JP7382742B2 - Gum for chewing training and chewing training using it - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to chewing training gum and chewing training using the same.

Humans live by eating, but in order to masticate food, the teeth, tongue, and surrounding muscles need to work properly. Problems related to mastication include poor oral function and malocclusion. be. Oral function decline refers to a decline in the basic functions of the oral cavity, such as mastication, swallowing, and pronunciation, due to disharmony of the perioral muscles. As a training method for such oral function, there is a method of training perioral muscles such as temporalis muscle and masseter muscle, and one example is training using meals. This dietary training is a method of training by gradually increasing the amount of food that is chewed frequently, but this method involves the complexity of changing the cooking method and type of food depending on the training stage. Furthermore, chewing gum has been conventionally used for mastication training for oral function deterioration (Non-Patent Document 1). Chewing training using chewing gum is said to be effective in improving oral function, but chewing gums and training methods used for mastication training vary, and no uniform training has been performed.

In view of such a situation, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for clarifying the weight, hardness, etc. of chewing gum that is most suitable for the purpose of mastication training, and for the purpose of providing the most suitable chewing gum for mastication training. On the other hand, each subject was given multiple types of chewing gum with different hardness, weight, and dimensions, and the subjects were asked to chew for a certain period of time under certain conditions. The muscle activity values were measured, and then the number of times the subjects chewed and the total average value of the muscle activity values were calculated for each chewing gum. As a result, the average muscle activity value of the masseter muscle, the average muscle activity value of the orbicularis oris muscle, and the number of times of mastication were determined. Chewing gum for mastication training and chewing training using the same are described, which are characterized in that all three of the respective average values are higher than the respective average values.

In addition, Patent Document 2 describes a color scale that can be used as a more objective criterion for evaluating masticatory force using color-changing chewing gum, which analyzes the color change characteristics of gum as chewing progresses in healthy dentate patients. In order to provide a method for creating a color-changing chewing gum, multiple healthy dentate people chew color-changing chewing gum, find a regression equation between the color of the gum after chewing and the color difference between the gum before and after chewing, and calculate the number of times of chewing. The paper describes a method for creating a color scale by determining the number of times chewing by a healthy dentate person and the color difference in the color of the gum after chewing by calculating a regression equation between the number of chewing times and the color difference of the gum before and after chewing.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-62114 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-72559

Journal of the Japanese Orthodontic Society 67(3), pp. 132-138 (2008), "Effect of hard gum chewing training on the masticatory ability of mixed dentition stage children" Negishi et al.

However, in the method described in Patent Document 1, the muscle activity of the masseter muscle and the orbicularis oris muscle must be measured using a surface electromyograph, so there is a problem that training cannot be performed easily. In addition, in the method described in Patent Document 2, it is necessary to confirm the color change using a color scale, so in order to determine the masticatory force or the end of masticatory training, the chewing training gum must be completely removed from the mouth. It is necessary to take out the sample and measure the color using a color scale. Furthermore, the method described in Patent Document 1 or 2 has a problem in that it is difficult to evaluate masticatory force above a certain level.

An object of the present invention is to provide chewing training gum and chewing training in which the effect and end point of training by chewing gum can be easily determined by a change in the color of the chewing gum.

That is, one embodiment of the present invention provides a gum for chewing training in which a dye carrier containing a color different from the color of the gum dough is dispersed in the gum dough.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides chewing training using the chewing training gum.

According to the chewing training gum of the present invention, chewing training is provided in which the effect and end point of the chewing training can be easily determined by checking the color change caused by chewing.

One embodiment of the present invention relates to a gum for chewing training in which a dye carrier containing a color different from the color of the gum dough is dispersed in the gum dough.

(gum dough)
The gum dough included in the chewing training gum of the present invention includes a gum base containing rubber components such as natural rubber and synthetic rubber and other components, and sweeteners, flavors, pigments, and the like.

