JP2020110127A - Cat's urine treatment tool, and cat toilet - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a cat's urine treatment tool capable of effectively suppressing cat's urine odor.SOLUTION: A cat's urine treatment tool 1 is disposed with an antagonist flavoring agent inhibiting the activation of an olfactory receptor of a person, caused by thiol derived from cat's urine, and the substance is either one or both of acetylcedrene and florhydral. The cat's urine treatment tool 1 contains an antibacterial agent to bacteria having an urease activity, and the antibacterial agent preferably contains either one or both of florhydral and piroctone olamine.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a cat urine treatment tool and a cat toilet.

2. Description of the Related Art In a treatment tool for treating excrement such as pets, deodorant is placed on the treatment tool for the purpose of preventing perceived odor generated from the excrement. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a pet deodorant containing an aluminosilicate represented by a specific chemical formula. Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a deodorant-containing product containing a deodorant containing a phenolic compound and the like and an enzyme capable of oxidizing the compound.

JP, 2007-229151, A JP 2005-65750 A

The urine odor of cats (hereinafter, also referred to as urine odor of cats) is known to be odorous as compared with the urine odors of humans and dogs, and improvement of the deodorizing effect on cat urine odor is required. However, it is hard to say that the deodorant for pets and the deodorant-containing products described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 have sufficient deodorant effect on cat urine odor.

An object of the present invention is to provide a cat urine treatment tool that can eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional technology.

The present invention provides an antagonist perfume that inhibits the activation of human olfactory receptors caused by thiols derived from cat urine and the activation of human olfactory receptors caused by isovaleric acid. The present invention achieves the above object by providing a cat urine treatment tool in which either or both of acetyl cedrene and florhydral are provided.

Further, the present invention is a cat toilet comprising a partition part for partitioning the toilet body into an upper layer part and a lower layer part, wherein the partition part has a child-like liquid passage part of a cage, and the upper layer part is excreted. Disposal material is disposed, the lower layer portion, the cat urine treatment tool described above is disposed, the excrement processing material, activation of human olfactory receptors due to thiols derived from cat urine. The above object is achieved by providing a component containing an inhibitor.

According to the feline urine treatment tool and feline toilet of the present invention, feline urine odor can be effectively suppressed.

FIG. 1(a) is a schematic diagram showing the mechanism by which an odorant molecule of interest activates an olfactory receptor, and FIG. 1(b) shows that the receptor for the odorant molecule of interest is detected by olfactory receptor antagonism. It is a schematic diagram which shows the mechanism by which activation is inhibited. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view in the thickness direction when one embodiment of the cat urine treatment tool of the present invention is cut along the width direction in the central region along the longitudinal direction. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing an embodiment of the cat toilet of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of a usage state of the pet toilet shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line VV of FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the results of sensory evaluation of the cat urine odor suppressing effect in Examples and Comparative Examples of the present invention. FIG. 7: is a figure which shows the result of having measured the response of the human olfactory receptor to the thiol derived from cat urine. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the results of measuring the response of human olfactory receptors to thiols derived from cat urine in the presence of acetylcedrene or florhydral. FIG. 9: is a figure which shows the result of having evaluated the inhibitory effect with respect to the thiol smell derived from cat urine by acetyl cedrene or fluorohydric by a sensory test. FIG. 10: is a figure which shows the result of having measured the response of the human olfactory receptor to isovaleric acid. FIG. 11: is a figure which shows the result of having evaluated the suppressive effect of isovaleric acid odor by acetyl cedrene or fluorohydric by a sensory test.

The present invention will be described below based on its preferred embodiments.
The cat urine treatment device of the present invention is provided with a fragrance. The fragrance used in the present invention is an antagonist fragrance that functions as a substance that inhibits the activation of human olfactory receptors caused by the cat urine odor component. The antagonist is a competitive antagonist that inhibits the action by competing for the binding site, and the antagonist fragrance is used when the binding site is the olfactory receptor 20 as shown in FIG. 1(a). When the odorant molecule 21 of the above is bound to the olfactory receptor 20 and the receptor 20 is activated and odor information is transmitted, as shown in FIG. When applied, it is the other molecule used to inhibit activation of the receptor for the target odor molecule 21 by the other molecule 22 and consequently suppress the odor recognized by the individual. .. That is, by using the antagonist fragrance, it is possible to achieve suppression of odor due to olfactory receptor antagonism. As described above, by using the antagonist flavor, even if the antagonist flavor itself is not strong, a high effect of suppressing feline urine odor is exhibited.

Suppression of odor by olfactory receptor antagonism is distinct from the means of masking the desired odor with the fragrance of the fragrance, such as deodorization with fragrance, even if it is a means of using other molecules as well. To be done. The suppression of odor by olfactory receptor antagonism is performed using a substance that inhibits the activation of olfactory receptor. When a substance that inhibits the activation of an odor molecule that causes a specific odor is applied, the activation of the receptor for the odor molecule is inhibited, so that the odor that is finally perceived by an individual is suppressed. can do.

