JP2000344801A - Preparation and application of water-insoluble glucomannan gel particle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide water-insoluble glucomannan gel particles which can be used as a scrub agent for cosmetics which does not damage tooth surfaces and skins. SOLUTION: Powder particles containing glucomannan as a main component are swollen in a mixed liquid of water and ethanol without being dissolved, and the resultant swollen particles are gelled by the reaction with an alkali, dewatered and dried to prepare water-insoluble glucomannan gel particles. These particles are hard, insoluble particles when dry, whereas these particles become softer upon contact with water so that they do not damage tooth surfaces and skins and are swollen into independent gel particles which still retain scrubbing effect.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a process for producing water-insoluble glucomannan particles and the use of the particles as a scrub agent for cosmetics.

[0002] As is well known, glucomannan is a high-molecular polysaccharide contained in konjac and dissolves in water to form a viscous sol. When an alkali is added to this sol, the acetyl group bonded to the sugar residue of glucomannan is eliminated, resulting in a water-containing irreversible gel, that is, konjac.

[0003] Konjac flour, which is a raw material of konjac,
In general, it is produced by grinding dried konjac potato slices and removing most of the impurities such as fibers and starch by air separation. The resulting konjac flour is called fine flour.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-131097 discloses a method for producing a fine konjak grain gel, which comprises swelling konjak fine powder with water in the presence of alcohol, immersing it in an alkaline solution, and then heating to gel. The obtained gel particles are hydrous gels having a particle size of about 0.5 to 3 mm, and are added to the low calorie diet beverage in the state of hydrous gel particles.

An object of the present invention is to provide water-insoluble glucomannan gel particles which can be used as a scrub agent added to cosmetics.

[0006]

The hydrated glucomannan gel particles to be added to a low calorie diet beverage are edible konjac particles which are independent of each other, and therefore cannot be used as an abrasive or scrub for toothpaste, cleansing foam and the like.

Therefore, the present invention is characterized in that swelling of powder particles containing glucomannan as a main component is carried out without dissolving in a mixed solution of ethanol, gelling of the swollen particles by reaction with an alkali, and drying and drying. Provided is a method for producing water-insoluble glucomannan particles.

In another aspect, the present invention relates to a cosmetic additive scrub comprising water-insoluble glucomannan gel particles produced by this method.

The water-insoluble glucomannan gel particles produced by the present invention have appropriate hardness and particle size as a cosmetic scrub agent, and are hard particles in a dry state. It becomes soft but not so soft that it no longer functions as a scrub. Therefore, compared to the conventionally used inorganic scrubbing agent, the surface of teeth and skin is not damaged, and a massage effect by the particle size and moderate softness in a swollen state is obtained, and consequently cleaning is performed. Later feeling of discomfort is obtained.

[0010]

Preferred Embodiments Glucomannan powder includes crude konjac flour called coarse flour, partially purified konjac flour called refined flour from which impurities such as fibers and starch have been removed by air filtration, and refined flour in a frozen state. Also, a rapidly soluble fine konjac powder obtained by wet-grinding with addition of ethanol, and a glucomannan powder highly purified by, for example, an ethanol precipitation method are known. The “powder particles containing glucomannan as a main component” in the present invention mean partially or highly purified glucomannan-containing powder particles excluding coarse powder.

Glucomannan is soluble in water but not soluble in ethanol. Then, when konjac refined powder is immersed in a water / ethanol mixture containing 40 to 50% ethanol, the particles swell without being dissolved in water. The hydrogel particles gelled with alkali in this state are the water-insoluble konjac gel particles for a low calorie diet beverage cited above.

However, the drinking water-containing gel obtained by this method is as soft as edible konjac and has a large particle size, so that it does not function as a cosmetic scrub.

