JP2016189700A - Method for producing flavor-containing material for smoking article, flavor-containing material for smoking article produced by method, and smoking article containing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for producing a flavor-containing material for a smoking article in which, by forming a gel as an unfinished good into a shape at a more high gel strength, thus the treatability of the unfinished good is improved.SOLUTION: Provided is a method for producing a flavor-containing material for a smoking article comprising: a step of preparing a raw material slurry at 60 to 90°C including at least one kind of polysaccharide selected from gellan gum and tamarind gum and a flavor, having a moisture content of 70 to 95 mass% and lying in a sol state; a step of contacting the raw material slurry with an alcohol-containing liquid to obtain a gel with a prescribed shape; and a step of drying the gel.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for producing a fragrance-containing material for smoking articles, a fragrance-containing material for smoking articles produced by the method, and a smoking article comprising the same.

  When a fragrance component having volatility such as menthol is added to a tobacco cut in a solution state, there is a problem that the fragrance component is dissipated in storage for a long period of time and the fragrance effect is not maintained. In order to solve this problem, various reports have been made so far.

  Patent Documents 1 to 3 describe a fragrance-containing sheet for smoking articles by extending a raw material slurry at 60 to 90 ° C. containing a polysaccharide and a fragrance onto a base material, cooling and gelling, and then drying by heating. Disclose manufacturing. Here, the aqueous polysaccharide solution gels upon cooling and fixes and coats the micelles of the fragrance. Even if the fragrance coated with the polysaccharide gel is once cooled and then exposed to a high temperature in the heat-drying step, the coating is unlikely to return to the sol, and the fragrance in the coating can be stably maintained. Thereby, the fragrance | flavor containing sheet | seat disclosed by patent documents 1-3 has the effect that the preparation yield of a fragrance | flavor is high and the storage fragrance | flavor property is high when it mix | blends with a smoking article.

  On the other hand, Non-Patent Document 1 discloses that xyloglucan (in this case, tamarind gum) gels in the presence of ethanol.

International Publication No. 2012/118032 Pamphlet International Publication No. 2012/118033 Pamphlet International Publication No. 2012/118034 Pamphlet

Food Hydrocolloids 14 (2000) p.125-128, Gelation of tamarind seed polysaccharide xyloglucan in the presence of ethanol.

  The inventors of the present invention focused on the fact that the gel obtained after cooling in Patent Documents 1 to 3 does not have such a strong gel strength that it can be peeled off from the substrate without destroying its sheet shape. If the gel obtained in Patent Documents 1 to 3 can have a strong gel strength that can be peeled off from the base material while maintaining its shape, the in-process gel is peeled off from the base material, The present inventors considered that the gel can be dried by applying heat or air to the surface, thereby shortening the drying time.

  Based on such an idea, the present invention provides a method for producing a fragrance-containing material for smoking articles by forming a gel, which is a work in progress, into a predetermined shape with a stronger gel strength, thereby improving the ease of handling of the work in progress. An object is to provide an improved method.

  When the present inventors contact gel with a raw slurry containing gellan gum and / or tamarind gum, gel having strong gel strength that can be peeled off from the substrate while maintaining its shape is obtained. As a result, the present invention has been completed.

  According to the present invention, a raw material slurry at 60 to 90 ° C. containing at least one polysaccharide selected from gellan gum and tamarind gum and a fragrance, having a moisture content of 70 to 95% by mass and in a sol state. A method for producing a fragrance-containing material for smoking articles, comprising a step of preparing, a step of bringing the raw material slurry into contact with an alcohol-containing liquid to obtain a gel having a predetermined shape, and a step of drying the gel. Provided.

  According to the method of the present invention, a gel as a work-in-process can be formed into a predetermined shape with a stronger gel strength. Thereby, the gel which is a work-in-process can be handled independently, without supporting with a support body in a subsequent manufacturing process. That is, the handling of the gel, which is a work-in-progress, becomes easy, and variations in subsequent manufacturing processes can be increased. For example, in the subsequent drying process, it becomes possible to apply heat and wind from all directions of the in-process gel, thereby shortening the drying time.

The graph which shows the drying condition of a gel. The graph which shows the relationship between ethanol concentration and the tensile strength of a gel. The graph which shows the relationship between the mixing ratio of gellan gum and tamarind gum, and the tensile strength of a gel.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described, but the following description is intended to explain the present invention in detail and is not intended to limit the present invention.