The present inventor diligently studied the main components causing cat urine odor and means for eliminating the cat urine odor, and found that the main components causing cat urine odor were thiol and isovaleric acid. In particular, it was found that thiol is a component that is hardly detected in the urine odor of other animals and is a component characteristic of cat urine odor. The present invention provides a feline urine treatment device with an antagonistic fragrance that inhibits the activation of human olfactory receptors caused by thiol and isovaleric acid, which are components characteristic of feline urine odor.
The antagonist fragrance according to the present invention is acetyl cedrene or florhydral. Acetylcedrene and florhydral are both antagonist fragrances that inhibit both human olfactory receptor activation caused by thiols derived from cat urine and human olfactory receptor activation caused by isovaleric acid. As the antagonist flavor of the present invention, either one or both of acetylcedrene and florhydral is used. By suppressing the odors of thiol and isovaleric acid derived from feline urine by acetylcedrene and/or florhydral by olfactory receptor antagonism, feline urine odor can be effectively suppressed.

The human olfactory receptor whose antagonist perfume according to the present invention inhibits activation is activated by OR2M3 or the like which is a receptor activated by a thiol derived from cat urine and isovaleric acid. It is a receptor such as OR51I2. By suppressing the activation of these receptors, the odor finally perceived by the individual can be suppressed. The antagonist perfume according to the present invention exerts a specific odor suppressing effect on thiols derived from cat urine by inhibiting the activation of OR2M3 and the like, and inhibits the activation of OR51I2 and the like, A specific odor suppressing effect is exerted on isovaleric acid.

In the present invention, as a thiol derived from cat urine that activates human olfactory receptors, 3-Mercapto-3-methylbutyl Formate (hereinafter, also referred to as MMF), 3-Mercapto-3-methyl-1-butano, 3-Methyl-3-(methylthio)-1-butanol (hereinafter, also referred to as MMB) and the like can be mentioned. The antagonist fragrance|flavor which concerns on this invention inhibits the activation of the human olfactory receptor resulting from these.

Examples of the cat urine treatment tool of the present invention include those that include a sheet-shaped absorber or a mat-shaped absorber, and a type of cat sand that hardens. When the feline urine treatment device of the present invention includes a sheet-shaped absorber, the sheet-shaped absorber may contain other components in addition to the above-mentioned antagonistic fragrance. Other components include antibacterial agents, adsorbents, neutralizing agents, water-absorbing polymers, pulp, leak-proof sheets, surface materials, core wrap sheets, and other fragrances. Among these, retention of urine, antibacterial From the viewpoint, antibacterial agents, water-absorbing polymers, pulps, leak-proof sheets, surface materials, and core wrap sheets are preferable. When the cat urine treatment device of the present invention includes a mat-shaped absorbent body, the mat-shaped absorbent body may contain other components in addition to the above-mentioned antagonistic fragrance. Other components include wood absorbent mats and antibacterial agents. When the cat urine treatment tool of the present invention is a type of cat sand that hardens, the type of cat sand that is hardened can be of various forms such as mineral, hardened dietary fiber such as okara, and wood. In addition to the above-mentioned antagonist flavor, the hardening type cat litter can contain an antibacterial agent as another component.

The antibacterial agent contained in the feline urine treatment tool of the present invention preferably suppresses the growth of bacteria having urease activity. In the present specification, a bacterium having urease activity means a bacterium that produces an enzyme by producing an enzyme (urease) that decomposes urea contained in urine into carbon dioxide and ammonia by hydrolysis and generating ammonia by proliferating in urine. Examples of such a bacterium include Brevundimonas intermedia, Sporosarcina ureae, Proteus mirabilis, Psedomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella genus, and Morganella moranibii, Cory. Examples of the antibacterial agent include fluorohydral, piroctone olamine, didecyldimethylammonium chloride, benzalkonium chloride, benzethonium chloride, paraoxybenzoic acid ester, alkyltrimethylammonium chloride, and isopropylmethylphenol. From the viewpoint that the effect is expected to be obtained, fluorohydral, piroctone olamine, and didecyldimethylammonium chloride are preferable. The above antibacterial agents can be used alone or in combination of two or more kinds. The feline urine treatment device contains an antibacterial agent such as florhydral or piroctone olamine to suppress the growth of bacteria having urease activity, and the action of the bacteria generates ammonia having a very strong irritating odor. Since this can be suppressed, it becomes possible to more effectively suppress the cat urine odor.

The cat urine treatment tool 1 of the present embodiment preferably has a sheet-like shape as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The cat urine treatment tool 1 has two sides along the first direction X and two sides along the second direction Y which is a direction orthogonal to the first direction X, and has a rectangular shape in plan view. Have The cat urine treatment tool 1 may have a rectangular shape or a square shape, but in the present embodiment, the length in the direction along the second direction Y is the same as the direction along the first direction X. It has a rectangular shape that is longer than its length. In the present embodiment, the first direction X is the width direction of the cat urine treatment tool 1, and the second direction Y is the longitudinal direction of the cat urine treatment tool 1. In the present specification, the thickness direction of the cat urine treatment tool is the direction indicated by Z in FIG. Further, the front surface is a surface of the cat urine treatment tool that is directed to the upper side when the cat urine treatment tool is used, and the back surface is a surface of the cat urine treatment tool that is directed to the lower side when the cat urine treatment tool is used. ..

