GB2312622A

GB2312622A - Deodorizing agents containing plant extracts as the effective ingredient

Info

Publication number: GB2312622A
Application number: GB9609356A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Seung-Heon Yoon; Young-Jun Min; Sang-Bong Nam; Sang-Ho Lee; Eun-Sang Han
Original assignee: Haitai Confectionery Co Ltd
Current assignee: Haitai Confectionery Co Ltd
Priority date: 1996-05-03
Filing date: 1996-05-03
Publication date: 1997-11-05
Also published as: GB9609356D0; FR2748210A1

Abstract

A deodorizing agent containing at least one component selected from the group consisting of the plant extracts of the leaves of Oak, that is Quercus dentata Thunb, Quercus dentata Thunb var. erectrosquamasa Nakai, Quercus dentata Thunb var. glandifolia Koidzuki and Quercus dentata Thunb var. fallax Nakai; leaves of persimmon, that is Disopyros kaki L. F.; and whole grass of Isodon japonicus Hara and Isodon glaucocalyx (Maxim.) Kado, as an effective ingredient thereof. The deodorizing agents of the present invention which can be prepared in a simple and economic way (by extracting the plant extracts with an extraction solvent, eg water, water/methanol or water/ethanol), exhibit an excellent deodorizing effect and can be formed into various formulations depending on particular purposes or usage.

Description

DEODORIZING AGENTS CONTAINING PLANT EXTRACTS AS THE EFFECTIVE INGREDIENT The present invention concerns a deodorizing agent containing a plant extract as an effective ingredient thereof. More particularly, the present invention provides various forms of deodorizing agent containing at least one component selected from plant extracts of the leaves of oak, that is, Quercus dentata Thunb, Quercus dentata Thunb var.

erectrospuamasa Nakai, Quercus dentata Thunb var. glandifolia Koidzuki and Quercus dentata Thunb var. fallax Nakai; leaves of persimmon1 that is Disopyros kaki L. F.; and whole grass of Isodon japonicus Hara and Isodon glaucocalyx (Maxim.) Kado, as an effective ingredient thereof.

Various offensive odors are generated by industry such as factories and by living zones, such as homes and offices, and this has lead to research into providing efficient deodorizers which can eliminate offensive odors, in order to produce more pleasant living environments.

Until now, physical and chemical treatment methods have been employed to eliminate various objectionable odors.

Water-rinsing, cooling, and adsorption methods are examples of physical deodorizing methods. Generally, water-rinsing and cooling methods are rarely employed since large amounts of water and large-scale apparatus are necessary to operate these methods. Adsorption methods using the adsorption power of adsorbents such as active carbon have the disadvantage that the offensive odors are released back from the absorbent after adsorption thereof.

Chemical agent treatments and masking methods are examples of chemical deodorizing methods. Chemical agent treatments are effected by acid or alkali washing to deodorize offensive odors, but the odors which can be eliminated by this method are restricted and moreover, caution is required in handling these agents. It is another disadvantage that large-scale apparatus is required for this method. Masking methods achieve a deodorizing effect by masking offensive odors with the fragrance of the deodorizer itself. However, the very fragrance of deodorizer is often offensive to the consumer and further, the problem is that the offensive odors cannot be basically eliminated by this method.

Several deodorizing agents which can eliminate offensive odors in a simple and effective way have been developed and marketed. But the odors which can be eliminated by these deodorizers are limited and there is a significant problem that the deodorizer components may be toxic to humans, since most of the effective ingredients of these deodorizers are artificially synthesized compounds.

Accordingly, numerous studies for providing safe deodorizers containing natural substances are actively underway.

Japanese Examined Patent Publication 9141457 proposes a deodorizing agent comprising juice of immature persimmon compressed by a compressor, juice deprived of sugar components by fermenting the said juice for about six months during which the juice is stored in a sealed state, or dehydrated concentrate obtained by dehydrating the said juice under reduced pressure and formulating with adjuvant.