(rubber component)
Natural rubber is a rubber component contained in the sap collected from trees belonging to the Acateaceae, Apocynaceae, Moraceae, Euphorbiaceae, etc. For example, polyisoprene obtained from the sap of Sapodilla, a tree of the Acateaceae family, is Examples include, but are not limited to, chicle whose main component is chicle, and jelutong whose main component is a polymer of isoprene and triterpene obtained from the sap of jelutong, a tree belonging to the Apocynaceae family.

Further, examples of the synthetic rubber include polyisobutylene, polyisopropylene, isobutylene-isoprene copolymer, styrene-butadiene rubber, etc., but are not limited to these exemplified substances.

These rubber components can be used alone or in any combination of two or more.

Other components contained in the gum base include, for example, polyvinyl acetate, ester gum, wax, fats and oils, emulsifiers, fillers, and the like. Polyvinyl acetate is used to adjust chewing comfort. Moreover, ester gum is used for the purpose of imparting fullness. Waxes and oils are used as plasticizers to adjust the hardness of gum dough. Emulsifiers are used for the purpose of improving the dispersibility of gum dough raw materials, softening the texture of gum, and preventing chewiness. Fillers are used to adjust the elasticity and chewability of gum.
These components can be used singly or in any combination of two or more, depending on the purpose of the gum.

Ester gums include, but are not limited to, glycerol esters of rosin, glycerol esters of hydrogenated rosin, glycerol esters of partially dimerized rosin, and glycerol esters of polymerized rosin. It's not something you can do.
Examples of the wax include, but are not limited to, rice wax, candelilla wax, carnauba wax, and microcrystalline wax.
Examples of oils and fats include, but are not limited to, hydrogenated vegetable oils such as hydrogenated soybean oil and hydrogenated rapeseed oil.
Examples of the emulsifier include, but are not limited to, diacetoglycerol monolaurate, glyceryl monostearate, fatty acid monoglyceride, fatty acid diglyceride, sorbitan fatty acid ester, and sugar ester.
Examples of the filler include calcium carbonate and magnesium silicate, but the filler is not limited to these exemplified substances.

(Taste component)
The gum dough of the chewing training gum of the present invention may contain taste components such as sweeteners and acidulants.

Examples of sweeteners include high-intensity sweeteners such as aspartame, acesulfame potassium, α-glucosyltransferase-treated stevia, alitame, licorice extract (glycyrrhizin), triammonium glycyrrhizinate, tripotassium glycyrrhizinate, trisodium glycyrrhizinate, Diammonium glycyrrhizinate, dipotassium glycyrrhizinate, disodium glycyrrhizinate, curculin, saccharin, sodium saccharin, cyclamate, sucralose, stevia extract, stevia powder, thaumatin, tenryocha extract, nizeria berry extract, neotame, neo Examples include, but are not limited to, hesperidin dihydrochalcone, fructosyltransferase-treated stevia, Brazilian licorice extract, miracle fruit extract, licorice extract, enzyme-treated licorice, enzymatically degraded licorice, and advantame. In addition, as other sweeteners of high intensity sweeteners, monosaccharides such as arabinose, galactose, xylose, glucose, fucose, sorbose, fructose, rhamnose, ribose, isomerized liquid sugar, N-acetylglucosamine; isotrehalose, sucrose Disaccharides such as , trehalulose, trehalose, neotrehalose, palatinose (isomaltulose), maltose, melibiose, lactulose, lactose; α-cyclodextrin, β-cyclodextrin, isomaltooligosaccharides (isomaltose, isomaltotriose, panose) etc.), oligo-N-acetylglucosamine, galactosylsucrose, galactosyllactose, galactopyranosyl (β1-3) galactopyranosyl (β1-4) glucopyranose, galactopyranosyl (β1-3) glucopyranose, galacto Pyranosyl (β1-6) galactopyranosyl (β1-4) glucopyranose, galactopyranosyl (β1-6) glucopyranose, xylooligosaccharide (xylotriose, xylobiose, etc.), gentiooligosaccharide (gentiobiose, gentiotriose, etc.) ose, gentiotetraose, etc.), stachyose, theande oligosaccharide, nigerooligosaccharide (nigerose, etc.), palatinose oligosaccharide, palatinose syrup, fructooligosaccharide (kestose, nistose, etc.), fructofuranosylnystose, polydextrose, maltosyl-β-cyclo Oligosaccharides such as dextrin, maltooligosaccharides (maltotriose, tetraose, pentaose, hexaose, heptaose, etc.), raffinose, sugar-bound starch syrup (coupling sugar), soybean oligosaccharides, invert sugar, starch syrup; isomaltitol, erythritol, xylitol , glycerol, sorbitol, palatinit, maltitol, maltotetriitol, maltotriitol, mannitol, lactitol, reduced palatinose, reduced isomaltooligosaccharide, reduced xylooligosaccharide, reduced gentiooligosaccharide, reduced maltose syrup, reduced starch syrup, and other sugar alcohols; Other examples include, but are not limited to, honey, fruit juice, fruit juice concentrate, etc. These sweeteners can be used alone or in any combination of two or more. These sweeteners should be used in chewing training gums such as 0.1% to 5.0% by weight for high-intensity sweeteners, and 30.0% to 72.0% by weight for other sweeteners. Although it is preferable to mix it into the following range, it is not limited to this range.