The cat urine treatment device of the present invention may be a single layer or may be a laminate of a plurality of layers. The cat urine treatment tool 1 of the present embodiment is formed by laminating a plurality of layers, and FIG. 2 shows an example of a cross-sectional structure thereof. As shown in FIG. 2, the cat urine treatment tool 1 preferably includes a topsheet 2, a backsheet 3, and an absorber 4 arranged between the two sheets 2 and 3.
The topsheet 2 of the cat urine treatment tool 1 is liquid permeable. One surface of the topsheet 2 constitutes the surface of the feline urine treatment tool 1. On the other hand, the backsheet 3 has liquid impermeability or liquid impermeability. One side of the back sheet 3 constitutes the back side of the feline urine disposal tool 1. The topsheet 2, the backsheet 3, and the absorber 4 each have a shape elongated in the same direction as the longitudinal direction Y of the feline urine treatment tool 1.
The absorber 4 is sandwiched and fixed between the topsheet 2 and the backsheet 3. The topsheet 2 and the backsheet 3 have portions extending from the absorber 4. The extended portion of the topsheet 2 extends over the entire circumference of the peripheral edge of the topsheet 2, and the extended portion of the backsheet 3 extends over the entire peripheral edge of the backsheet 3. The top sheet 2 and the back sheet 3 are joined to each other at their respective extending portions.

The absorbent body 4 is configured by covering the absorbent core 40 with a liquid-permeable core wrap sheet 44 made of tissue paper or a water-permeable nonwoven fabric. The core wrap sheet 44 preferably covers the entire surface of the absorbent core 40. Further, the core wrap sheet 44 preferably covers the entire back surface of the absorbent core 40. Furthermore, it is preferable that the core wrap sheet 44 also covers the entire left and right side surfaces of the absorbent core 40. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, two core wrap sheets 44 are used, and the core wrap sheets 44a and 44b cover the front surface, the back surface and both side surfaces of the absorbent core 40. Both ends 44e in the width direction X of the core wrap sheet 44b arranged on the back surface are folded back to the front side of the absorbent core 40 and cover both ends in the width direction X of the absorbent core 40. ..

The absorbent core 40 is made of a liquid absorbent material 46. As the liquid-absorbent material, the same materials as those conventionally used in the technical field of cat urine treatment tools can be used. For example if the liquid absorbing material as a variety of fiber materials, in particular wood pulp, cotton, natural fibers such as hemp, using semisynthetic fibers such as acetate and rayon, synthetic fibers made of synthetic resin such as polyethylene or polypropylene be able to. These fiber materials can be used alone or in combination of two or more. The absorbent core 40 includes a superabsorbent polymer 47 made of a hydrogel material having a property of absorbing water, swelling, and retaining water.

The antagonist fragrance may be arranged at any position in the cat urine treatment device 1, but is preferably arranged on the surface side of the cat urine treatment device 1. In other words, it is preferable that the antagonist fragrance is arranged outside the superabsorbent polymer 47 that absorbs and holds the cat urine odor and is a source of odor generation. Specifically, it is preferable that the antagonist fragrance is provided on one or both of the surfaces of the topsheet 2 and the absorber 4. When the antagonist fragrance is provided on the absorbent core 4, it is more preferably provided on the portion of the core wrap sheet 44 that covers the surface of the absorbent core 40. In the present embodiment, the portion of the core wrap sheet 44 that covers the surface of the absorbent core 40 is disposed on the front surface side of the absorbent core 40 and on the back surface side of the absorbent core 40. The core wrap sheet 44b includes both end portions 44e and 44e. By arranging the antagonist fragrance in this way, before the odor generated from the cat urine retained in the superabsorbent polymer 47 reaches the surrounding person, the antagonist fragrance reaches the surrounding person first, The effect of suppressing the odor caused by the antagonist fragrance becomes remarkable.

The antibacterial agent may be arranged at any position in the cat urine treatment tool 1, but is preferably arranged in the absorber 4 in the cat urine treatment tool 1. By disposing the antibacterial agent in the absorbent body 4, when the absorbent body 4 absorbs and holds cat urine, the cat urine is less likely to rot, and thus an advantageous effect of suppressing the generation of odor is exerted. It When the absorbent body 4 includes the liquid absorbent material 46 and the super absorbent polymer 47 as in the present embodiment, the antibacterial agent is contained in either the liquid absorbent material 46 or the super absorbent polymer 47. However, in the superabsorbent polymer 47 that absorbs and holds cat urine, it is preferable that the superabsorbent polymer 47 is contained in at least the superabsorbent polymer 47 from the viewpoint of suppressing the generation of ammonia.

In this embodiment, the florhydral is both an antagonist perfume and an antibacterial agent, as described above. Therefore, in the case where the cat urine treatment tool 1 is provided with florhydral, the cat urine treatment tool 1 contains both an antagonist fragrance and an antibacterial agent. As described above, the florhydral may be arranged at any position of the cat urine treatment device 1, but when florhydral is used as an antagonist fragrance, it may be arranged on the surface side of the cat urine treatment device 1. Preferably, when using florhydral as an antibacterial agent, it is preferably arranged in the absorbent body 4. When using florhydral as both an antagonist fragrance and an antibacterial agent, the surface side of the cat urine treatment tool 1 and the absorbent body 4 are It is preferable that both are arranged.