Although both safety and good deodorizing effect are achieved by the aforementioned deodorizing agents, their preparation is somewhat complex and time consuming. In particular, it is a serious problem that large amounts of other components than the deodorizing component are included in the resultant deodorizing agent, since the compression is operated by a compressor and additionally, due to the color originating from the juice itself, its use against various offensive odors is limited. Another problem is that the formulation thereof is difficult.

The present inventors have carried out intensive research to develop a deodorizing agent to solve the aforementioned problems and found that a deodorizing agent containing as an effective ingredient, at least one component selected from plant extracts of the leaves of Quercus dentata Thunb, Quercus dentata Thunb var. erectrosquamasa Nakai, Quercus dentata Thunb var. glandifolia Koidzuki and Quercus dentata Thunb var. fallax Nakai; leaves of Disopyros kaki L. F.; and whole grass of Isodon japonicus Hara and lsodon glaucocalyx (Maxim.) Kado, extracted by extracting solvent, as an effective ingredient, has excellent deodorizing capability. These plants are edible and thus have long been used as food material in Korea, China and Japan. Measurement of its deodorizing power reveals that the deodorizing agent according to the present invention has excellent deodorizing effects.

The composition of the present invention is safe and can be prepared economically.

An aim of the present inventors was thus to provide a safe deodorizing agent exhibiting excellent deodorizing effects for various objectionable odors which can be prepared by a simple and economic process.

Another aim of the present inventors was to provide a deodorizing agent having various formulations and discoloration degree, which are suitable for diverse purposes, usages and product forms, according to the consumer's requirement.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a deodorizing agent containing as an effective ingredient, at least one component selected from the group consisting of the plant extracts of the leaves of Quercus dentata Thunb, Quercus dentata Thunb var. erectrosquamasa Nakai, Quercus dentata Thunb var. glandifolia Koidzuki and Quercus dentata Thunb var. fallax Nakai; leaves of Disopyros kaki L. F.; and whole grass of Isodon japonicus Hara and Isodon glaucocalyx (Maxim.) Kado, as an effective ingredient The extract may be extracted with an extraction solvent.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to specific embodiments thereof.

Water or a mixture of water and hydrophilic organic solvent, such as methanol and ethanol, is an example of an extraction solvent employed in extracting the above-mentioned plant extracts.

The aforementioned plants can be subjected to rinsing, drying and crushing, if necessary. Optionally, a pre-treatment for decolorisation of the plant by adding an extraction solvent such as water or a mixture of water and methanol or ethanol can be additionally performed. In this case, the deodorizing agent is preferably prepared by addition of a phosphate salt such as dibasic sodium phosphate and calcium chloride to the plant extracts and filtration.

Besides the aforementioned solvent extraction pre-treatment, various methods can be used to provide decolorised deodorizing agent. For example, a method wherein active carbon or activated charcoal is added to the plant extracts followed by filtration or a method using an ion exchange resin or an adsorption resin column is preferably employed.

The liquid extracts obtained by the aforementioned process can be employed as such, as a deodorizing agent.

However, the deodorizing agent of the present invention can be formulated into various forms such as a spray type, a gel type, or a granule type. A spray type deodorizing agent can be prepared by adding water, and polyvalent alcohol such as propyleneglycol for an anti-scattering or preserving effect and organic acid such as citric acid for enhancing the deodorizing effect against nitrogen-based odors, or a small amount of fragrance into the aforementioned plant extracts. A gel type deodorizing agent may be prepared by addition of gelling agent to the aforementioned plant extracts and a granular deodorizing agent may be prepared by adding a porous carrier such as active carbon and bentonite to the aforementioned plant extracts.

A better understanding of the present invention may be obtained in light of following examples which are set forth to illustrate, but are not to be construed to limit the present invention.

Example I 1.5 L of water was added to 15 g of oak leaves which have been rinsed, dried and crushed and the resultant mixture was refluxed by heating for 8 hours and extraction and filtration were carried out to obtain a liquid deodorizing agent.