  As a fragrance | flavor contained in the fragrance | flavor containing material of this invention, if it is a fragrance | flavor used for a smoking article, arbitrary fragrance | flavors can be used without limitation. Main flavors include menthol, leaf tobacco extract, natural plant flavors (eg cinnamon, sage, herbs, chamomile, kuzukusa, sweet tea, clove, lavender, cardamom, clove, nutmeg, bergamot, geranium, honey essence, rose Oil, lemon, orange, cinnamon, caraway, jasmine, ginger, coriander, vanilla extract, spearmint, peppermint, cassia, coffee, celery, cascarilla, sandalwood, cocoa, ylang ylang, fennel, anise, licorice, st john's bread , Plum extract, peach extract, etc.), sugar (eg, glucose, fructose, isomerized sugar, caramel, etc.), cocoa (powder, extract, etc.), esters (eg, isoamyl acetate, linalyl acetate, propi) Isoamyl acid, linalyl butyrate, etc.), ketones (eg, menthone, ionone, damacenone, ethyl maltol, etc.), alcohols (eg, geraniol, linalool, anethole, eugenol, etc.), aldehydes (eg, vanillin, benzaldehyde, anise) Aldehydes, etc.), lactones (eg, γ-undecalactone, γ-nonalactone, etc.), animal perfumes (eg, musk, ambergris, civet, castrium, etc.), hydrocarbons (eg, limonene, pinene, etc.) Can be mentioned. Preferably, a fragrance that is easily dispersed in a solvent by the addition of an emulsifier, such as a hydrophobic fragrance or an oil-soluble fragrance, can be used. These fragrances may be used alone or in combination.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described by taking menthol as a fragrance as an example.
1. Menthol-containing material for smoking articles In one embodiment of the present invention, the menthol-containing material for smoking articles is
A step of preparing a raw material slurry at 60 to 90 ° C. in a sol state, comprising at least one polysaccharide selected from gellan gum and tamarind gum and menthol, having a moisture content of 70 to 95% by mass,
The raw material slurry is produced by a method comprising a step of bringing the raw material slurry into contact with an alcohol-containing liquid to obtain a gel having a predetermined shape, and a step of drying the gel.

Hereinafter, each step will be described.
(1) Preparation of Raw Material Slurry The raw material slurry is prepared by mixing (i) a polysaccharide containing at least one selected from gellan gum and tamarind gum and water and heating the mixture to prepare an aqueous solution of the polysaccharide (ii) ) It can be prepared by a method comprising a step of adding menthol and an emulsifier to such an aqueous solution and kneading and emulsifying.

  Specifically, the step (i) can be performed by adding a small amount of a polysaccharide containing at least one selected from gellan gum and tamarind gum to water and dissolving it with stirring. The heating temperature here can be 60-90 degreeC, Preferably it can be 75-85 degreeC. The step (ii) can be performed by a known emulsification technique using a homogenizer because the raw material slurry has a viscosity that does not hinder emulsification of about several hundred to several thousand mPas (sol state) at the heating temperature. .

  The polysaccharide containing at least one selected from gellan gum and tamarind gum (hereinafter, also simply referred to as polysaccharide) is preferably contained in the raw material slurry at a concentration of 2 to 7% by mass. For example, if the raw slurry uses 10 liters of water as a solvent, the raw slurry can contain 200-700 grams of polysaccharide. More preferably, the polysaccharide is contained in the raw material slurry at a concentration of 3 to 5% by mass.

  In the present invention, other polysaccharides may be contained in the raw slurry in addition to gellan gum and / or tamarind gum as long as a gel with sufficient gel strength can be formed. Other polysaccharides include locust bean gum, tara gum, konjac glucomannan, guar gum, pectin, gum arabic, carrageenan, xanthan gum, curdlan, pullulan, carboxymethycellulose, methylcellulose, cylide seed gum, or combinations thereof It is done.

  Mixing of the raw slurry is, for example, 500 g of polysaccharide containing at least one selected from gellan gum and tamarind gum, 50 to 500 ml of a 5% by mass emulsifier solution with respect to 10 liters of water. be able to.

  The water content of the raw slurry is 70 to 95% by mass, preferably 80 to 90% by mass.