The cat urine treatment device 1 of the present embodiment can be used in combination with a cat toilet 10 (hereinafter, also referred to as a toilet 10) as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The cat toilet shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is an embodiment of the cat toilet of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 3, the toilet 10 includes a partition portion 30 that partitions the toilet body 11 into an upper layer portion A and a lower layer portion B.
As shown in FIG. 4, the toilet body 11 has, in the upper layer portion A, a sand container 12 in which a large number of granular excrement disposal materials 32 are laid. As shown in FIG. 2, the toilet main body 11 has, in the lower layer portion B, a tray accommodating portion 15 for accommodating the tray 16 in a retractable manner.
The tray accommodating portion 15 is provided below the container 13 having an opening at the top. The container 13 is provided with a support portion (not shown) formed of a protrusion or a step portion protruding inward on the inner peripheral surface thereof, and the sand storage portion 12 is fitted into the container 13 from above so that the sand storage portion The container 12 can be detachably fixed to the upper portion of the container 13.

As shown in FIG. 3, the tray 16 accommodates the cat urine treatment tool 1 of the present embodiment. The tray 16 has a thin bottom and a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view, and can be taken in and out of the tray accommodating portion 15. In a state where the cat urine treatment tool 1 is accommodated in the tray 16 and the tray 16 is accommodated in the tray accommodating portion 15, when the tray 16 is accommodated in the tray accommodating portion 15, the container-like passage of the partition portion 30 located at the bottom of the sand accommodating portion 12 is seen. The liquid part 31 and the feline urine disposal tool 1 are in an overlapping state. It is preferable that the cat urine treatment tool 1 has a size that overlaps with the entire liquid-passing portion 31 in the shape of a cage.
In the upper layer portion A of the toilet body 11, the excreted liquid such as urine excreted by the cat passes through the excrement treating material 32 of the sand accommodating portion 12 and the liquid passage portion 31 of the partition portion 30, and in the lower portion B, It falls on the cat urine treatment tool 1 housed in the tray 16.
In FIG. 3, the longitudinal direction Y and the width direction X of the feline urine disposal tool 1 and the longitudinal direction and the width direction of the toilet 10 coincide with each other, but they may not coincide with each other.

To describe the toilet 10 further, the toilet body 11 is a molded product made of a synthetic resin such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS). It has a substantially rectangular planar shape with curved corners of 200 to 800 mm and short sides of 150 to 500 mm, and has a height of 100 to 200 mm, for example.
The upper layer portion A has a height of about 40 to 200 mm, and the lower layer portion B has a height of about 0 to 40 mm.

The excrement disposal material 32 may be made of any material as long as it is solidified in a granular form. Examples of the excrement disposal material 32 include a mineral material such as zeolite and a material obtained by solidifying a pulverized material of plant-derived material and a binder. Examples of mineral substances include zeolite and silica gel. As the pulverized product of plant-derived material, for example, wood flour or pulp can be used. Specifically, as the wood powder, a crushed product of a conifer such as a cedar family, a pinaceae family or a cypress family can be used. As the binder, any binder can be used without particular limitation as long as it can solidify a pulverized product of a plant-derived material into particles. Specifically, a synthetic resin or the like can be used as the binder.

The excrement disposal material 32 contains a component that inhibits activation of human olfactory receptors due to thiols derived from cat urine. The component may be the same as the antagonist flavor contained in the cat urine treatment device 1. Examples of the component include acetyl cedrene and florhydral, and it is preferable to use these.

The excrement disposal material 32 preferably contains a water-repellent resin from the viewpoint of having a water-repellent function. Examples of such resins include polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene, polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyamides, resins such as vinyl resins, and copolymers thereof.
The excrement disposal material 32 allows the excrement liquid to quickly pass therethrough and drops it into the lower layer portion B through the liquid passage hole of the liquid passage portion 31, and the feline urine disposal device 1 in the tray 16 arranged in the lower layer portion B. From the viewpoint of positively absorbing the excreted liquid, it is preferable to have low absorbency. From the same viewpoint, the excrement disposal material 32 has an absorption rate of preferably 1% or more, more preferably 2% or more, preferably 10% or less, more preferably 9% or less, preferably 1%. It is 10% or less and 10% or less, more preferably 2% or more and 9% or less.

The "absorption rate" referred to here is the mass increase rate of the measured object immersed in water at 25°C for 3 seconds, and is represented by the following formula.
(Amount of measured substance after immersion-amount of measured substance before immersion)/(amount of measured substance before immersion)×100(%)

The excrement disposal material 32 preferably contains an inorganic powder from the viewpoint of shape retention and deodorant properties. Examples of the inorganic powder include tectosilicate, and it is particularly preferable to use zeolite.

In the toilet 10, as shown in FIG. 5, the excrement disposal material 32 is arranged in the upper layer portion A, and the cat urine treatment device 1 is arranged in the lower layer portion B. According to the toilet 10, in addition to the effect of suppressing feline urine odor by the feline urine treatment tool 1, the odorant receptor activation caused by thiols derived from feline urine is further enhanced by the components of the excrement treating material 32. Since it can be suppressed, the cat urine odor can be suppressed more effectively.

In the cat urine treatment device of the present invention, the content of the antagonist fragrance is not particularly limited, and can be appropriately set according to the desired deodorant performance, absorption performance, and the like. For example, 1 mg or more and 2000 mg or less of an antagonist fragrance can be contained per sheet-shaped cat urine treatment device (eg, Nyan Tomo (registered trademark) clean toilet deodorizing antibacterial antibacterial sheet: manufactured by Kao Corporation).

