AU684480B2 - Oral composition - Google Patents

Description

1

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPEC I F ICAT ION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name of Applicant: i Actual Inventors: Address for Service: Invention Title: Invention Title: *0* JOHNSON JOHNSON CONSUMER PRODUCTS, INC.

Hitoshi WATANABE and Akinori TAKAHASHI SHELSTON WATERS Clarence Street SYDNEY NSW 2000 "ORAL COMPOSITION" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us:- -I I ~e ~p la DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION I [Technical field of the invention] This invention relates to an oral composition containing essential oil such as menthol when said composition is packed in a container wherein the innermost layer of said container is made of a solid polymer, for example, a polymer selected from the group consisting of acrylonitrile containing thermoplastic resin, ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer resin and polybutylene terephthalate, in order not to diminish flavor of said oral S 10 composition during storage in said container.

[Prior art and problem to be solved] Oral compositions including essential oil such as menthol are generally packed in a container such as transformable tube, pump dispenser, pressured dispenser, bottle and sachet. A shape of the container is selected in order to adapt formulation of said 2 oral composition, for example, paste, gel, tablet, fluid or liquid. Essential oil may offer refreshing and cooling feeling in a mouth, and may mask bad smelling of the base and such that added to said oral composition. Especially menthol is indispensable as such essential oil in conventional oral compositions. Therefore, it should be avoided to diminish flavor during storage because loss of flavor makes using feeling of said composition bad and gives discomfort to the mouth, consequently this makes the value of said composition decrease.

In the case of paste dentifrice containing essential oil such as menthol, a conformable tube, for example, a bottle dispenser of polyethylene mono layer structure is adopted for the container. And in the case of mouthwash, a bottle, for example, polyethylene terephthalate monolayer structure is adopted for the container.

Up to the present, no serious problem has been noticed as to flavor maintainability of the oral composition during storage contained in such containers as above. But now, after some .experiments, we have found that the flavor maintainability 20 during storage of oral compositions comprising such essential oil such as menthol is not sufficient and the flavor of the composition decreases. We, the inventors of the present invention, consider that, in prior art before completion of the present invention, no oral composition including essential oil is packed in a container which is made of materials having sufficient flavor maintainability.

o00* o e4ee RA Q 5T RJ i -3- [Means to solve the problem] According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a container containing an oral composition which includes an essential oil as one of its components, said container comprising at least three layers, the inner sandwiched layer being formed from a solid polymer selected from the group consisting of an ethylene vinyl alcohol resin, polybutylene terephthalate and a thermoplastic resin containing acrylonitrile as a main component, the outer layers being formed from low density polyethylene or high density polyethylene with the proviso that there is no polypropylene layer present in contact with the oral composition.

After thorough experiment and research to attain container material having higher flavor maintainability without losing easiness for using, we have found that substantial decrease of essential oil, especially menthol, is hardly observed when a solid polymer such as thermoplastic resin containing acrylonitrile as a main component, ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer resin or polybutylene terephthalate is used for the material of the 15 innermost layer of the cohcainer which contacts said oral composition when the oral composition is distributed in the container.

Further, the material can be formed by very simple three-layer structure using low density polyethylene as the outer layer, and we have found that the container made of such material has excellent squeezability and even in the case of a paste dentifrice 20 squeezability is fully retained. And furthermore, we have found that said material is useful for the container of liquid oral composition such as mouthwash when high density polyethylene is used for the outside layer.

17322.00.DOC/WLS -4- These and other features of the present invention will become more apparent in the detailed description and examples which follow.

Solid polymer according to the present invention is selected from the polymers such as a thermoplastic resin containing acrylonitrile as a main component, ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer resin and polybutylene terephthalate.

The acrylonitrile containing thermoplastic resin is a polymer containing acrylonitrile as a main component, composed of a copolymerizable component such as an acrylic acid ester and an elastic component such as butadiene, and having a so-called graft copolymer; it can be supplied, for example, under the trade name "BAREX" fiom Mitsui Toatsu Kagaku Inc.

The ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer resin is a random copolymer of ethylene and vinyl alcohol having a molecular structure as shown below: -(CH2-CH2)m~(CH2CH)n-

OH

o This polymer is supplied under the trade name "EVAL" from Kurare Inc.

Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) is a polyester synthesized by polycondensation *0o ofterephthalic acid and 1,4-butane diol having a molecular structure as shown below:

O-(CH

2 4 -OOC CO]n- S[Examples] Experimental method As an oral composition containing essential oil, a dentifrice having formulation shown in Table 1 was prepared.