Example 2 A liquid deodorizing agent was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1, except that persimmon leaves were used instead of oak leaves.

Example 3 A liquid deodorizing agent was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1, except that Isodon japonicus Hara or Isodon glaucocalyx (Maxim.) Kado as a whole was used instead of oak leaves.

Example 4 50 ml of the extract from persimmon leaves of Example 2 and 50 ml of the extract from the whole grass of Isodon japonicus Hara or Isodon glaucocalyx (Maxim.) Kado of Example 3 were added to 100 ml of the extract of oak leaves of Example 1 and the extracts were homogeneously mixed to obtain a liquid deodorizing agent.

Example 5 1 L of a mixture of water and ethanol (1:1, v/v) was poured into 100 g of oak leaves which have been rinsed dried, and crushed and the resultant mixture was refluxed by heating for 4 hours and extraction and filtration were carried out to provide a liquid deodorizing agent.

Example 6 A liquid deodorizing agent was obtained in the same manner as in Example 5, except that persimmon leaves were used instead of oak leaves.

Example 7 A liquid deodorizing agent was obtained in the same manner as in Example 5, except that Isodon japonicus Hara or Isodon glaucocalyx (Maxim.) Kado as a whole was used instead of oak leaves.

Examples 8 to 10 A liquid deodorizing agent was obtained in the same manner as in Example 5, except that a mixture of water and methanol (1:1, v/v) was used as an extraction solvent.

Example 11 50 ml of the extract from persimmon leaves of Example 6 and 10 ml of the extract from the whole grass of Isodon japonicus Hara or Isodon glaucocalyx (Maxim.) Kado of Example 7 were added to 100 ml of the extract from oak leaves of Example 5 and the extracts were homogeneously mixed to obtain a liquid deodorizing agent.

Example 12 840 ml of water, 2 wt.% of propyleneglycol, 0.25 wt.% of citric acid, and 0.5 wt.% of sodium citrate and a small amount of fragrance were added to 160 ml of the liquid deodorizing agent obtained in Example 11 and homogeneously mixed to provide a spray type deodorizing agent. The wt.% was based on the total weight of water and liquid deodorizing agent.

Example 13 50 ml of the extract from persimmon leaves of Example 9 and 10 ml of the extract from the whole grass of Isodon japonicus Hara or Isodon glaucocalyx (Maxim.) Kado of Example 10 were added to 100 ml of the extract from oak leaves of Example8and the extracts were homogeneously mixed to obtain a liquid deodorizing agent.

Example 14 A spray type deodorizing agent was obtained in the same manner as in Example 12, except that the liquid deodorizer of Example 13 was used.

Example 15 60 ml of the extract from persimmon leaves of Example 6 and 40 ml of the extract from the whole grass of Isodon japonicus Hara or Isodon glaucocalyx (Maxim.) Kado of Example 7 were mixed with 100 ml of the extract from oak leaves of Example 5 to provide a liquid deodorizing agent. To 200 ml of the resultant liquid deodorizing agent, 800 ml of water and 100 ml of propyleneglycol were added and as auxiliary additives, 5 wt.% of carrageenan, 1 wt. % of vitamin C and I wt. % of citric acid were added thereto, based on the total amount of the mixture, to finally obtain a gel type deodorizing agent.

Example 16 To a mixture obtained by addition of 100 g of active carbon and 200 g of bentonite into 100 ml of the liquid deodorizing agent of Example 11, there was added 0.5 wt.% of vitamin C based on the total amount of the mixture with homogeneous mixing to obtain a granular deodorizing agent.

Example 17 To 100 g of oak leaves which have been rinsed, dried and crushed, 1400 ml of water was added and the mixture was pre-treated at 40"C for 4 hours to provide decolorised oak leaves. A liquid deodorizing agent was obtained with these decolorised leaves in the same manner as in Example 5.