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to Examples. However, the scope of the invention is not limited to such embodiments.

[Example 1]
A sample having a cross-sectional structure similar to that of the sheet-shaped cat urine treatment tool 1 shown in FIG. 2 was manufactured. The absorber 4 of the sample has a length of 4 cm in the longitudinal direction Y and a length of 4 cm in the width direction X. The absorber 4 is sandwiched between a 6 cm square topsheet 2 and a 6 cm square backsheet 3, and the topsheet 2 and the backsheet 3 are sealed with a 1 cm width along the peripheral edges of both sheets 2 and 3 to obtain a sample. Was manufactured. The following materials were used as each member constituting the sample. The antagonist fragrance was scented to the core wrap sheet 44a (4 cm square) on the front side so that the scent of 7% by mass was applied to the core wrap sheet 44a. The sample manufactured in this manner is referred to as Example 1.
・Surface sheet 2: Polyolefin non-woven fabric, 20 gsm
・Back sheet 3: Polyethylene sheet, 20 gsm
-Front side core wrap sheet 44a: thin paper, 16 gsm
-Backside core wrap sheet 44b: thin paper, 16 gsm
・Upper layer of liquid-absorbent material 46: pulp, 100 gsm
Super absorbent polymer 47: cross-linked water absorbent resin of sodium polyacrylate, 117 gsm
・Liquid absorbing material 46 lower layer: pulp, 100 gsm
・Antagonist fragrance: Acetyl cedrene

[Example 2]
Example 2 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that acetylcedrene was changed to fluorohydric.

[Comparative Example 1]
Comparative Example 1 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that Cedarwood oil Texas was used instead of acetyl cedrene.
[Comparative Example 2]
Comparative Example 2 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that α-pinene was used instead of acetylcedrene.
[Comparative Example 3]
Comparative Example 3 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that β-pinene was used instead of acetylcedrene.

[Evaluation]
In Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3, 1 cc of cat urine was dripped every day. Cat urine was dropped for 7 days. One and seven days after the start of dropping cat urine, the odors of Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3 were sensory evaluated according to the following criteria. The result is shown in FIG.
5: Intense odor 4: Strong odor 3: Easy-to- sense odor 2: Weak odor that tells what odor it is 1: Sensible odor 0: Odorless

As is clear from the results shown in FIG. 6, compared with Comparative Examples 1 to 3, Examples 1 and 2 had a feline urine odor both 1 day and 7 days after the start of dropping cat urine. It turned out that it was suppressed.

Details of the antagonistic fragrances used in Examples and Comparative Examples are shown below.
-Acetyl cedrene (alias: methyl cedolyl ketone), IUPAC name: [1-[(1S,2R,5R,7S)-2,6,6,8-tetramethyltricyclo][5.3.1.01,5] undec-8-en-9-yl]ethanone], CAS registration number: 32388-55-9, trade name: Vertofix; (manufactured by International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc.).
-Fluorhydral [alias: β-Methyl-3-(1-methylethyl)benzenepropanal), 3-(3-ISOPROPYLPHENYL)BUTANAL], IUPAC name: 3-(3-propan-2-ylphenyl)butanal, CAS registration number: 125109 -85-5, trade name: Fluorhydral (manufactured by Givaudan SA)
-Α-pinene IUPAC name: [(1S,5S)-2,6,6-trimethylbicyclo(3.1.1)-2-heptene], CAS number registration: 7785-26-4, trade name: (-)- α-Pinene (Fuji Film Wako Pure Chemical Industries)
-Β-pinene IUPAC name [(1S,5S)-6,6-dimethyl-2-methylenebicyclo[3.1.1]heptane], CAS number registration: 18172-67-3, trade name: (-)-β- Pinene (Fuji Film Wako Pure Chemical Industries)
Cedarwood oil Texas CAS registration number: 91722-16-1, product name: CEDARWOOD OIL TEXAS (manufactured by TEXAROME)

Next, the following Test Examples 1 to 3 evaluated the antagonist fragrances against the olfactory receptor response caused by MMF or MMB.
First, in Test Example 1 below, OR2M3 was identified as an olfactory receptor that recognizes MMF and MMB, which are major malodorous substances of the cat urine odor component.
[Test Example 1] Concentration-dependent response of OR2M3 to thiol derived from cat urine 1) Cloning of human olfactory receptor gene OR2M3 Based on sequence information registered in GenBank, OR2M3 which is one of human olfactory receptors Was cloned. Cloning was carried out by a PCR method using a human genomic DNA female (G1521: Promega) as a template. The gene amplified by the PCR method was recombined downstream of the Flag-Rho tag sequence on the pME18S vector.
2) Preparation of pME18S-human RTP1S vector A gene encoding human RTP1S was incorporated into EcoRI and XhoI sites of pME18S vector.
3) Preparation of cells expressing OR2M3 The olfactory receptor expressed in HEK293 cells increases intracellular cAMP level by activating adenylate cyclase by coupling with intracellular Gαs. In the present invention, a luciferase reporter gene assay for monitoring the increase in intracellular cAMP amount as a luminescence value derived from the firefly luciferase gene (fluc2P-CRE-hygro) was used for measuring the response of cells to a malodorous substance. In addition, a fusion of the Renilla luciferase gene (hRluc-CMV) downstream of the CMV promoter was co-transfected at the same time and used as an internal standard for correcting the error in gene transfer efficiency or cell number. For the luciferase activity measurement, a Dual-Glo ^™ luciferase assay system (manufactured by Promega) was used.
First, HEK293 cells expressing OR2M3 were prepared. A reaction solution having the composition shown in Table 1 was prepared and allowed to stand in a clean bench for 15 minutes. 10 μL of the reaction solution was added to each well of a multi-well plate (Bio Coat ^™ 96-well plate: manufactured by Corning International), and then 90 μL of HEK293 cells (2×10 ⁵ cells/cm ² ) were added to seed the cells. Then, the cells were cultured for 24 hours in an incubator kept at 37° C. and 5% CO ₂ . As a control, a cell (mock) that does not express the receptor was prepared.