Examples of the acidulant include citric acid, monopotassium citrate, tripotassium citrate, trisodium citrate, DL-malic acid, sodium DL-malate, fumaric acid, monosodium fumarate, adipic acid, itaconic acid, Glucono delta lactone, gluconic acid, potassium gluconate, sodium gluconate, succinic acid, monosodium succinate, disodium succinate, sodium acetate, DL-tartaric acid, L-tartaric acid, sodium DL-tartrate, sodium L-tartrate, Examples include lactic acid, sodium lactate, acetic acid, phytic acid, phosphoric acid, etc., but are not limited to these exemplified substances. Regarding the acidulant, it is preferable to mix it in the chewing training gum in an amount of 0.5% by weight or more and 5.0% by weight or less, but it is not limited to this range.

The gum dough of the chewing training gum of the present invention may contain components such as fragrance.

Flavoring agents include citrus essential oils such as orange oil, lemon oil, grapefruit oil, lime oil, tangerine oil, and mandarin oil; mint essential oils such as peppermint oil and spearmint oil; allspice, aniseed, basil, laurel, Known spice essential oils such as cardamom, celery, cloves, cinnamon, cumin, dill, garlic, parsley, mace, mustard, onion, paprika, rosemary, pepper; oleoresins, limonene, linalool, nerol, citronellol, geraniol , known isolated or synthetic fragrances such as citral, L-menthol, eugenol, cinnamic aldehyde, anethole, perilla aldehyde, vanillin, γ-undecalactone, allyl caproate, L-carvone, maltol, etc., and These citrus essential oils, mint essential oils, spice essential oils, or isolated/synthetic fragrances are mixed in proportions according to the purpose to create mixed fragrances such as citrus fragrances, mixed mint, and various fruits. , but not limited to these. Regarding the flavoring agent, it is preferable to blend the chewing training gum with 0.1% by weight or more and 12.0% by weight or less, but it is not limited to this range.

The gum dough of the chewing training gum of the present invention may contain a pigment. As the dye, both water-soluble dyes and oil-soluble dyes can be used.

(Dye carrier)
The chewing training gum of the present invention contains a pigment carrier containing a pigment different from the color of the gum dough.

As the pigment carrier, any carrier can be used as long as it can support the pigment and is kneaded uniformly with the gum dough by chewing, and rubber components and other components contained in the gum base may also be used. . For example, components used as gum bases such as natural rubber, synthetic rubber, and polyvinyl acetate, and other components contained in gum bases such as wax, talc, polyisobutylene, calcium carbonate, and magnesium silicate are preferably used as pigment carriers. can.

Further, as other components that can be used as a pigment carrier, natural resins, gelatin, agar, carrageenan, guar gum, gellan gum, starch, cellulose, etc. can be preferably used. Examples of natural resins include rosin.

