FR3123542A1 - NEW FLUIDIFIED COMPOSITION CONTAINING ROYAL JELLY - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a novel heat-treated composition containing royal jelly, at least one vegetable extract and optionally at least one fruit extract, intended for human or animal consumption. Said composition based on royal jelly can in particular be a food supplement.

Description

NEW FLUIDIFIED COMPOSITION CONTAINING ROYAL JELLY

The present invention relates to a novel heat-treated composition containing royal jelly, a vegetable extract and optionally a fruit extract. Said composition based on heat-treated royal jelly can in particular be a food supplement.

Royal jelly, characterized as a "product of the hive", is produced by the hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands of bees ( Apis melifera L.). It is the queen's exclusive food and gives her improved longevity (the queen lives on average five years instead of six weeks for a worker bee) as well as increased productivity (the queen can lay up to three thousand eggs per day). [1], [2].

Royal jelly is also the diet of royal larvae during the first three days of their existence. A particularity exists for the larvae becoming queens which are fed with this substance until the fifth day of larval life. [1], [2].

Royal jelly is a viscous/gelatinous, creamy/milky, whitish/yellowish substance with a rather pungent and pungent flavor, sometimes slightly sweet and a very characteristic acid smell.

It contains 60 to 70% water. The dry matter contains about 50% protein, 10-15% fat, 20-25% carbohydrates and 2-3% minerals. Its pH can be between 3.8 and 4.5, and more generally between 4.1 and 4.2.

The composition of royal jelly indicates the presence of various bioactive substances. Royal jelly is rich in protein, group B vitamins (high in pantothenic acid), free amino acids and acetylcholine. It is made up of fatty acids, including 10-hydroxy-trans-2-decenoic acid (10-HDA), a characteristic compound of royal jelly. This fatty acid seems to play an important role as a “social” hormone (pheromone), maintaining the cohesion of the individuals who are assembled in the hive. There are also carbohydrates (mainly glucose and fructose, but also sucrose, maltose, erlose, melibiose, etc.), minerals, trace elements (potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium, iron, manganese, copper, zinc). [1], [2]. It also contains many substances that are still poorly identified.

All of the requirements specific to royal jelly are defined in standard NF ISO 12824. [3].

Recognized for its health benefits, royal jelly has many virtues including increased vitality and immunity. It also has antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity.

Royal jelly can be consumed in different forms. The Applicant company markets it in two formats, under the status of a food supplement:
- In small glass jars closed by a lid, accompanied by a small measuring spoon, and
- Under the ampoule galenic.

Royal jelly can be consumed alone or in combination with other ingredients as part of more complex compositions often positioning themselves on the axes, health, vitality, immunity.

Royal jelly is a natural product and sensitive to degradation over time, and in particular to microbial degradation. This is also why once opened, the small jars must be stored in the refrigerator.

To ensure the stability of royal jelly over time at room temperature, so as to avoid/limit the development of pathogenic microorganisms, two strategies have been developed:
- Add preservative(s) to the preparation, or
- Perform decontamination heat treatment, such as sterilization.

It is moreover this thermal process which is used by the applicant company to stabilize the royal jelly present under the ampoule galenic.

Indeed, as one of the leaders in the food supplements sector, and particularly certified organic food supplements, the Applicant does not wish to use very controversial preservatives, such as potassium sorbate or sodium benzoate.

The Applicant company manufactures and markets several products based on royal jelly, in particular in ampoule galenic form, and whose quantity of royal jelly contained in a 15 mL ampoule varies between 500 and 1,500 mg (i.e. 3.3 and 10% m /V of royal jelly). This ampoule galenic is found in several manufacturers.

Moreover, the majority of food supplements containing royal jelly, in the form of two-pointed glass ampoules (two breakable ends allowing the ampoule to be emptied to recover the product to be ingested) existing on the market all have the same problem of extraction of royal jelly. It is indeed difficult to extract all of the royal jelly contained in the ampoule because it gels when it is heat-treated, forming more or less large lumps in its container. This gelling of the royal jelly has several consequences: (i) difficulty or even impossible flow of the product in its entirety, (ii) ampoule possibly clogged and (iii) impossibility of ingesting the quantity of royal jelly claimed since deposits sometimes remain stuck to the walls of the glass bulb.

Several competitor products have also made it possible to verify this problem:
- Royal jelly 1500 mg, the hive, from Dietaroma
- Organic French Royal Jelly 220 mg, from Dietaroma
- Arkoroyal Treasures of the hive 1000 mg, from Arkopharma Laboratories
- Organic royal jelly 1500 mg, from Vitaflore.

When formulating liquid compositions, royal jelly is in a fluid and soluble form that is easy to work with in particular mixtures. The appearance of lumps is due to the heat treatment undergone by the bulbs, and consequently undergone by the royal jelly as well, to guarantee its good conservation. Unfortunately, it is impossible to skip this manufacturing step, as the latter makes it possible to ensure the stability, in particular microbiological, of the product until its Minimum Durability Date (MDD).

It is not uncommon for consumers to report this issue to the Plaintiff's consumer service. Indeed, some have to resort to strong shaking of the bulb when others blow directly into the glass bulb in an attempt to extract all of it. This is not without danger: the bulb being made of glass, the consumer can easily cut himself or ingest pieces of glass.