4) Response of OR2M3 expressing cells to thiol derived from cat urine The medium was removed from the culture of the receptor expressing cells after 24 hours of culture, and 75 μL of medium containing malodorous substance or medium containing no malodorous substance was added to each well. Then, 4 hours after the addition, the measurement was performed according to the operation manual of the product. The medium added here was a DMEM solution containing 300 μM CuCl ₂ . MMF or MMB was used as the malodorous substance.
The final concentration of MMF was adjusted to 0.003-0.03 mM, and the final concentration of MMB was adjusted to 0.01-0.1 mM. The amount of MMF or MMB added was 75 μL. A value obtained by dividing the luminescence value derived from firefly luciferase induced by the odorous substance stimulation by the luminescence value in cells not stimulated by the malodorous substance was calculated as a fold increase and used as an index of response intensity.

5) The evaluation results are shown in FIG. No response to MMF and MMB was observed in mock, whereas a concentration-dependent response to both MMF and MMB was observed in cells expressing OR2M3. From the above results, it was shown that OR2M3 is an olfactory receptor that recognizes MMF and MMB, which are components of cat urine odor.

Next, the following test example 2 confirmed the response suppressing ability of acetylcedrene and florhydral to OR2M3 identified in test example 1.
[Test Example 2] Inhibitory activity of OR2M3 response by acetylcedrene and florhydrid 1) Test method The response of OR2M3 to MMF or MMB in the presence of a test substance was measured to examine the change in response intensity. A luciferase assay of OR2M3-expressing HEK293 cells was performed by the same procedure as in 4) of Test Example 1 except that the final concentrations of MMF and MMB were fixed and that the test substance was added to the medium added to each well. The response (fLuc/hRluc value) of OR2M3 to MMF or MMB was measured in the presence and absence of H. Either acetyl cedrene or florhydral was used as the test substance. The same acetyl cedrene and florhydral as those used in the examples were used. The final concentration of MMF was adjusted to 0.03 mM and the final concentration of MMB was adjusted to 0.1 mM. The final concentration of the test substance was adjusted in the range of 0 to 1 mM.
<Calculation method of response strength of OR2M3>
FLuc/hRluc level (X) induced by MMF or MMB alone stimulation, fLuc/hRluc level (Y) in cells not stimulated with MMF or MMB, and co-stimulation with MMF or MMB and any test substance The fLuc/hRluc value (Z) induced by was determined. The response strength (Response (%)) of the receptor to MMF or MMB in the presence of the test substance was determined by the following formula.
Response (%)=(Z−Y)/(X−Y)×100
Independent experiments were performed three times, and the average value of the response intensities obtained in each experiment was calculated.

2) Evaluation The result of measuring the response of OR2M3 caused by MMF or MMB is shown in FIG. Both acetylcedrene and fluorohydral suppressed the OR2M3 MMF and MMB responses in a concentration-dependent manner. Therefore, it was confirmed that acetyl cedrene and florhydral are antagonist flavors for OR2M3 activity caused by MMF or MMB. Therefore, the cat urine treatment device of the present invention can effectively suppress the cat urine odor caused by MMF and MMB by arranging either one or both of acetylcedrene and florhydral. Recognize.

Then, the inhibitory effect of MMF or MMB odor was confirmed by the following Test Example 3 by using the antagonist flavors acetylcedrene and florhydral for the OR2M3 activity identified in Test Example 2.
[Test Example 3] Suppressing effect of MMF or MMB odor by antagonistic fragrance 1) Sensory test A 0.1% (v/v) solution of MMF or a 1% (v/v) solution of MMB was used as a malodor solution. .. As the antagonist solution, a 1% (v/v) solution of either acetylcedrene or florhydral was used. The same acetyl cedrene and florhydral as those used in the examples were used. Mineral oil was used as the solvent in all solutions. Put two cotton balls in a glass vial (wide mouth specification bottle No. 11 #85-0611), soak one of the cotton balls with 20 μL of either malodorous solution, and put another cotton ball with the antagonist solution. 20 μL of either was soaked. The glass vial containing the cotton ball was capped and allowed to stand at 37° C. for 1 hour, and then used as a test sample in a sensory test. As a reference sample, a vial impregnated with 20 μL of mineral oil was prepared instead of the antagonist solution.
The sensory test was performed by three evaluators. The test was conducted near the draft to prevent the spread of odors. The odor evaluation of the test sample was performed according to Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). That is, the evaluator sniffed the odor of the sample, and entered the odor intensity of MMF or MMB at an arbitrary position on the evaluation axis, where the left end is “No odd” and the right end is “Strong odd”. The evaluator first evaluated the odor of the reference sample and subsequently the odor of the test sample. After that, the evaluator again evaluated the odor of the reference sample. The distance from the evaluation point on the evaluation axis of each sample to the left end was calculated as the odor intensity of each sample. In consideration of the decrease in the malodor intensity due to the adaptation of the olfactory sense, the average value of the above two evaluation results was used as the odor intensity of the reference sample. The relative value (%) of the odor intensity of each test sample was calculated with the odor intensity of the reference sample as 100%.

