Drug – bio-affecting and body treating compositions – Antigen – epitope – or other immunospecific immunoeffector – Conjugate or complex
Reexamination Certificate
1994-07-07
2001-08-07
Gitomer, Ralph (Department: 1623)
Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions
Antigen, epitope, or other immunospecific immunoeffector
Conjugate or complex
Reexamination Certificate
active
06270773
ABSTRACT:
The invention relates to a novel process for stabilising vegetable plants (designated hereinafter “plants”), such as in particular plants for medical, cosmetic, condimental, aromatic or food use.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As is known, plants exhibit their optimal qualities at the time they are harvested. In contrast, these qualities deteriorate very rapidly. It is important therefore to “stabilise” them in order to try to preserve as much as possible the essential and desired component of these properties.
As is known, the stabilisation of fresh plants is a process which aims to preserve all the initial properties of these products, from the point of view of the therapeutic active ingredients (alkaloids, trace elements, vitamins, essential oils, polyphenols and the like), as well as other properties such as taste, colour and odour.
Most generally, in order to stabilise plants, they are air-dried. Although very widespread, this technique exhibits numerous disadvantages essentially related to the slowness of the procedure which leads to degradation, decoloration and deodorisation. All the processes for stabilising plants known hitherto aim to inactivate the enzymes which they contain. As is known, in practice, the denaturation of enzymes is obtained at a temperature which is specific for each enzyme, most often at temperatures between 70 and 90° C. Because of the poor thermal conductivity of plant tissues, some parts close to the surface heat up considerably whereas the temperature of the internal zones increases slowly. This is particularly distinct in the case of thick and ligneous organs.
In order to stabilise plants, that is to say annihilate the enzymes, processes which require the use of moist heat, water vapour, or even alcohol vapour, in particular ethanol, have hitherto essentially been used. Dry heat is hardly used because, as the temperature rise is slow, the enzymes unfortunately express their activity well before being destroyed.
The use of ultrahigh frequency currents on fresh or withered plants or for drying oleaginous seeds, for example of sunflower plants, in particular in order to improve the hulling of these seeds has already been proposed. These techniques have not been developed, probably because of their high cost as they require extremely long durations of treatment and have proved useful only for the treatment of seeds and not of plants.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention palliates these disadvantages. It relates to a process for stabilising vegetable plants without degrading their therapeutic active ingredients and while preserving their taste and their odour, which could not be economically and effectively achieved until now.
The process of the invention is carried out on uncut plant portions - that is whole fruit, aerial parts, leaves, roots and the like that have not been further cut.
This process for stabilising vegetable plants is characterised in that it consists in:
firstly, rehydrating the fresh plants in order to bring their water content close to the initial water content of the freshly harvested plant;
then subjecting this rehydrated plant to an ultrahigh frequency treatment until achieving in the plant a temperature at least equal to the denaturation temperature of the enzymes contained in this plant.
In other words, the invention consists firstly in rehydrating fresh plants in order to bring their free water content (which is known to represent about 75 to 90% of the water contained in a plant), close to their initial content, and then subjecting this superficially rehydrated plant to an ultrahigh frequency treatment until a temperature, at least equal to the denaturation temperature of the specific enzymes contained in this plant, is achieved. Thus, by virtue of the superficial rehydration, these plants have a high free water content which is known to exhibit very high dielectric losses, whereas the essential constituents of the tissue (cellulose and lignin) have only small dielectric losses, but nevertheless do not prevent the passage of ultrahigh frequency currents. Thus, following superficial rehydration, a rapid and homogeneous rise in temperature, which annihilates enzymatic activity without modifying other properties or denaturing other desired constituents, is produced during subsequent exposure to ultrahigh frequency radiation.
The process according to the invention makes it possible to selectively inactivate the enzymes contained in plants, in fresh plants in particular, while paying great attention to the therapeutic active ingredients contained in these plants.
As is known, “ultrahigh frequencies” also sometimes called U.H.F. waves designate electromagnetic waves whose wavelength is of the order of the centimeter. In industry, generators of these waves are magnetrons, or even klystrons.
Advantageously, in practice:
fresh plants are used in the procedure, that is to say plants which have lost at most a third of their initial free water and therefore may thus be rapidly rehydrated, that is to say in a few minutes;
the rehydration phase consists in covering the plant with at least a thin film of water in order, as already stated, to bring the water content of the plant close to its initial content, in particular of the order of 95% of this initial content; it has been observed that a rehydration level above 95% is difficult to achieve and does not allow a substantial improvement to be obtained;
rehydration is carried out at room temperature by immersing the plant in water, or even by spraying and then draining, followed optionally by shaking in order to eliminate excess surface water which may unnecessarily consume energy during subsequent ultrahigh frequency treatment;
the ultrahigh frequency treatment is combined with infrared heating and may be completed by natural drying, in particular at room temperature and in a ventilated atmosphere.
The characteristic phase of superficial external rehydration makes it possible to re-establish the passage between surface water and intracellular water, which is stirred by the ultrahigh frequency treatment. It is therefore important for the water content to be sufficient in order to obtain homogeneous dielectric losses in the whole volume of the plant to be treated, but, as already stated, it is unnecessary for this surface water to be in excess.
As a result, during subsequent ultrahigh frequency treatment, internal heating of the plant is greater by a few degrees than that of the external part. This results in the migration of water from the internal zones towards the external zones which becomes all the greater as the viscosity of the water decreases with the rise in temperature. This phenomenon facilitates the removal of a larger proportion of water, which enhances desiccation of the plant.
The ultrahigh frequency treatment is carried out in a known manner, for example by means of an oven equipped with several magnetrons or klystrons in order to obtain a better distribution, a better penetration and a better homogeneity of the ultrahigh frequency currents. It is important that the emission of waves is homogeneous. The frequencies of the magnetrons are chosen within the bands which are authorised for industrial use. Band B (2450 MHz) is preferably used. Optionally, band A, of 915 MHz, may also be used.
In a variant, the ultrahigh frequency treatment is combined with an infrared treatment which has the effect of facilitating a rise in the temperature of the water. The duration of treatment varies from one plant to another, depending on the nature of the enzymes contained in the plant, and on the proportion of ligneous tissue and the volume and nature of the plants (leaves, roots and the like) to be treated. The temperature is monitored by any suitable means, in particular by means of a heat probe placed in the centre of the material to be treated. As already stated, it is necessary to reach the denaturation temperature of the catalytic effect of the enzyme specific to each plant which is known to the specialist or which may easily be monitored by him using simple preliminary tests.
Afte
Pourrat Aimée Gaillard
Pourrat Henri
Gattefosse S.A.
Gitomer Ralph
Wall Marjama & Bilinski
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