Application EP 3777562 describes the use of at least one preparation based on baobab fruit pulp to stabilize royal jelly. This solution is not ideal insofar as the use of baobab fruit powder greatly modifies the color of the product and also its taste. Indeed, the Applicant had a panel of trained consumers blind test the product ROYAL JELLY 2500 mg containing organic baobab fruit pulp powder ( Adansonia digitata L.), marketed by the company Laboratoires Arkopharma, also owner of application EP 3777562.

The opinions were unanimous: the product was noted by more than 87% of the panel as having a bad taste in the mouth and leaving a pasty mouthfeel after tasting. In addition, the visual appearance of the product tested is not the one sought for this type of product (rather yellow appearance). Its pink color can mislead the consumer.

Thus, the solutions known from the prior art very often lead to products having a lower final quality, in terms of texture and taste in particular.

There is therefore a real need for a technical solution making it possible to fluidize a composition containing royal jelly intended to be subjected to heat treatment such as pasteurization or sterilization, while preserving its nutritional qualities, physico-chemical and organoleptic properties, without modifying the taste and avoiding the use of controversial or prohibited preservatives, in particular to obtain organic certification.

Summary

Seeking to solve this technical problem, and after numerous tests, the Applicant has discovered, surprisingly and unexpectedly, that it is possible to maintain the fluidity and avoid the formation of lumps of a composition based on royal jelly, and more particularly a composition based on royal jelly having undergone a heat treatment step, using a vegetable extract, and more particularly a carrot juice, alone or mixed with another fruit and/or vegetable extract maintaining acceptable organoleptic properties for the consumer.

The present invention relates to a novel heat-treated composition containing royal jelly and at least one vegetable extract. Said composition based on royal jelly can in particular be a food supplement.

In the present invention, said composition is fluidized, that is to say characterized by its fluid flow out of a single-use container, without any flow difficulty, and without residue remaining attached to the walls. It is homogeneous once heat-treated, packaged and after agitation, in the sense that it does not form any deposits or lumps visible to the naked eye, in the mixture or on the walls of its packaging (such as a glass ampoule ).

Claims (12)

Heat-treated composition, characterized in that it contains royal jelly, at least one vegetable extract and optionally a fruit extract. Composition according to the preceding claim, characterized in that it is free of preservatives such as potassium sorbate or sodium benzoate. Composition according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the royal jelly is present in an amount, expressed as weight of royal jelly per volume of composition (in g/100 mL), of between 5 and 50% m/V, more particularly between 7 and 30% m/V, and even more particularly between 10 and 28% m/V. Composition according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the vegetable extract is a vegetable juice, preferably a carrot juice. Composition according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the vegetable extract, preferably carrot juice, is present in a quantity, expressed as volume of vegetable extract per volume of composition (in mL/100 mL ), between 1 and 20% V/V, preferably between 2 and 12% V/V, and even more preferably between 4 and 8% V/V. Composition according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it contains a fruit extract, preferably a pear juice present in a quantity, expressed as volume of fruit extract per volume of composition (in mL/100 mL ), between 1 and 7% V/V, preferably between 2 and 4% V/V. Composition according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it contains pollen and/or honey, and in which the pollen is present in a content, expressed as weight of pollen per volume of composition (in g/100 mL ), between 0.5 and 5% m/V, and preferably between 0.6 and 3% m/V, and even more preferably at a content between 0.7 and 1% m/V and the honey is present in a content, expressed in weight of honey per volume of composition (in g/100 mL), of between 0.5 and 5% m/V, and preferably between 1 and 3% m/V, and even more preferably between 1.3 and 2% m/V. Composition according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it contains a sweetening agent chosen from glucose syrup, agave syrup, coconut sugar, liquid stevia syrup, preferably agave syrup in a content, expressed as volume of sweetening agent per volume of composition (in mL/100 mL), between 3 and 10% V/V, and preferably between 5 and 8% V/V. Composition according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the heat treatment is chosen from pasteurization or sterilization, and preferably the heat treatment is pasteurization, preferably carried out at a temperature between approximately 75°C and approximately 85° C. for a period of between about 12 and about 20 minutes. Process for the preparation of a composition according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising the following steps:
-(i) introducing water into a mixer with stirring
-(ii), introduce, into the mixer with stirring, the royal jelly, the vegetable extract, and optionally, the fruit extract, the pollen, the honey and/or the sweetening agent,
-(iii) maintain agitation until a homogeneous mixture is obtained,
-(iv) heat treating the homogeneous mixture obtained in step (iii) to ensure bacterial decontamination Use of a vegetable extract, preferably carrot juice, to thin or liquefy a composition containing royal jelly, said composition being intended to be heat-treated to ensure its microbial and/or bacterial decontamination. Use according to the preceding claim, in which the content of royal jelly, expressed in weight of royal jelly per volume of composition (in g/100 mL), of between 5 and 50% m/V, more particularly between 7 and 30% m/V V, and even more particularly between 10 and 28% m/V, and in that the content of vegetable extract, preferably carrot juice, expressed in volume of vegetable extract per volume of composition (in mL/100 mL), is between 1 and 20% V/V, preferably between 2 and 12% V/V, and even more preferably between 4 and 8% V/V.