2) Evaluation FIG. 9 shows the evaluation results of the sensory test. It was found that both acetylcedrene and florhydral, which are antagonist flavors for OR2M3, have the effect of suppressing the MMF or MMB odor. Therefore, the cat urine treatment device of the present invention can effectively suppress the cat urine odor caused by MMF and MMB by arranging either one or both of acetylcedrene and florhydral. Recognize.

Next, the following test examples 4 to 6 evaluated the antagonist fragrances for the olfactory receptor response caused by isovaleric acid.
First, in Test Example 4 below, an olfactory receptor that recognizes isovaleric acid, which is another major malodorous substance of the cat urine odor component, was identified.
[Test Example 4] Concentration-dependent response of OR51I2 to isovaleric acid 1) Preparation of OR51I2-expressing cells Similar to OR2M3 in Test Example 1, one of the human olfactory receptors was prepared based on the sequence information registered in GenBank. The gene encoding OR51I2 was cloned to prepare OR51I2-expressing cells. A reaction solution having the composition shown in Table 2 was prepared and allowed to stand in a clean bench for 15 minutes. Then, the reaction solution was added to each well of a multi-well plate (96-well plate, BioCoat), and then 100 μL of HEK293 cells (3×10 ⁵ cells/cm ² ) were added to seed the cells. Then, the cells were cultured for 24 hours in an incubator kept at 37° C. and 5% CO ₂ . As a control, a cell (mock) that does not express the receptor was prepared.

2) Response of OR51I2-expressing cells to isovaleric acid After removing the medium from the culture of the receptor-expressing cells after culturing for 24 hours, 75 μL of medium containing malodorous substance or medium containing no malodorous substance was added to each well, and after addition After 4 hours, the measurement was performed according to the operation manual of the product. Here, CD293 (Invitrogen) was used as the medium. Isovaleric acid was used as the malodorous substance.
The cells were cultured in a CO ₂ incubator for 4 hours to fully express the luciferase gene in the cells. For the luciferase activity measurement, a Dual-Glo ^™ luciferase assay system (manufactured by promega) was used, and the measurement was performed according to the operation manual of the product. A value obtained by dividing the luminescence value derived from firefly luciferase induced by the odorous substance stimulation by the luminescence value in cells not stimulated by the malodorous substance was calculated as a fold increase and used as an index of response intensity.
3) Evaluation The results of examining the response of OR51I2 to isovaleric acid (0, 3, 10, 30, 100, 300, and 1000 μM) are shown in FIG. 10. From the results shown in FIG. 10, a concentration-dependent response to isovaleric acid was observed in cells expressing OR51I2. From the above results, it was shown that OR51I2 is a receptor that recognizes isovaleric acid, which is a major malodorous substance of the cat urine odor component.

Next, the following Test Example 5 confirmed the response suppressing ability of acetylcedrene and florhydral to OR51I2 identified in Test Example 4.
[Test Example 5] Inhibitory activity of OR51I2 response by acetylcedrene and florhydrid 1) Test method Test example 4 except that the final concentration of isovaleric acid was fixed and the test substance was added to the medium added to each well. The luciferase assay of OR51I2-expressing HEK293 cells was performed according to the same procedure as 2). The final concentration of isovaleric acid was 1 mM, and acetyl cedrene or florhydral was used as a test substance. Acetyl cedrene was used at a concentration of 100 μM and florhydral was used at a concentration of 300 μM. The same acetyl cedrene and florhydral as those used in the examples were used.
The response strength of the receptor to isovaleric acid in the presence of the test substance was determined in the same manner as in Test Example 2. That is, fLuc/hRluc value (X) induced by isovaleric acid alone stimulation, fLuc/hRluc value (Y) in cells not stimulated with isovaleric acid, and isovaleric acid and any test substance The fLuc/hRluc value (Z) induced by the costimulation was calculated, and the response intensity was calculated by the following formula. In the measurement, an independent experiment was performed multiple times in duplicate, and the average value of each experiment was obtained.
Response (%)=(Z−Y)/(X−Y)×100
2) Evaluation As a result, the co-stimulation with acetylcedrene suppressed the response intensity of OR51I2 to 39.29% and the co-stimulation with florhydrid to 2.17%. That is, it was suggested that these test substances have antagonist activity that suppresses the receptor activity of OR51I2.