When using a component different from the gum base as a pigment carrier, the effect and end point of masticatory training can also be determined based on texture. However, if synthetic rubber or synthetic resin such as vinyl acetate resin is used as the same component as the gum base, the degree of polymerization of the synthetic rubber or synthetic resin such as vinyl acetate resin used as a pigment carrier will be different from that used in the gum base. By doing so, it is possible to determine the effect and end point of mastication training based on texture.

The particle size of the dye carrier is 0.1 mm to 5.0 mm, preferably 0.5 mm to 2.0 mm, more preferably 0.7 mm to 1.0 mm. Moreover, when gelatin, agar, etc. are used as a dye carrier, these may be encapsulated.
The amount of the pigment carrier in the chewing training gum of the present invention is from 0.1 wt% to 20 wt%, preferably from 1 wt% to 8 wt%, based on the total weight of the chewing training gum.

By varying the amount, size, and type of the pigment carrier in the chewing training gum of the present invention, it is possible to adjust the required masticatory work obtained by multiplying the masticatory force by the number of mastications.

(dye)
As the pigment used in the gum dough and the pigment supported on the pigment carrier, any edible pigment can be used. However, the pigment used in the gum dough and the pigment supported on the pigment carrier are pigments of different colors, and it is preferable to use a combination of pigments with colors that allow the difference in color to be recognized at a glance.

As the dye, both water-soluble dyes and oil-soluble dyes can be used. For example, the pigment used in the gum dough and the pigment supported on the pigment carrier may be water-soluble pigments or oil-soluble pigments. Further, the pigment used in the gum dough may be a water-soluble pigment, and the pigment carried on the pigment carrier may be an oil-soluble pigment. The pigment used in the gum dough may be an oil-soluble pigment, and the pigment carried on the pigment carrier may be a water-soluble pigment.

Examples of water-soluble pigments include annatto pigment, capsicum pigment, madder pigment, gardenia pigment, erythrosin, tartrazine, onion pigment, tomato pigment, caramel pigment, grape skin pigment, safflower pigment, turmeric pigment, red cabbage pigment, and spirulina pigment. , riboflavin, riboflavin 5'-sodium phosphate, etc., but are not limited to these. Synthetic colorants such as Food Yellow No. 4, Food Yellow No. 5, Food Red No. 2, Food Red No. 3, Food Red No. 40, Food Red No. 102, Food Red No. 106, Food Blue No. 1, and Food Blue No. 2 are also available. Can be used.
Examples of oil-soluble pigments include, but are not limited to, β-carotene, carotenoid pigments, orange pigments, cacao pigments, chlorophyll, chicon pigments, marigold pigments, lutein, and copper chlorophyll.

When a water-soluble pigment is used as the pigment, the water-soluble pigment causes a color change in the chewing training gum of the present invention by dissolving the pigment from the gum dough and the pigment carrier upon chewing. On the other hand, when an oil-soluble pigment is used as the pigment, since the oil-soluble pigment hardly dissolves out of the gum dough and the pigment carrier, the chewing training gum of the present invention changes color by kneading by chewing.

The amount of pigment in the gum dough is 0.001% to 1% by weight, preferably 0.01% to 0.5% by weight.
The amount of the dye in the dye carrier is 0.001% to 1% by weight, preferably 0.01% to 0.5% by weight.

(Method for producing gum for chewing training)
The chewing training gum of the present invention can be manufactured by a conventional chewing gum manufacturing method, for example, the following method, but is not limited to these exemplified methods.

First, in order to produce the gum base, the rubber components of the gum base and the like are kneaded using a mixer or the like. The kneading temperature and time are not particularly limited as long as each component is sufficiently mixed, but are, for example, 60 to 130°C for 10 to 180 minutes.