  The ratio (mass ratio) of the polysaccharide and menthol in the raw material slurry can be 1: 1 to 1: 5, preferably 1: 2.5 to 1: 5. That is, the compounding quantity of menthol can be 100-500 mass% with respect to polysaccharide, Preferably, it is 250-500 mass% with respect to polysaccharide.

  As the polysaccharide, only gellan gum may be used, only tamarind gum may be used, or gellan gum and tamarind gum may be used in combination (see Examples 4 and 5 below). When gellan gum and tamarind gum are used in combination as a polysaccharide, gellan gum and tamarind gum can be used in any mixing ratio (see Example 5 below). For example, the mass ratio of gellan gum and tamarind gum is 1: 1 to 1. The range can be 3: 1. As above-mentioned, in addition to gellan gum and / or tamarind gum, other polysaccharides may be contained in the raw slurry.

  In the present invention, the raw material slurry has a property of coating menthol by gelation in the affected part by the action of the alcohol-containing liquid. An aqueous solution (raw material slurry) containing gellan gum and / or tamarind gum, when gelled by the action of an alcohol-containing liquid, has the property that it is difficult to return to a sol even if the temperature is raised and the gel state can be maintained. Have. Due to this characteristic, menthol coated with a gel of polysaccharides including gellan gum and / or tamarind gum is less likely to return to the sol even if it is exposed to high temperatures in the drying process after the alcohol-containing liquid is applied. The menthol in the coating can be stably maintained.

In the present invention, l-menthol can be used as menthol.
In the present invention, natural emulsifiers such as lecithin, specifically, San lecithin A-1 (Taiyo Chemical Co., Ltd.) can be used as the emulsifier.

  When lecithin is used as an emulsifier, lecithin can be contained in the slurry in an amount of 1 to 10% by mass with respect to the polysaccharide, and preferably in an amount of 1 to 5% by mass with respect to the polysaccharide. can do.

  In addition to lecithin, an ester selected from the group consisting of glycerin fatty acid ester, polyglycerin fatty acid ester, sorbitan fatty acid ester, polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid ester, propylene glycol fatty acid ester and sucrose fatty acid ester may be used as an emulsifier. it can.

  Glycerin fatty acid esters include, for example, fatty acid monoglycerides such as monostearic acid monoglyceride and succinic acid monoglyceride; polyglycerin fatty acid esters include, for example, pentaglyceryl monostearate; sorbitan fatty acid esters include, for example, sorbitan monostearate; Oxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid esters include, for example, polyoxyethylene sorbitan monostearate; propylene glycol fatty acid esters include, for example, propylene glycol monostearate; sucrose fatty acid esters include, for example, sucrose stearate. These emulsifiers can also be contained in the slurry in an amount of 1 to 10% by weight, preferably 1 to 5% by weight, based on the polysaccharide.

  Such an emulsifier has a function of emulsifying and dispersing menthol micelles coated with a polysaccharide gel in water. Thus, since the raw material slurry containing gellan gum and / or tamarind gum has the property of stably maintaining the emulsified state of the raw material (that is, emulsion stability), the perfume-containing material produced by this emulsion stability The menthol content can be maintained stably even after storage.

(2) Contact between raw material slurry and alcohol-containing liquid The raw material slurry prepared as described above is brought into contact with an alcohol-containing liquid to obtain a gel having a predetermined shape. Here, the predetermined shape is an arbitrary shape, and examples thereof include a sheet shape, a string shape, and a granular shape. That is, the predetermined shape is a shape (for example, a sheet) in which a large number of cut objects are connected planarly or linearly, assuming that the perfume-containing material of the present invention is cut and blended into a tobacco cut of a smoking article. Shape or string), or a shape (for example, granular) that can be blended as it is in the tobacco cut of a smoking article. The sheet shape can be, for example, a size of 1 to 50 cm × 1 to 50 cm × 0.5 to 3.0 mm (thickness), and the string shape is, for example, a diameter of 1.0 to 30 mm and a length of 0.5 cm. The granularity can be the same size as the step size of tobacco (about 1.0 to 5.0 mm).

  In the present invention, when a raw material slurry containing gellan gum and / or tamarind gum is brought into contact with an alcohol-containing liquid and gelled, a gel having strong gel strength can be obtained. In this specification, the strong gel strength means a gel strength that can be handled as a single object without breaking when the gel is held by hand. That is, strong gel strength means the gel strength which can maintain the shape, even if the gel is not supported by support bodies, such as a base material.