Example 18 To 100 g of persimmon leaves which have been rinsed, dried and crushed, 1400 ml of water was added and the mixture was pre-treated at 50"C for 4 hours to provide decolorised persimmon leaves. A liquid deodorizing agent was obtained with these decolorised leaves in the same manner as in Example 6.

Example 19 The deodorizing agent obtained from oak leaves as in Example 17, that from persimmon leaves as in Example 18 and that from whole grass of Isodon japonicus Hara or Isodon glaucocalyx (Maxim.) Kado as in Example 18, were mixed together. A spray type deodorizing agent was prepared from this mixture in the same manner as in Example 12.

Example 20 To the deodorizing agent obtained from oak leaves as in Example 17 and the deodorizing agent obtained from persimmon leaves as in Example 18 were added 0.5 wt.% of dibasic sodium phosphate and 2 wt.% of calcium chloride, respectively and to this, the deodorizing agent obtained from whole grass of Isodon japonicus Hara or Isodon glaucocalyx (Maxim.) Kado as in Example 7 was further added. A spray-type deodorizing agent was prepared from the mixture in the same manner as in Example 12.

Example 21 15 wt.% of active carbon was added to a deodorizing agent obtained from oak leaves as in Example 5 and then filtered to prepare a liquid deodorizing agent.

Example 22 20 wt % of active carbon was added to a deodorizing agent obtained from persimmon leaves as in Example 6 and then filtered to prepare a liquid deodorizing agent.

Example 23 10 wL% of active carbon was added to a deodorizing agent obtained from the whole grass of Isodonjaponicus Hara or Isodon glaucocalyx (Maxim.) Kado as in Example 7 and then filtered to prepare a liquid deodorizing agent.

Examples 24 to 27 To the liquid deodorizing agent of Example 11,10 wt.%, 15 wt.%, 20 wt.om and 25 wt.% of active carbon were added respectively. Each mixtures were filtered to obtain the respective liquid deodorizing agent Example 28 A liquid deodorizing agent obtained from oak leaves as in Example 5 was passed sequentially through a strong acidic cation ion exchange resin column and then a weak basic anion ion exchange resin column, to provide a liquid deodorizing agent.

Example 29 to 30 Each of the liquid deodorizing agents obtained from persimmon leaves as in Example 6 and from whole grass of !sodonjapon!cus Hara or Isodon glaucocalyx (Maxim.) Kado as in Example 7 were passed sequentially through a strong acidic cation ion exchange resin column and then a weak basic anion ion exchange resin column, to provide respective liquid deodorizing agents.

Example 31 A liquid deodorizing agent was obtained in the same manner as in Example 11 except that liquid deodorizing agents of Examples 28, 29 and 30 were employed.

Example 32 A spray type deodorizing agent was obtained in the same manner as in Example 12 except that the liquid deodorizing agent Of Example 31 was employed.

Example 33 A liquid deodorizing agent was obtained in the same manner as in Example 28 except that the deodorizing agent of Example 11 was employed.

Example 34 A spray type deodorizing agent was obtained in the same manner as in Example 12 except that the liquid deodorizing agent of Example 33 was employed.

Example 35 A liquid deodorizing agent was prepared by passing the liquid deodorizing agent of Example 11 through a strong basic anion ion exchange resin column.

Example 36 A spray-type deodorizing agent was prepared in the same manner as in Example 12 except that the liquid deodorizing agent of Example 35 was employed.

Example 37 A liquid deodorizing agent was prepared by passing the liquid deodorizing agent of Example 11 through an adsorption resin column.

Example 38 A spray type deodorizing agent was prepared in the same manner as in Example 12 except that the liquid deodorizing agent of Example 37 was employed.

