Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Surface coated – fluid encapsulated – laminated solid... – Dry flake – dry granular – or dry particulate material
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-18
2004-04-20
Yeung, George C. (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Surface coated, fluid encapsulated, laminated solid...
Dry flake, dry granular, or dry particulate material
C426S471000, C426S650000, C426S661000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06723359
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to compositions in an encapsulated form and to a method for the preparation of such compositions.
An encapsulation is a process by which one or more active ingredients are coated with, or entrapped within, another material or system. In the flavor industry, the encapsulation of flavor ingredients serves to retain the aroma in a food product during storage, protects the flavor from undesirable interactions with the food, minimizes flavor/flavor interactions, guards against either light induced reactions or oxidation, and provides a controlled release of the flavor.
In this industry, the most common processes for producing encapsulated products are spray-drying and, to a lesser extent, extrusion and coacervation.
Spray-drying is a well-known useful technique to stabilize flavors by encapsulating them in a solid form, suited to many applications. The spray-drying technology makes it possible to provide the same effect as extrusion, while providing very small particles.
In spray-dried powders, an active ingredient such as a flavor or a fragrance, usually hydrophobic, is entrapped as liquid droplets in a solidified matrix of a dehydrated carrier, generally consisting of carbohydrates, such as starches, hydrolyzed starches (maltodextrin), chemically modified starches, emulsifying polymers (gum arabic) and in certain instances monomers and dimers of simple aldohexoses, or any combination thereof. Conventional spray-drying techniques are perfectly well documented in the prior art. See for example Spray-Drying Handbook, 4
th
ed., K. Masters, (1985) or other reference books on the subject-matter.
The method for the preparation of a spray-dried powder typically first comprises the dispersion of a carrier in water, and then the mixture of this dispersion with a flavor before homogenization to form an oil-in-water emulsion. The emulsion is then spray-dried to produce a powdered flavor.
Flavors are traditionally spray-dried in water-soluble carbohydrate matrices. As these matrices dissolve in water readily, the most common applications of the corresponding powdered flavors are in dry beverage formulations. However, some applications in the flavor industry as well as in other fields such as the perfumery or the pharmaceutical domains require spray-dried products having a different behavior in an aqueous environment. In particular, powders which would not dissolve as quickly in water and which would even require another mechanical trigger for the release of the active ingredient encapsulated in the matrix, could be very useful for many applications.
Means to improve the dispersion of typical spray-dried powders have already been described in the prior art. Agglomeration constitutes such a means and finds applications for instance in instant coffee. However, this process does not suit all applications.
Now, we have been able to establish that a particular ingredient can be added to the carrier constituting the matrix of a spray-dried product, and, in combination with a wall-forming carbohydrate material, surprisingly improve the behavior of the powder in an aqueous environment. This ingredient is agar agar.
Agar agar is a hydrocolloid, the physical properties of which are well known in the art. More particularly, it has a widespread use in foods as a stabilizer, thickener, humectant and surface finisher.
Some patent literature discloses the spray-drying of agar itself to provide it in a solid form. On the other hand, agar is often cited as part of the list of encompassing materials susceptible of constituting carriers in an encapsulation system. As an example, one can cite WO 98/33394 which discloses the mixture of a bulking agent with a hydrocolloid in the form of a solid powder which is used as a stabilizing agent in a wide variety of products. However, no document from the prior art has ever pointed out or even suggested the possibility of using agar in a spray-dried composition for a specific purpose, when used in defined amounts and in combination with a carbohydrate material.
Yet, we have now been able to establish that, in combination with the main carrier material, namely a carbohydrate, and when used in specific amounts, agar agar is an advantageous co-carrier material for a composition intended to be spray-dried. In an unexpected manner, this novel composition proved to be responsible for a complete change in the product's behavior, in an aqueous environment, and as regards the release characteristics of the active ingredient there-encapsulated, compared with conventional spray-dried powders.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a novel spray-dried composition, comprising one or more active ingredients dispersed in a carrier which comprises at least a wall-forming carbohydrate material and from 1 to 30% by weight of agar agar, relative to the dried weight of the composition.
What is meant here by “active ingredient” is a liquid ingredient, preferably hydrophobic, which is sought to be protected by way of solid encapsulation. It may include volatile perfuming or flavoring ingredients as well as other kinds of ingredients such as pharmaceutical actives for instance.
The composition of the invention presents many advantages. While a typical spray-dried product dissolves instantly in water, the composition according to the present invention behaves in a totally different manner in such a medium and makes it possible to provide a controlled release of the encapsulated active ingredient.
Other embodiments of the invention include a method for the preparation of such a spray-dried composition, and its use for the flavoring or perfuming of consumer products such as foods, beverages, or perfuming compositions.
Finally, the spray-dried powder of the invention can also be advantageously used as an intermediate product or starting product for a double-encapsulation method, i.e., as a solid product susceptible of being subjected to a further encapsulation such as an extrusion in a glassy matrix to provide a granular delivery system, or to a second spray-drying operation in a distinct or similar matrix.
Further features, aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description hereafter.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention thus concerns a composition in the form of a spray-dried powder, comprising one or more active ingredients dispersed in a carrier, wherein said carrier comprises at least one wall-forming carbohydrate material and from 1 to 30% of agar agar, relative to the dried weight of the composition. In another embodiment, the proportion of agar agar in the composition can be limited to 1 to 20%, or even to 1 to 15% by weight, relative to the dried weight of the composition.
The spray-dried product of the invention is very useful in particular in an aqueous environment, where it provides a release of the active ingredient quite distinct from typical systems known in the prior art. More particularly, the addition of a certain amount of agar agar in the carrier matrix, in combination with a wall-forming carbohydrate material, provides a structure which swells upon hydration almost instantly and forms a gel wherein the mobility of the active ingredient in the form of oil droplets is restricted. As a consequence, even when excess water is present, the gel containing the oil droplets remains intact. Therefore, if the hydrated powder particles are left undisturbed, i.e., are not subjected to constant shear at room temperature, they can retain their integrity for at least 2 weeks, after which the release of the oil from the hydrated particles, when deformed under pressure, is observable. Thus, while typical spray-dried products dissolve instantaneously in an aqueous environment, providing an instant release of the encapsulated active ingredient, the system of the invention provides a controlled release of the active substance. Under another kind of trigger such as the application of shear force or heat, the active substance will be released from the d
Benczedi Daniel
McIver Robert Clark
Subramaniam Anandaraman
Vlad Florin Joseph
Firmenich SA
Winston & Strawn LLP
Yeung George C.
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