  The alcohol-containing liquid is, for example, a liquid containing any one of ethanol, methanol, and isopropanol, and is preferably an ethanol-containing liquid (see Example 2 described later).

  From the viewpoint of safety, the alcohol content of the alcohol-containing liquid is preferably 30% by mass or more and less than 60% by mass, and more preferably 50% by mass or more and less than 60% by mass. On the other hand, the higher the alcohol content in the alcohol-containing liquid, the stronger the gel strength can be obtained with a shorter contact time. For this reason, in order to obtain a gel with strong gel strength in a short contact time, the alcohol content of the alcohol-containing liquid is preferably 60 to 100% by mass, more preferably 70 to 100% by mass, and even more preferably 75 to 100% by mass. % (See Example 3 below).

  The contact of the raw material slurry with the alcohol-containing liquid is preferably performed so that 50% or more of the surface area of the raw material slurry contacts the alcohol-containing liquid in order to increase the gelation efficiency. More preferably, almost all of the surface area of the raw slurry is brought into contact with the alcohol-containing liquid.

  The alcohol-containing liquid can be used in an excessive amount with respect to the raw material slurry in order to increase the gelation efficiency.

  The raw material slurry is in a high temperature state of 60 to 90 ° C. immediately after preparation, but may be brought into contact with the alcohol-containing liquid at this high temperature. Alternatively, the raw slurry may be cooled to room temperature after preparation and then contacted with the alcohol-containing liquid. That is, the raw material slurry can be brought into contact with the alcohol-containing liquid at an arbitrary temperature of 20 to 90 ° C., for example. Also, the raw slurry can be contacted with the alcohol-containing liquid for a time sufficient to reach an appropriate gel strength, for example 1-60 minutes.

  The contact of the raw material slurry with the alcohol-containing liquid may be performed by placing the raw material slurry in a predetermined shape and then bringing it into contact with the alcohol-containing liquid. Alternatively, the contact of the raw material slurry with the alcohol-containing liquid is performed by introducing the raw material slurry into the alcohol-containing liquid in a predetermined shape, or by introducing the raw material slurry into the alcohol-containing liquid in a predetermined shape. It may be broken.

  More specifically, as illustrated below, the raw slurry can be brought into contact with the alcohol-containing liquid.

(a) Immersion in alcohol-containing liquid A sheet-like gel can be obtained by casting the raw material slurry on a base material and immersing it in the alcohol-containing liquid together with the base material.

(b) Addition of alcohol-containing liquid A sheet-like gel can be obtained by casting the raw material slurry on a substrate and adding the alcohol-containing liquid thereon. Alternatively, a sheet-like gel can be obtained by previously adding an alcohol-containing liquid onto a substrate and casting a raw slurry on the alcohol-containing liquid. Alternatively, a sheet-like gel can be obtained by simultaneously adding an alcohol-containing liquid to the raw slurry while casting the raw slurry on the substrate. Here, the addition of the alcohol-containing liquid may be performed by spraying the alcohol-containing liquid, or may be performed by pouring the alcohol-containing liquid. The alcohol-containing liquid may be added in such an amount that it stays on the substrate, or may be continuously added in such an amount that it will flow down from the substrate.

(c) Introduction into an alcohol-containing liquid A gel having an arbitrary shape can be obtained by extruding the raw material slurry into an alcohol-containing liquid in an arbitrary shape. For example, a string-like gel can be obtained by extruding the raw material slurry into an alcohol-containing liquid in the form of a string as in the wet spinning method. Alternatively, a granular gel can be obtained by dropping the raw slurry into the alcohol-containing liquid in a granular form.

(3) Drying of the gel As for the gel obtained according to the said method, the alcohol containing liquid has adhered to the surface. The gel may be transferred to the drying process with the alcohol-containing liquid attached, but the alcohol-containing liquid may be wiped off from the gel surface before the drying process in order to shorten the drying time.

