gum products sweetened with a dipeptide sweetener which contain flavourings based on aldehydes (i.e. the so-called aldehyde flavour products, or aldehyde flavourings). The term “aroma substances” is sometimes used instead of “flavourings”.
Chewing gums sweetened with dipeptide sweetener are known and described in various patent publications, for example in WO-90/06689, where it is stated that the perception of flavour when consuming the chewing gum can be lengthened by adding spicy plant extracts (so-called “spice ingredients”). WO-92/07473 describes chewing gums in which longer and improved flavour is achieved by using coated synergistic mixtures of the two intensive sweeteners aspartame and acesulfame-K; it also reports that there are less marked effects as regards stability problems which can arise with aspartame in the presence of aldehydes, ketones, moisture, etc. So-called Maillard reactions, for example, can occur. Such problems of course also affect the stability of the chewing gums during storage, the storage stability.
Chewing gums sweetened with dipeptide sweetener are commercially available, in various flavours, including aldehyde flavour or mint flavour, such as products from the Wrigley range, e.g. Wrigley's Extra PlenTpak with cinnamon flavour and Wrigley's Orbit with mint flavour.
For the purposes of this application “dipeptide sweetener” means products with a sweetening power which is many dozens of times stronger than that of sugar, and which are made up of amino acids or derivatives of amino acids linked via a peptide bond. The best-known examples of dipeptide sweeteners are aspartame and alitame.
Aspartame (&agr;-L-aspartyl-L-phenylalaninemethylester), hereinafter also referred to as APM, is a dipeptide sweetener with a sweetening power which is approximately 200× that of sucrose. Aspartame is used as an intense sweetener in many applications because of its good flavour properties and low-calorie characteristics. Aspartame is also widely used in chewing gums.
Alitame (L-&agr;-aspartyl-n-(2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-3-thietanyl)-D-alanineamidehydrate), hereinafter also referred to as ALI, is a dipeptide sweetener with a sweetening power which is approximately 2000× that of sucrose.
It is also known that dipeptide sweeteners in chewing gums are used in the form of blends, i.e. physical mixtures, with other sweeteners. See for example Patent WO-92/07473, already mentioned above, in which a (coated) blend of APM and acesulfame-K (the potassium salt of 6-methyl-1,2,3-oxathiazin-4(3H)-one-2,2-dioxide, hereinafter also referred to as Ace-K) is used.
As is to some extent already apparent from the foregoing, the use of dipeptide sweeteners in chewing gums etc., in particular in chewing gums which contain flavourings based on aldehydes, is impeded by problems resulting from the somewhat limited chemical stability of the dipeptide sweeteners, in addition to problems with regard to the fact that the release of the sweet taste in the relevant applications (the so-called “sweetness release”) is not optimal. WO-92/07473 and EP-A-0457724, for example, state that aspartame shows instability in the presence of aldehydes, ketones, moisture etc. This is already detrimental during the production of the chewing gums, but also detrimental to the storage stability of the products in which the said components are present together, as the sweetening power decreases as a result. Under such circumstances, as a result of unwanted reactions, there may also be discoloration of the (solid) products in which a dipeptide sweetener is incorporated.
In the prior art efforts have been made to find solutions with the aim of lengthening the perception of flavour when consuming chewing gums, and also with the aim of combating stability problems due to the presence of dipeptide sweetener in chewing gums, by for example providing the dipeptide sweetener with a coating, in an extra process step. This is described in EP-A-0461197, for example. As described in EP-A-0160607, for example, attempts have also been made to combat stability problems in chewing gums containing aldehydes, for example, by applying the dipeptide sweetener to the surface of the chewing gum. All this has disadvantages, however, in terms of the complexity of manufacture and requires additional process steps. In addition, so-called “hot spots” may occur in chewing gums which are sweetened with coated sweeteners. In order to improve these various aspects, blends of a dipeptide sweetener and another intense sweetener, such as acesulfame-K or saccharin, are therefore also used in chewing gums. When such blends are used, there will usually be different peaks in the perception of the sweetness during consumption of a chewing gum, because of differences in the sweetening profiles of the various sweeteners, and there is also a risk that a bitter or pungent flavour may be perceived at certain periods during consumption. In addition it should be noted that attempts have also been made to influence the profile of the release of sweetening power in chewing gums etc. by varying the particle size of the dipeptide sweetener used in these products (see for example EP-A-0427541), or by appropriate choice of the location of the sweetener in the chewing gum product to be sweetened (e.g. by powdering the outside of chewing gum strips with sweetener or by providing the chewing gum itself with a coating which is also sweetened and optionally contains an aldehyde aroma component, as is described for example in EP-A-0129584).
According to the prior art there is thus still no entirely satisfactory solution for producing a desired sweetness level and sweetening power profile in chewing gums—in terms inter alia of the intensity, quality and persistence of the sweet taste perception—during the consumption time while chewing, and in addition the consumption time is generally found too short. This is especially the case when the chewing gums also have reduced storage stability (i.e. loss of sweetening power during storage).
There is therefore a need to provide chewing gums containing dipeptide sweetener with a lengthened and improved flavour. There is also a need for a method of producing such chewing gums with a lengthened and improved flavour in a simple way. In particular there is a need to improve the flavour quality and the persistence of the flavour of chewing gum products sweetened with a dipeptide sweetener which contain flavourings based on aldehydes.
Surprisingly, extensive research by the applicant has now yielded chewing gums containing dipeptide sweetener with outstanding flavour quality and persistence of flavour, where the dipeptide sweetener is a sweetening salt of an aspartic-acid-derived dipeptide sweetener and a derivative of a sweetening acid. It has been found that chewing gums with such a composition show a surprisingly long duration of the sweetening power during consumption and have very good flavour quality.
In particular it has also been found that chewing gum products sweetened with a dipeptide sweetener which contain flavourings based on aldehydes show a surprisingly long duration of the sweetening power during consumption and have very good flavour quality when the dipeptide sweetener is a sweetening salt of an aspartic-acid-derived dipeptide sweetener and a derivative of a sweetening acid. This is true both when the chewing gums are consumed shortly after
Fry John C.
Hoek Annette C.
Kemper Astrid E.
Holland Sweetner Company V.O.F.
Travers Russell
Wang Shengjun
LandOfFree
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