In the present invention, the powder particles containing glucomannan as a main component as defined above are immersed in water ethanol containing 40 to 50% ethanol, and gelled with alkali in a swollen state. The alkali that can be used is a hydroxide of an alkali metal such as sodium or potassium, or a hydroxide of an alkaline earth metal such as calcium or magnesium. An aqueous solution of calcium hydroxide (lime water) is preferred. Thereafter, the gel particles are separated from the liquid, washed well, and dried at a temperature of about 105 ° C. to obtain water-insoluble glucomannan gel particles suitable as a scrub agent. Before drying, the excess alkali may be neutralized with a harmless organic acid such as citric acid.

The glucomannan particles gelled in the swollen state become hard gel particles once dried, and do not completely return to the original hydrogel state before drying by contact with water, but at least the surface is moderately soft. Swelled gel particles comparable in size to the raw glucomannan powder particles. This is the principle by which the gel particles can be used as a cosmetic scrub agent that does not damage the tooth surface or skin.

[0015] The term "scrub agent" as used herein means a component which enables the removal of dirt adhering to teeth and skin by friction of particles, including the use of a dentifrice paste as an abrasive, and washing away.

[0016]

EXAMPLE 1 kg of commercially available konjac fine powder is added to a mixture of 8 L of a 50% aqueous ethanol solution and 1 L of a saturated calcium hydroxide aqueous solution (lime water), and the mixture is stirred at room temperature for about 2 hours to gel. The reaction mixture is centrifuged, and the obtained dehydrated cake is centrifuged for 5 minutes.
After resuspending in 5 L of 0% ethanol aqueous solution, stirring for 30 minutes or more, dehydration is again performed by a centrifuge, and if necessary, this operation is repeated several times to wash well. If necessary, add an appropriate amount of citric acid to the washing solution to neutralize excess alkali.

Next, the cake thus washed and dehydrated is sufficiently dried in a dryer at a temperature of 105 ° C. to obtain dried (anhydrous) glucomannan gel particles.

Next, Formulation Example 1 of cleansing foam and Formulation Example 2 of toothpaste using the glucomannan gel particles as a scrub agent are shown.

Formulation Example 1 Ingredients Parts by weight ────────────────── 洗浄 Detergent (* 1) 40.0 Emollient component (* 2) 5.0 Preservative (* 3) 0.3 Moisturizing and cleaning aid (* 4) 15.0 Water-insoluble glucomannan gel particles 2.0 Fragrance 0.1 Purified water qs ─────── ─────────── ─────────── Total 100.0 * 1: N-myristoyl-L-glutamic acid, self-emulsifying glyceryl monostearate, amidopropyl laurate Surfactants such as betaines and alkyl glucosides * 2: Oils such as jojoba oil and myristic acid * 3: Methyl paraoxybenzoate * 4: Polyhydric alcohols such as 1,3-butylene glycol and concentrated glycerin

Formulation Example 2 Ingredients by weight (parts by weight) Heavy calcium carbonate 40.00 Glycerin 17.35 Sodium CMC 1.75 Sodium saccharin 0.20 Butyl paraoxybenzoate 0.02 Sodium lauryl sulfate 2.00 Water-insoluble glucomannan particles 2.00 Sodium lauroyl sarcosine 0.02 Flavor 1.15 Purified water qs ─────────── ─────────── Total 100.00

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (reference) // A61K 7/02 A61K 7/02 A 7/16 7/16 F term (reference) 4C083 AA122 AB322 AC122 AC242 AC422 AC482 AC482 AC662 AC712 AC782 AC862 AD211 AD212 AD272 AD392 CC22 CC41 DD22 DD23 DD27 EE11 EE31 FF01 4C090 AA03 AA07 AA08 BA41 BC10 BD04 BD24 CA19 CA22 CA24 DA26

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A water-insoluble glucoside comprising swelling powder particles whose main component is glucomannan without dissolving in a water-ethanol mixture, gelling the swelled particles by reaction with an alkali, and dehydrating and drying the particles. A method for producing mannan gel particles. 2. A scrub agent for adding cosmetics, comprising water-insoluble glucomannan gel particles produced by the method of claim 1.