17322.00 DOC/WLS Table 1 Components Silicic acid Xanthan gum Sodium lauryl sulphate Sorbitol (70%) Glycerol Carboxymethyl cellulose Paraben Saccharin Flavor Water by Weight 1 37.5 4 1 0.2 1 remainder a *0 *S Then the dentifrice is packed in a container having plastic material listed in Table 2 as its innermost layer, and held for one month at 40 0 C. After one month, 10g of dentifrice sample was measured accurately, essential oil was extracted by 10g of methanol and the amount of essential oil was measured by column analysis, then remains of essential oil in the oral composition for each container was compared. Samples packed in glass bottles held at 40 0 C and held at room temperature were subjected to the same analysis as above as comparative examples. 10% by volume of hexyl acetate solution is added as inner standard to the methanol: the extracting solvent.

17322.00 DOC/mtm -6- Table 2 Example No.

1 2 3 Standard 1 Standard 2 C. Example 1 C. Example 2 C. Example 3 C. Example 4 C. Example 5 Material of Innermost Layer

BAREX

EVAL

PBT

GLASS

GLASS (at room temp.) polyethylene tube LDPE tube Nylon 6+66 Nylon 6+66 TORAY-6001 Temperature 400C 40 0

C

room temp.

400C 400C 400C 400C 0 0, 0s *s 0 0 *s 0 00 *0 *0000 As is clear from Table 3, remains of 1-menthol in the oral composition in the containers having innermost layer of EVAL, PBT and BAREX was as large as those or 5 more than those in the bottles of glass (room temperature).

17322-oo.Doc/mtm I I Table 3 Example No.

1 2 3 S-1 S-2 C-1 C-2 C-3 C-4 Material of Innermost Layer

BAREX

EVAL

PBT

GLASS

GLASS (at room temp.) PE tube LDPE tube Nylon 6+66 Nylon 6+66 TORAY-6001 Remains of I1-menthol 1.26 1.30 1.24 1.14 1.26 1.08 1.09 0.75 0.80 0.41 0 0 0 0** e.

p p pp p p p. pp p p p Materials from the outside layer of multi-layer structure container of this invention 0D colored polyethylene (250-300jim) 0 polyethylene colored white 0 polyethylene alumninium sheet JIS AIN 30H-0 (12ptm) (D dry laminate polyurethane adhesive (5 trn) 0 polyethylene tereplithalate (1 2im) 0 dry laminate polyurethane adhesive polyethylene (80 tm) 17322-0DOC]MtM -8- Effect Substantial decrease of essential oil, especially menthol, is hardly observed during storage, squeezability is excellent, and even in the case of a paste dentifrice squeezability is fully retained. Further, said composition is useful for the container of liquid oral composition such as mouthwash when high density polyethylene is used for the outside layer.

Ve I9 *a.

•S oD 17322.00 Domltm

Claims (6)

1. A container containing an oral composition which includes an essential oil as one of its components, said container comprising at least three layers, the inner sandwiched layer being formed from a solid polymer selected from the group consisting of an ethylene vinyl alcohol resin, polybutylene terephthalate and a thermoplastic resin containing acrylonitrile as a main component, the outer layers torred from low density polyethylene or high density polyethylene with the pr' O fI 'Cere is no polypropylene layer present in contact with the oral composition,

2. The container as claimed in claim 1, wherein said oral composition comprises an orally acceptable vehicle and menthol.

3. The container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the oral composition is in the form of a paste and the outer layer is formed from low density polyethylene.

4. The container according to claim 3, wherein the oral composition is a dentifrice.

5. The container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the oral composition is the form 15 of a liquid and the outer layer is formed from high density polyethylene. 0

6. The container according to claim 5, wherein the oral composition is a mouthwash. 000 00 SDATED this 14th Day of August, 1997 JOHNSON JOHNSON CONSUMER PRODUCTS, INC. S. 20 Attorney: RUTH M. CLARKSON S* Fellow Institute of Patent Attorneys of Australia of SHELSTON WATERS

17322.00 DOWLS ~g~i~ I ABSTRACT [CONSTRUCTION] An oral composition containing essential oil when said composition is packed in a container wherein the innermost layer of said container is made of a solid polymer in order not to diminish flavor of said oral composition during storage in said container. [EFFECT] Substantial decrease of essential oil, especially menthol, is hardly observed during storage, squeezability is excellent, and even in the case of a paste dentifrice squeezability is fully retained. Further, said composition is useful for the container of liquid oral composition such as mouthwash when high density :polyethylene is used for the outside layer. a a. a *e ~-n-ap II