Experimental Example 1 With the deodorizing agents of aforementioned Examples, color was measured by using a color difference meter. The lightness (L), redness (a), yellowness (b) and hE as represented by the following equation are listed in Table 1; AE = (L L')2 + (a-a')2 + (b-b')2 wherein, L, a and b represent lightness, redness and yellowness, respectively, of the deodorizing agents of Examples 5, 6, 7, 11 and 12 which have been selected as reference materials, and L', a', and b' represent lightness, redness and yellowness, respectively, of the deodorizing agents obtained from Examples other than the aforementioned Examples.

Table 1 indicates that the deodorizing agents which have been subjected to a pre-treatment by extraction solvent, sodium phosphate and calcium chloride, active carbon, ion exchange resin, or adsorption resin have lighter colors than those of the deodorizing agents which have not been subjected to such pretreatment. Particularly, active carbon and ion exchange resin treatments appear to be most effective.

Table 1: Results of the color measurement

Example No. L a b #E 5 26.04 36.37 44.81 6 15.69 41.59 26.67 7 18.76 22.11 32.19 11 24.22 27.39 41.60 12 84.50 20.00 83.96 17 50.38 34.41 81.79 44.32 18 22.65 35.39 38.97 15.52 19 70.01 10.43 62.06 27.95 20 88.44 -0.24 36.94 51.34 21 89.32 -1.78 10.26 81.57 22 99.00 -0.24 1.14 96.83 23 94.65 -2.26 23.54 80.18 24 68.27 18.03 77.61 57.65 25 81.24 2.43 51.85 63.07 26 91.11 -2.42 30.61 74.04 27 95.36 -2.73 20.00 80.21 28 81.58 -1.37 27.99 77.48 29 85.76 3.02 12.32 81.44 30 96.31 -2.16 11.40 83.87 33 90.23 -0.01 33.32 7t.94 34 97.59 -0.62 7.22 80.53 35 39.78 29.44 66.57 29.50

36 72.72 8.96 56.13 33.91 37 54.24 36.14 87.50 55.63 38 87.28 1.50 39.80 47.96 FyF!rriaental Example 2 The deodorizing effect for ammonia of the deodorizing agents according to the present invention was evaluated as follows. 1 ml or 1 mg of the deodorizing agents of Examples I to 38 were placed in a container containing 0.1 ml of 25% ammonia solution and the container was tightly sealed and stood in a water bath at 30"C for 10 minutes. The gas in the container was sampled and the content of ammonia was measured by using gas chromatography. As a control, 1 ml of distilled water instead of the deodorizing agent was employed. The eliminating efficacy was caiculated according to the following equation and the results are shown in Table 2.

Eliminating efficacy (%) of NH3 = [(NH3 peak area of control - NH3 peak area of example) / NH3 peak area of control] x 100 Table 2. Eliminating efficacy of ammonia

Exam. No. Eliminating efficacy (%) Exam. No. Eliminating efficacy (%) Control 0 16 100 1 100 19 100 2 100 20 100 3 100 24 92.15 4 100 33 100 11 100 34 100 12 100 35 100 13 100 36 100 14 100 37 100 15 100 38 100 Experimental Example 3 The deodorizing effect for triethylamine of the deodorizing agents according to the present invention was evaluated in the same manner as in the aforementioned Experimental Example 2, except that 25% trimethylamine solution was employed instead of ammonia. The eliminating efficacy of trimethylamine is listed in Table 3.

Table 3. Eliminating efficacy of trimethylamine

Exam. No. Eliminating efficacy (%) Exam. No. Eliminating efficacy (%) 1 51.20 23 12.57 2 44.90 24 34.24 3 33.30 25 25.75 4 83.80 26 18.96 5 78.86 27 17.77 6 100 28 50.37 7 84.29 29 58.10 11 11 100 30 59.47 12 83.38 33 66.10 17 17 70.16 34 49.88 18 90.10 35 94.78 19 80.43 36 88.76 20 78.56 37 97.48 21 10.22 38 92.12 22 19.34 Experimental Examples 4 and 5 The deodorizing effect for odor of Kimchee and garlic of the deodorizing agents according to the present invention was evaluated as follows. 1 ml or 1 mg of deodorizing agents of the present invention were placed in a containers containing 1 9 of Kimchee and 1 g of garlic respectively and the containers were tightly sealed and stood at room temperature for 1 hour. Then, the containers were opened and odor strength was evaluated organoleptically, by an expert panel of 10 members. According to the strength of the inherent odor of Kimchee and garlic, the sensory evaluation was conducted such as 'very strong odor' as 10 point, and 'no odor' as 0 point. The result is shown in Table 4.