Then, the inhibitory effect of isovaleric acid odor was confirmed by the following Test Example 6 using the antagonist flavors acetylcedrene and florhydral identified in Test Example 5.
[Test Example 6] Suppressive effect of isovaleric acid odor by antagonistic fragrance 1) Sensory test Put cotton balls in a glass bottle (No. 11, Kashiwa Glass Co., Ltd., capacity 110 mL) and dilute isovaleric acid 1000 times with propylene glycol. 20 μL of each of the malodor solution and the antagonist solution were dropped on a cotton ball. The glass bottle was allowed to stand overnight at room temperature to sufficiently volatilize the odor molecules in the glass bottle. As the antagonist solution, acetyl cedrene or florhydral diluted 100 times with propylene glycol was used. The same acetyl cedrene and florhydral as those used in the examples were used. The sensory evaluation test was conducted by 4 or 5 evaluators, and when the same test was conducted using a cotton ball on which 20 μL of the malodorous solution was dropped alone, the odor intensity was set to 5 and the antagonist solution was mixed. The odor intensity was evaluated from 21 to 0 with the intensity of bad odor of 0 to 10 (0.5 increments).
2) Evaluation FIG. 11 shows the result of the sensory test. It was found that both acetyl cedrene and florhydral, which are antagonist flavors for OR51I2, have an effect of suppressing isovaleric acid odor. Therefore, it is understood that the cat urine treatment device of the present invention can effectively suppress the cat urine odor caused by isovaleric acid by disposing either one or both of acetylcedrene and florhydral. ..

Next, the following Test Example 7 evaluated the antibacterial activity against bacteria having urease activity.
[Test Example 3]
1) Preparation of Specimens Each member in the sample of Example 1 was changed as follows, and each fragrance or antibacterial agent shown in Table 3 was arranged to prepare each specimen. The fragrance was supported on silica, and the silica was added to the superabsorbent polymer 47. The fragrance was scented so that the scent of the sample was 0.3% by mass. The antibacterial agent was also supported on silica in the same manner as the fragrance, and the silica was added to the superabsorbent polymer 47. The antibacterial agent was added to the sample in an amount of 0.1% by mass. Two samples were prepared for each.

2) Evaluation of antibacterial property Brevundimonas intermedia and Sporosarcina ureae were spread on a medium and grown. The bacterial flora was written out from the medium and dispersed in physiological saline, which was used as a bacterial stock solution. The number of bacteria was adjusted from the turbidity of the stock solution to obtain an adjusted solution. 1 mL of the adjusted solution was added to 100 mL of sterile urine, which was used as a cat urine sample.
7 mL of a cat urine sample was added to the test body prepared in the above 1) and cultured at 30° C. for 48 hours. Then, 63 mL of physiological saline was added to the incubator of the test body and stirred, and the supernatant was diluted appropriately and spread on the medium. The medium in which the supernatant was spread was cultured at 30° C. for 48 hours, and the number of bacteria was counted. The results are shown in Table 3.

As shown in Table 3, fluorohydral, didecyldimethylammonium chloride and piroctone olamine were found to have antibacterial properties against Brevundimonas intermedia and Sporosarcina ureae. Therefore, the feline urine disposal device contains, as an antibacterial agent, one or more selected from florhydral, didecyldimethylammonium chloride, and piroctone olamine, which makes it very strong by the action of bacteria having urease activity. It can be seen that the generation of ammonia having an irritating odor can be suppressed and the cat urine odor can be suppressed more effectively.

1 Cat Urine Treatment Tool 2 Top Sheet 3 Back Sheet 4 Absorber 44 Core Wrap Sheet 46 Liquid Absorbing Material 47 Super Absorbent Polymer 10 Cat Toilet 15 Tray Storage 16 Tray 30 Partitioning Section 31 Liquid Passing Section 32 Waste Disposal Material A Upper part B Lower part

Claims (7)

Arranged antagonist fragrance that inhibits the activation of human olfactory receptors caused by thiols derived from cat urine and the activation of human olfactory receptors caused by isovaleric acid,
The feline urine disposal device wherein the antagonist flavor is one or both of acetyl cedrene and florhydral. Contains antibacterial agents against bacteria with urease activity,
The cat urine treatment tool according to claim 1, wherein the antibacterial agent contains either or both of florhydral and piroctone olamine. The cat urine treatment tool according to claim 1 or 2, which is in the form of a sheet including a top sheet, a back sheet, and an absorber disposed between the top sheet and the back sheet. The cat urine treatment tool according to claim 3, wherein the antagonist fragrance is disposed on either or both of the surface sheet and the surface of the absorber on the surface sheet side. The absorbent body includes an absorbent core and a core wrap sheet that covers the absorbent core,
The cat urine treatment tool according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the antagonist fragrance is disposed in a portion of the core wrap sheet that covers the surface side of the absorbent core. Contains antibacterial agents against bacteria with urease activity,
The antibacterial agent contains any one or both of hydrhydral and piroctone olamine,
The cat urine treatment tool according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the antibacterial agent is disposed in the absorber. A cat toilet comprising a partition section for partitioning the toilet body into an upper layer portion and a lower layer portion,
The partition part has a liquid-passing part in the shape of a cage,
In the upper part, a granular excrement disposal material is arranged,
The cat urine treatment tool according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is arranged in the lower layer portion,
The feces toilet, wherein the excrement treating material contains a component that inhibits activation of human olfactory receptors due to thiols derived from cat urine.

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