Drug – bio-affecting and body treating compositions – Deodorants
Reexamination Certificate
1998-01-30
2001-09-25
Dodson, Shelley A. (Department: 1616)
Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions
Deodorants
C048S076000, C048S076000, C048S195000, C048S053300
Reexamination Certificate
active
06294161
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a deodorant composition and more particularly to a deodorant composition used for eliminating odors from the environment that are offensive to humans, such as bad breath, refrigerator odors, pet and domestic animal odors, factory odors or offensive odors in industrial effluent.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There are various odors around us, such as refrigerator odors, bad breath and odors from domestic animals. Because some of these odors are unpleasant to humans, a wide variety of approaches have been proposed to eliminate these odors. One such conventional deodorizing method is a method of adsorbing and eliminating the substance causing the offensive odor. Examples of deodorant substances used in such a method are activated carbon and catechin-containing tea.
However, activated carbon is disadvantageous in that it cannot sufficiently remove trace amounts of a substance, it cannot be added to foods for human consumption, and its use can cause environmental problems when activated carbon having a large amount of substance adsorbed thereon is discharged. In this regard, naturally occurring substances such as catechin are harmless toward the environment and can be blended with chewing gum and the like to eliminate bad breath. However, catechins do not provide a sufficient deodorant effect.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the above, it is therefore an object of the present invention to develop a deodorant composition having excellent deodorant effects on bad breath, refrigerator odors, and odors from pets and domestic animals, and which deodorant composition does not harm the environment.
Japanese Patent Application No.212,999/95 previously filed by the present inventor describes that phenolic compounds such as catechins have deodorant properties, and that the effect is surprisingly improved by allowing polyphenol oxidase to coexist with these compounds. However, the materials proposed in this prior application were chemically synthesized substances. On the other hand, more recently, people have become concerned about the adverse effects of chemically synthesized substances on humans such that consumers refrain from using such products. Accordingly, the present invention has been achieved by employing naturally occurring substances, particularly natural extracts containing phenolic compounds for use as food additives or as foods.
That is, the present invention relates to a deodorant composition comprising (i) one or more natural extracts selected from the group consisting of rosemary extract, sunflower seed extract, raw coffee bean extract, tea extract, grape pericarp extract, grape seed extract and apple extract, and (ii) an enzyme which is capable of oxidizing phenolic compounds.
It is considered that the mechanism of the deodorant action of phenolic compounds in natural extracts is that these compounds are oxidized by oxygen in the atmosphere to form a highly reactive quinone structure. The quinone further reacts with a substance having an offensive odor to eliminate the same. Furthermore, in the present invention, an enzyme capable of oxidizing phenolic compounds is provided in the presence of the natural extract containing phenolic compounds to promote this auto-oxidation reaction, thus rapidly eliminating offensive odors at a high deodorization rate.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention is described in detail below.
The natural extract, namely, one of the two components in the deodorant composition of the present invention, comprises one or more extracts selected from rosemary extract, sunflower seed extract, raw coffee bean extract, tea extract, grape pericarp extract, grape seed extract and apple extract. The extract of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it contains a phenolic compound that has been extracted with water, alcohol, an organic solvent or a mixture thereof. The extraction solvent is selected depending on the desired use of the deodorant composition.
When the composition is to be used as a deodorant agent for food, the solvent used therefor must also be selected from solvents acceptable for addition to foods. Examples of such solvents include water, ethanol, propanol, butanol, acetone, hexane, propylene glycol, water-containing ethanol, water-containing propylene glycol, etc., preferably hot water, water-containing ethanol and water-containing propylene glycol.
The natural source for the extract includes rosemary, sunflower seeds, raw coffee beans, tea, grape pericarp, grape seeds and apples, and two or more of these may be used in combination. The extraction conditions may be usual extraction conditions. Also, the resulting extract is concentrated under reduced pressure and stored as a concentrate, and may be diluted before use at a suitable concentration for preparing the deodorant composition.
The enzyme capable of oxidizing phenolic compounds, that is, the second component in the deodorant composition of the present invention, is an enzyme having the activity of oxidizing said phenolic compound into a compound with a quinone structure or an enzyme having the action of adding a phenolic hydroxy group for oxidation into quinone.
Any enzyme having this action can be used and examples thereof include polyphenol oxidase, monophenol oxidase, oxidase forming hydrogen peroxide and peroxidase. More specifically, preferable enzymes include laccase, tyrosinase, glucose oxidase and peroxidase, and a burdock enzyme, pear enzyme, etc., obtained from natural sources can also be used. Two or more of these enzymes can be used in combination.
A material or composition containing said enzyme is also within the scope of the present enzyme capable of oxidizing phenolic compounds. Examples include an extract from a plant containing said enzyme, an extract from fungi containing said enzyme, and powder containing such an extract, for example, acetone powder (an acetone-dried preparation as prepared in Reference Example 1 below).
Plants containing said enzyme preferably include fruits and vegetables such as apple, pear, burdock etc., and fungi containing said enzyme include mushrooms of the genera Agaricus and Boletus such as Agaricus bisporus and Boletus pulverulentus.
These enzymes are not limited to commercially available enzymes, but may also be prepared according to conventional methods.
The deodorant composition of the present invention may further comprise conventional ingredients such as carriers, stabilizers and fillers added to and mixed with said two components.
The deodorant composition of the present invention can eliminate offensive odors. Examples of substances having such offensive odors include sulfur-containing compounds such as mercaptan or nitrogen-containing compounds such as indole, skatole, ammonia, urea, amines, etc.
Deodorization by the deodorant composition of the present invention is achieved by catalytic reaction with said composition in the presence of offensive odors. More particularly, the deodorant compositions and substances which release offensive odors are preferably mixed to permit the reaction to proceed easily, especially where water may be advantageously present to permit the reaction to proceed more smoothly.
Although the temperature in this reaction varies depending on the type of enzyme and may be any temperature at which the enzyme reaction proceeds, the reaction proceeds more rapidly when the enzyme is mixed in the range of room temperature to 40° C. Furthermore, the required reaction time depends on the type and amount of enzyme used, but a period of time ranging from a few minutes to several dozens of hours will usually suffice. Other conditions are not particularly limited if they are adapted to the circumstances under which the enzyme reaction may proceed.
The deodorant composition of the present invention comprises a natural extract containing a polyphenol compound, i.e., a deodorant base material, and an enzyme for oxidizing the same. Thus, the polyphenol compound is used in an activated form, to permit the reaction to pr
Hiramoto Tadahiro
Okazaki Tetsuharu
Saiki Kenji
Dodson Shelley A.
Sughrue Mion Zinn Macpeak & Seas, PLLC
Takasago International Corporation
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