Table 4. Deodorizing effect for the odors of Kimchee and garlic

Example no. Strength of odor Kimchee garlic Control 8.72 9.12 11 1.50 2.50 12 2.00 2.88 13 2.10 2.61 14 2.21 2.69 15 1.02 1.57 16 3.12 2.87 19 1.58 2.45 20 1.61 2.44 25 5.79 4.82 34 1.79 2.62 38 1.68 2.46 As seen from the results of Table 1 to 4, the deodorizing agents of the present invention containing plant extracts as an effective ingredient are safe and exhibit excellent deodorizing effect for broad spectrum of offensive odors.

Further, as the deodorizing agents of the present invention can be formulated into various formulations with diverse decolorisation and deodorising effects, can be formed into a suitable formulations depending on the particular purpose, usage and product form.

The deodorizing agent of the present invention can be employed in home usage for example, as an indoor air freshener, or deodorizer for refrigerators as well as in deodorizing offensive odors of beverage or foods. Also, they can be efficiently used in enhancing environmental conditions such as in eliminating various objectionable odors generated from treatment of excrement or sewage or from factories.

Claims

1. A deodorizing agent containing as an effective ingredient, at least one component selected from the plant extracts of the leaves of Quercus dentata Thunb, Quercus dentata Thunb var. erectmsquamasa Nakai, Quercus dentafa Thunb var. glandifolia Koidzuki and Quercus dentate Thunb var. fallax Nakai; leaves of Disopyros kaki L. F.; and whole grass of Isodonjaponicus Hara and Isodon glaucocalyx (Maxim.) Kado, which have been extracted by an extraction solvent.

2. The deodorizing agent according to claim 1, wherein the extraction solvent is selected from water, a mixture of water and methanol and a mixture of water and ethanol.

3.The deodorizing agent according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the plant has been decolorised by a pre-treatment using an extraction solvent comprising water, or a mixture of water and methanol or ethanol.

4. The deodorizing agent according to claim 3, wherein the plant extract which has been pre-treated with an extraction solvent has been subjected to further treatment comprising addition of phosphate salt and calcium chloride followed by filtration.

5. The deodorizing agent according to any preceding claim, wherein the plant extract has been further treated by addition of active carbon and then filtration.

6. The deodorizing agent according to any preceding claim, wherein the plant extract has been further treated by passing it through an ion exchange resin column or an adsorption resin column.

7. The deodorizing agent according to any preceding claim, wherein water, polyvalent alcohol, organic acid and a small amount of fragrance has been added to the plant extract to prepare a spray type deodorizing agent.

8. The deodorizing agent according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein a gelling agent has been added to the plant extract to prepare a gel type deodorizing agent.

9. The deodorizing agent according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein a porous carrier has been added to the plant extract to prepare a granular deodorizing agent.

10. A deodorizing agent containing as an effective ingredient, at least one component selected from the plant extracts of the leaves of Quejtus dentata Thunb, Quercus dentata Thunb var. erectmsquamasa Nakai, Quercus dentata Thunb var. glandifofia Koidzuki and Quercus dentata Thunb var. fallax Nakai; leaves of Disopyros khaki L. F.; and whole grass of Isodon japonicus Hara and Isodon glaucocalyx (Maxim.) Kado.

11. A method of preparing a deodorizing agent according to any one of claims 1-9 which includes the step of extracting the plant extracts using the extraction solvent.

12. A deodorizing agent according to claim 10, substantially as described in any of the Examples.