  The gel obtained according to the above method has a strong gel strength and maintains its shape without being broken even if it is lifted by hand, so it is not necessary to hold it on a support such as a substrate. For this reason, the resulting gel can be freely lifted, suspended or placed on a net, so that heat and / or wind can be applied to the gel so that the entire surface of the gel is exposed to heat and / or wind. The gel can be dried by applying. In order for the entire surface of the gel to be exposed to heat and / or wind, for example, heat and / or wind may be applied to the gel from one specific direction and the opposite direction, or to the gel in all directions. Heat and / or wind may be applied from the front, that is, from the front, back, right, left, up and down of the gel. That is, in order for the entire surface of the gel to be exposed to heat and / or wind, it is necessary to apply heat and / or wind to the gel from at least two directions.

  The gel can be dried by any drying method such as hot air drying, infrared heat drying, heat drying, or a combination thereof.

  The gel is preferably dried so that the surface temperature of the gel (that is, the sample temperature) is 100 ° C. or lower in order to prevent the fragrance such as menthol from being volatilized. In general, the gel is preferably dried so that the sample temperature is 70 to 100 ° C. over the entire drying period. In the case of hot air drying, in order to maintain the sample temperature of 70 to 100 ° C., drying with hot air having a temperature of 100 to 130 ° C. is performed in the first half of the drying, and then drying with hot air of 70 ° C. or more and less than 100 ° C. Can be done in the second half of the drying.

  The gel is dried until the menthol-containing material is sufficiently dried. Specifically, the gel is dried until the moisture content of the menthol-containing material is preferably less than 10% by mass, more preferably 3 to 9% by mass, and even more preferably 3 to 6% by mass. The moisture content here refers to a value measured by the measurement method described in Example 1 described later.

  As described above, in the present invention, a stronger gel can be formed at an earlier stage of the production process than the conventional method by the action of the alcohol-containing liquid. Thereby, in this invention, the gel which is a work-in-process can be handled independently, without supporting with a support body in a subsequent manufacturing process. As a result, in the present invention, in the subsequent drying step, it is possible to apply heat and wind from all directions of the gel, thereby shortening the drying time (see Example 1 described later).

  Further, in the menthol-containing material of the present invention, even when menthol coated with a gel of polysaccharide containing gellan gum and / or tamarind gum is exposed to a high temperature in the drying process, the film is unlikely to return to the sol. The menthol can be kept stable. For this reason, the menthol-containing material of the present invention has a high fragrance preparation yield and high fragrance retention when blended in a smoking article.

2. Smoking Article The menthol-containing material of the present invention can be cut into a size suitable as a tobacco filler, if necessary, and blended into a tobacco cut of a smoking article. For example, the menthol-containing material of the present invention can be prepared in the form of a sheet or string and cut into a size equivalent to a normal tobacco cut and blended into the tobacco cut of a smoking article. Alternatively, the menthol-containing material of the present invention can be prepared in advance in the same size as the tobacco cut and blended as it is in the tobacco cut of the smoking article. Alternatively, the menthol-containing material of the present invention is prepared in the form of a string, cut into, for example, a length of 1 to 6 cm, and arranged so as to face the longitudinal direction of the tobacco rod, and blended in a tobacco cut of a smoking article. can do.

  The menthol-containing material can be blended in an amount of 2 to 10 g per 100 g of tobacco cut. The menthol-containing material is preferably blended and dispersed in the tobacco cut.

  The menthol-containing material of the present invention can be blended in any smoking article, for example, a burning smoking article that burns tobacco leaves to taste the flavor of tobacco, especially cigarette tobacco. Specifically, the menthol-containing material of the present invention can be blended into a cigarette cigarette with a cigarette rod comprising a cigarette cut and a cigarette wrap around the cigarette cut. When blended into cigarette tobacco, it is preferable to blend uniformly so that the blending amount is not biased in the longitudinal direction of the cigarette from the viewpoint of the stability of perfume expression between puffs.

Example 1: Preparation of a menthol-containing sheet (1) Example of the present invention Gellan gum (Kelcogel / Seiyogen FFI) 4.5 g, Tamarind gum (Bistop D-2032 / Saneigen EF) Eye) 4.5 g was dissolved by stirring while warming to 80 ° C. Melt menthol (Takasago International Corporation) 45 g in the resulting polysaccharide aqueous solution, add 3.6 mL of 5% lecithin aqueous solution (Sun Lecithin A-1 / Taiyo Kagaku Co., Ltd.), homogenize at 4000 rpm for 10 minutes, A polysaccharide slurry was prepared. The obtained polysaccharide slurry was thinly extended on a substrate (20 × 20 cm) to a thickness of 1 mm. The extended slurry was impregnated with 200 mL of ethanol to cause gelation (room temperature, reaction time: 1 minute). The obtained gel was peeled off from the substrate. Thereafter, while holding the gel in hand, hot air (hot air temperature: 100 ° C.) was applied to the entire surface of the gel and dried to prepare a menthol-containing sheet. About 100 mg was sampled every predetermined drying time, and the moisture content was quantified by GC-TCD.

