Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Noncarbohydrate sweetener or composition containing same
Reexamination Certificate
2002-04-04
2003-11-25
Wong, Leslie (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...
Noncarbohydrate sweetener or composition containing same
C560S041000, C562S433000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06652901
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a novel sweetener composition. In particular, a sweetener composition (or taste modifiers) with a high intensity sweetness, which comprises a specific aspartyl dipeptide ester compound, for example, N-[N-[3-(3-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl) propyl]-L-&agr;-aspartyl]-L-phenylalanine 1-methyl ester and an another sweetener with a high intensity sweetness, for example, Aspartame, sugar, sugar alcohol, oligosaccharide (such as sucrose), whereby the combination provides an improved sweetness quality from said derivative. The invention also provides sweeteners, foods, beverages or other products, which benefit from having a sweet taste (for example, medicinal products), containing the sweetener composition therein. The present invention also provides a method of imparting a sweet taste into a food, beverage, or other sweetened product using the above sweetener composition.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It has been reported that the sweetness intensity of Neotame which is a sweetener with a high intensity sweetness is 10000 times that of sucrose by weight (refer to Japanese Patent Kohyo Publication JP-A-8-503206), and the sweetness intensity of Aspartame is 200 times that of sucrose by weight (refer to Japanese Patent Kokoku Publication JP-B-47-31031). These sweeteners have been commercially used and research for additional applications is ongoing. While many other sweeteners with a high intensity sweetness have been proposed, these sweeteners have many practical problems for use.
Therefore, a sweetener with a high intense sweetness, which is different from the sweetness of conventional sweeteners is in demand, preferably such a sweetener should possess a high intensity sweetness, with excellent sweeteness quality, and physical properties (such as stability).
Regarding taste modifiers, which suppress bitter tastes, numerous attempts to develop a suitable product and methods of employing the taste modifiers have been investigated. A need for such taste modifiers exists in formulating medicines or pharmaceuticals, which often contain ingredients imparting a bitter taste as an effective ingredients. Thus, there is a need in the area pharmaceuticals to remove and/or suppress the bitter taste; and to maintain the effect for a long time (refer to Japanese Patent Kokai Publication JP-A-6-298668).
To remove and/or suppress such bitter tastes sugar coatings or other encapsulation methods are typically employed. Where such a suppression or removal effect is required in a a liquid formulation typically taste modifiers are added in high concentrations due to the difficulty of stably coating a liquid compared to a solid. Recently, it has been proposed to suppress the bitter taste by adding lecithin. However, suppression of the bitter taste is not sufficient by these methods and the effect is weakened due to decomposition during storage in a solution. Moreover, the addition of sugar is not suitable for calorie-controlled diet regimens, such as those diets for diabetic patients. Likewise, in preparing formulations for administration to babies and children, who are difficult when it comes to administrating tablets or granular preparations, liquid formulations or dry syrups, which are dissolved prior to use, are typically employed.
It has also been proposed to add lecithin for the same effect as discussed for medicine/pharmaceuticals discussed above in addressing problems with food products, such as bitter tastes due to peptides and amino acids containing hydrolyzed vegetable or animal protein, fruit juices, minerals, etc., which are added for enrichment of nutrition sweeteners, adsorbents, inclusion compounds, enzymes and/or organic acids.
However, the above methods often fail because of the difficultly in obtaining a sufficient effect, which also depends on the substance imparting the bitter taste. Likewise, minimizing the use of sweeteners, such as sugar, in calorie controlled diet regimens fails to provide the bitter taste suppressing effect, for example when using Glycyrrhizin. Moreover, the sweeteners present in an aqueous solution have the problem of decomposition.
As a result of research to develop a sweet substance with a high intense sweetness, the present inventors have found that an aspartyl dipeptide ester derivative represented by formula (2) had a high intense sweetness and was useful as a sweetener.
According to further study by the present inventor, although the magnification intensity of sweetness of the derivative is extremely high, the onset of taste (the early taste) is very weak compared to that of sucrose, whereas the lingering taste (the later taste) is felt very strongly. Therefore, a need exists to develop a sweetener composition with a high intense sweetness having a good and well-balanced sweetness quality for preparing a sweetener.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Thus, an object of the present invention to provide a sweetener composition having a superior sweetness quality with good balance with respect to the onset of the taste.
It is another object of the present invention to develop a taste modifier, which can be widely applied to food, beverages, and medicines and which can have a superior effect in an aqueous solution.
It is another object of the present invention to develop a taste modifier, which can remove bitter tastes, exhibit the bitter taste suppression effect for a long time, without undesirable effects, such as unstablility, viscosity, and degradation of quality such as browning during the storage.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present inventor has studied eagerly to solve the problem described above and have found that a well-balanced sweetener composition can be obtained by combining aspartyl dipeptide ester derivatives and another sweetener with a high intense sweetness. This well-balanced sweetener composition provides the a stronger onset of the taste and a weaker lingering taste.
The present inventors have also found that a sweetener composition having a well-balanced sweetness quality is obtained by combining the aspartyl dipeptide ester derivatives and at least one of a sugar, sugar alcohol and/or oligosaccharide.
The present inventors have also found that the problems associated with the taste modifiers described above can be solved with and have found that the derivatives described herein can remove or suppress the bitter taste, and maintain this effect for a long time, without undesirable effects typically associated with such taste modifiers when employed in food, beverages, and/or medicines.
One embodiment of the present invention is a sweetener composition with a high intense sweetness comprising an aspartyl dipeptide ester derivative or a salt thereof, which is represented by formula (2), preferably formula (1), mixed with an another sweetener with a high intense sweetness, wherein the sweetness quality from said derivative is improved.
In the above formulas (1) and (2) R
1
, R
2
, R
3
, R
4
and R
5
are independent from each other, and can be a hydrogen atom, a hydroxyl group, an alkoxy group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms (methoxy, ethoxy, n-propoxy, etc.), an alkyl group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms (methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, etc.) and a hydroxyalkyloxy group having 2 or 3 carbon atoms (O(CH
2
)
2
OH, OCH
2
CH(OH)CH
3
, etc.), and R
1
and R
2
, or R
2
and R
3
can be combined to form a methylene dioxy group (OCH
2
O); R
6
, R
7
, R
8
, R
9
and R
10
are independent from each other, and each is a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms (methyl, ethyl, isopropyl and etc.), and where any two of R
6
, R
7
, R
8
, R
9
and R
10
may be combined together to form an alkylene group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms (CH
2
, CH
2
CH
2
, CH
2
CH
2
CH
2
and etc.). When R
6
and R
7
, or R
8
and R
9
are different substituents, or R
10
is a substituent other than a hydrogen atom, the configuration of the carbon atom to which these substituents (R
6
and R
7
, R
8
and R
9
or R
10
) are linked, has no restriction, and may in (R), (S), (RS) configurations or a mixture
Ajinomoto Co. Inc.
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
Wong Leslie
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