(2) Comparative Example While heating gellan gum (Kelcogel / Seiei Gen FFI) 4.5 g and tamarind gum (Bistop D-2032 / Sangen Gen FFI) to 300 mL of distilled water to 80 ° C Stir to dissolve. Melt menthol (Takasago International Corporation) 45 g in the resulting polysaccharide aqueous solution, add 3.6 mL of 5% lecithin aqueous solution (Sun Lecithin A-1 / Taiyo Kagaku Co., Ltd.), homogenize at 4000 rpm for 10 minutes, A polysaccharide slurry was prepared. The obtained polysaccharide slurry was stretched thinly on a substrate (20 × 20 cm) to a thickness of 1 mm, and then cooled and gelled until the sample became 30 ° C. or lower. Thereafter, hot air (hot air temperature: 100 ° C.) was applied from the top surface of the gel and dried to prepare a menthol-containing sheet. About 100 mg was sampled every predetermined drying time, and the moisture content was quantified by GC-TCD.

(3) Measurement of dry condition The moisture content of the gel was measured by GC-TCD as follows.

  First, weigh 100 mg of the gel (1 x 10 mm chopped) after the specified drying time, and add 10 mL methanol (special grade or equivalent) to eliminate the effects of moisture absorption in the air. Were added in a 50 mL sealed container (screw tube) and shaken (200 rpm) for 40 minutes. After standing overnight, shaking (200 rpm) was performed again for 40 minutes, and the supernatant liquid after standing still was used as a measurement solution (not diluted for GC measurement here).

The measurement solution was subjected to the following GC-TCD and quantified by a calibration curve method.
GC-TCD; Hewlett Packard 6890 gas chromatograph
Column ； HP Polapack Q (packed column) Constant Flow mode 20.0 mL / min
Injection ； 1.0μL
Inlet ； EPC purge packed column inlet Heater ； 230 ℃
Gas; He Total flow; 21.1 mL / min
Oven: 160 ℃ (hold 4.5 min) → (60 ℃ / min) → 220 ℃ (hold 4.0 min)
Detector: TCD detector Reference Gas (He) flow rate: 20 mL / min
make up gas (He) 3.0 mL / min
Signal rate; 5 Hz
Calibration curve solution concentration: 0, 10, 50, 100, 150, 200 [mg-H2O / 10 mL].

(4) Results When the raw material slurry was brought into contact with ethanol and gelled according to the method of the present invention, the obtained gel had such a strong gel strength that it could be peeled off from the substrate while maintaining its sheet shape. That is, in the example of the present invention, when the gel was held by hand, it had a strength that could be handled as one object without breaking. On the other hand, in the comparative example, the gel did not have such a strong gel strength that it could be peeled off from the substrate while maintaining its sheet shape, and was broken when the gel was peeled off from the substrate.

  For this reason, in the example of this invention, the gel was isolate | separated from the base material and the hot air was applied from all directions of the gel, and the menthol containing sheet | seat was prepared. On the other hand, in the comparative example, the menthol-containing sheet was prepared by applying hot air from the upper surface of the gel while the gel was placed on the substrate.

  The drying state of the gel is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, in the example of the present invention, after drying for 2.5 minutes, the moisture content of the gel decreased to nearly 10%. On the other hand, in the comparative example, the moisture content of the gel was about 50% after drying for 5 minutes, and the moisture content of the gel decreased to nearly 10% after drying for 10 minutes. From this result, it can be seen that in the method of the present invention, the drying time can be shortened to about 1/4 compared with the conventional method.

Example 2: Examination of types of alcohol and examination of solvents other than alcohol A menthol-containing sheet was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 using methanol or isopropanol instead of ethanol. Even when methanol or isopropanol was used, the gel had such a strong gel strength that it could be peeled off from the substrate while maintaining its sheet shape. Similarly to the gel obtained in Example 1, the gel obtained in this example could shorten the drying time in the subsequent drying step.

  A menthol-containing sheet was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 using distilled water or an organic solvent other than alcohol (in this case, hexane) instead of alcohol. Even when the extended polysaccharide slurry was impregnated with distilled water or hexane, the polysaccharide slurry did not gel.

Example 3: Examination of ethanol concentration In this example, the relationship between the gel strength of the gel before the drying step and the ethanol concentration was examined.

(1) Example of the present invention To 300 mL of distilled water, 4.5 g of gellan gum (Kelcogel / Saneigen FFI) and 4.5 g of tamarind gum (Bistop D-2032 / Saneigen FFI) at 80 ° C Stir while warming to dissolve. Melt menthol (Takasago International Corporation) 45 g in the resulting polysaccharide aqueous solution, add 3.6 mL of 5% lecithin aqueous solution (Sun Lecithin A-1 / Taiyo Kagaku Co., Ltd.), homogenize at 4000 rpm for 10 minutes, A polysaccharide slurry was prepared. The obtained polysaccharide slurry was thinly extended on a substrate (20 × 20 cm) to a thickness of 1 mm. The extended slurry was impregnated with 200 mL of an ethanol-containing liquid to cause gelation (reaction temperature: 25 ° C., reaction time: 5 minutes).

  As ethanol-containing liquid, 100% ethanol, 90% ethanol and 10% water mixture, 75% ethanol and 25% water mixture, 60% ethanol and 40% ethanol Water mixture, 50% ethanol and 50% water mixture, 40% ethanol and 60% water mixture, and 30% ethanol and 70% water mixture It was used.

(2) Comparative Example While heating gellan gum (Kelcogel / Seiei Gen FFI) 4.5 g and tamarind gum (Bistop D-2032 / Sangen Gen FFI) to 300 mL of distilled water to 80 ° C Stir to dissolve. Melt menthol (Takasago International Corporation) 45 g in the resulting polysaccharide aqueous solution, add 3.6 mL of 5% lecithin aqueous solution (Sun Lecithin A-1 / Taiyo Kagaku Co., Ltd.), homogenize at 4000 rpm for 10 minutes, A polysaccharide slurry was prepared. The obtained polysaccharide slurry was stretched thinly on a substrate (20 × 20 cm) to a thickness of 1 mm, and then cooled and gelled until the sample became 30 ° C. or lower.

(3) Measurement of gel strength When the obtained gel was peeled off from the base material by hand, it was examined whether or not the sheet shape was broken. Also, if the sheet shape is not broken, the gel obtained is cut out to 9 cm in length and 3 cm in width (2 cm vertically between the clamps), and the tensile strength is increased at a speed of 1 mm / sec. It was measured. The tensile strength of the gel was measured with a creep meter (RHONER II series (RE2-33005S, -3305S) manufactured by Yamaden Corporation).

(4) Results Table 1 shows the results when the gel was peeled off from the substrate by hand. In Table 1, the case where the sheet shape is not broken when the gel is peeled off from the substrate is indicated by ◯, and the case where the sheet shape is broken is indicated by x.

Moreover, the measurement result of tensile strength is shown in FIG. The tensile strength is an index representing gel strength.

  In the comparative example, the obtained gel was very brittle and could not be peeled off from the base material without breaking the sheet shape, and the tensile strength could not be measured.

  On the other hand, in the example of the present invention, if the ethanol concentration of the ethanol-containing liquid is 30% by mass or more, the gel can be peeled off from the substrate while maintaining the sheet shape, and the tensile strength can be measured. It was. Therefore, if the ethanol concentration of the ethanol-containing liquid is 30% by mass or more, it was possible to separate the gel from the base material and apply hot air from all directions of the gel in the drying step. In this example, the case where the ethanol concentration was 20% by mass was also tested. However, the obtained gel was brittle, and it was difficult to peel it off from the substrate without breaking the sheet shape. However, even if the ethanol concentration is less than 30% by mass, the gel strength of the obtained gel can be increased by increasing the reaction time for gelation. The effect of the present invention in the case where is less than 30% by mass is not denied.

  In the examples of the present invention, the higher the ethanol concentration, the greater the tensile strength of the gel. When an ethanol-containing liquid having an ethanol concentration of 50% by mass or more was used, tearing when hot air was applied from all directions of the gel in the drying process was very small. In particular, when an ethanol-containing liquid having an ethanol concentration of 75% by mass or more was used, a gel with high tensile strength could be obtained. When the tensile strength is high, the gel is guaranteed to withstand harsh drying conditions such as drying with strong hot air.

Example 4: Examination of types of polysaccharides In Examples 1 to 3, gellan gum and tamarind gum were used in combination as polysaccharides. In this example, it was examined whether or not other types of polysaccharide slurry gelled by contact with ethanol. As polysaccharides, the following polysaccharides were used: gellan gum, tamarind gum, konjac glucomannan, xanthan gum, guar gum, locust bean gum, pectin, pullulan. Each polysaccharide was used at the concentration shown in Table 2 (that is, mass% with respect to distilled water). The polysaccharide concentration was adjusted so that the polysaccharide slurry had a viscosity capable of forming a sheet.

  This example was performed according to the same method as in Example 1. That is, a polysaccharide slurry was prepared and extended to a thickness of 1 mm on a substrate. The extended polysaccharide slurry was immersed in ethanol and gelled. The presence or absence of gelation was confirmed visually or by hand.

  The results are shown in Table 2 below. In Table 2, the case of gelation is indicated by ◯, and the case of not gelling is indicated by x.

From the results of Table 2, it can be seen that when gellan gum is used as the polysaccharide and tamarind gum is used, the polysaccharide slurry is gelled by the action of ethanol. On the other hand, when other polysaccharides were used, the polysaccharide slurry did not gel due to the action of ethanol.

Example 5: Examination of mixing ratio of gellan gum and tamarind gum In this example, the influence of the mixing ratio of gellan gum and tamarind gum on gel strength was examined. Table 3 shows the composition of the polysaccharide slurry used in this example.

The following five types of gellan gum (Ge) and tamarind gum (Tm) were mixed (mass ratio):
Ge / Tm ratio = 10/0
Ge / Tm ratio = 3/1
Ge / Tm ratio = 1/1
Ge / Tm ratio = 1/3
Ge / Tm ratio = 0/10.

  This example was performed according to the same method as in Example 1. That is, a polysaccharide slurry was prepared, and extended to a thickness of 1 mm on a substrate, and the extended polysaccharide slurry was immersed in ethanol to be gelled. The obtained gel was cut out to have a length of 5 cm and a width of 3 cm, and the tensile strength was measured at a speed of 1 mm / sec according to the same method as in Example 3.

The measurement results are shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, when gellan gum was used alone, tamarind gum was used alone, or gellan gum and tamarind gum were mixed and used, a gel with high tensile strength could be obtained. .

Claims (12)

A step of preparing a raw material slurry at 60 to 90 ° C. in a sol state, comprising at least one polysaccharide selected from gellan gum and tamarind gum and a fragrance, having a moisture content of 70 to 95% by mass,
A method for producing a fragrance-containing material for smoking articles, comprising: bringing the raw material slurry into contact with an alcohol-containing liquid to obtain a gel having a predetermined shape; and drying the gel.   The method according to claim 1, wherein the contacting step is performed such that 50% or more of the surface area of the raw slurry comes into contact with the alcohol-containing liquid.   The method according to claim 1, wherein the contacting step is a step of placing the raw slurry in a predetermined shape and then contacting the alcohol-containing liquid.   The method according to claim 1, wherein the contacting step is a step of introducing the raw slurry into or on the alcohol-containing liquid in a predetermined shape.   The method according to claim 3, wherein the contacting step is performed by immersing the raw slurry in the alcohol-containing liquid or spraying the alcohol-containing liquid onto the raw slurry.   The method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined shape is a sheet shape, a string shape, or a granular shape.   The drying process is performed by applying hot air from at least two directions to the gel so that the entire surface of the gel is exposed to hot air. The method described in 1.   The method according to claim 1, wherein the alcohol-containing liquid has an alcohol content of 30% by mass or more.   The method according to claim 1, wherein the alcohol-containing liquid has an alcohol content of 50% by mass or more.   The method according to claim 1, wherein the alcohol-containing liquid has an alcohol content of 75% by mass or more.   A fragrance-containing material for smoking articles produced by the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.   A smoking article comprising a tobacco filler, wherein the tobacco filler is blended with the fragrance-containing material for a smoking article according to claim 11 or a cut product thereof.