A coloring matter, a sweetener, an acidulant, etc. are added to the gum base produced above, and the mixture is kneaded using a mixer or the like to obtain a gum dough.
Examples of the kneading method include a method of kneading the kneaded gum base, coloring matter, sweetener, acidulant, etc. all at once using a mixer. Another method is to knead one or more components such as other components, a sweetener, and an acidulant into the kneaded gum base, then add the remaining components, and further knead. In addition to this, there is also a method in which, while kneading the gum base, other components, sweeteners, acidulants, and other components are sequentially added and kneaded. The conditions for kneading are not particularly limited as long as each component is sufficiently mixed, but examples include conditions of kneading at about 60° C. for 5 to 30 minutes.
Note that a commercially available gum dough may be used as the gum dough.

Thereafter, the chewing training gum of the present invention can be obtained by adding a pigment carrier to the gum dough, kneading, molding and aging.
As for the kneading method, any conditions may be used as long as the pigment carrier does not melt, dissolve, or disintegrate. There are several methods.
As a molding method, a molding device such as an extruder, a filling machine, a cutter, a mold, etc. can be used to obtain gum in the shape of a plate, a granule, a sphere, or the like. Thereafter, it is aged at 15 to 25°C for 12 to 336 hours to obtain the chewing training gum of the present invention.

The gum of the present invention may be coated with a sugar coating. Coating with sugar coating can be carried out in a conventional manner.

(Method for producing dye carrier)
The method for producing the dye carrier will be described below, but the method is not limited to these exemplified methods.

When using a rubber component as a pigment carrier, the pigment carrier can be obtained by manufacturing the pigment carrier in the same manner as the above-mentioned method for producing the gum base, and shaping it into a size that can be blended into chewing training gum at the time of molding. In this case, if the rubber components used for the pigment carrier and the gum dough have the same or similar physical properties, the obtained chewing training gum can be easily kneaded with the pigment carrier and gum dough by mastication, and the rubber components derived from the pigment carrier can be easily kneaded by chewing. The color unevenness caused by the pigment and the pigment derived from the gum fabric disappears in a short time. Therefore, mastication training time becomes shorter. On the other hand, the greater the difference in physical properties between the color carrier and the rubber component used in the gum dough, the longer the chewing training time. Here, the physical properties of the rubber component include the type of the rubber component, and when the rubber component is synthetic rubber, the degree of polymerization of the synthetic rubber.

When using a thermoplastic resin chip such as polyvinyl acetate as a dye carrier, the dye carrier can be produced by the following method.
First, a thermoplastic resin such as polyvinyl acetate is heated to a temperature higher than its glass transition temperature or melting point, a dye is added thereto, and then kneaded until the color of the resin becomes uniform. Thereafter, the mixture is cooled to -10 to 4°C, pulverized, and sieved to obtain the desired mesh to obtain a dye carrier.
When using a thermoplastic resin chip such as polyvinyl acetate as a pigment carrier, the higher the degree of polymerization of the thermoplastic resin, the longer the chewing training time.

When gelatin, agar, carrageenan, guar gum, gellan gum, starch, cellulose, etc. are used as the dye carrier, these dye carriers may be used as capsules. These dye carrier capsules (hereinafter also referred to as "dye carrier capsules") can be produced by the following method.
First, an oil solution/coating solution containing gelatin, agar, carrageenan, guar gum, gellan gum, starch, cellulose, etc., and a pigment is prepared by a conventional method. By dropping this oil/coating solution into the coagulation liquid using multiple nozzles, perfectly spherical capsules can be formed. The content may be contained in the capsule by simultaneously ejecting the content from the inner nozzle during dropping, or the dye carrier may be manufactured as a capsule containing no content. After the obtained capsules are dried, they are sieved to obtain the desired mesh to obtain a dye carrier.

When inorganic particles such as calcium carbonate or magnesium silicate are used as a dye carrier, the dye carrier can be obtained by dyeing these granules obtained by extrusion granulation with a dye.
In addition, when using inorganic particles as a dye carrier, it is preferable to use a water-soluble dye as the dye in view of the affinity between the dye and the dye carrier.

(Chewing training)

Chewing training using the chewing training gum of the present invention can be performed as follows.

Chewing training is performed by having the subject chew the chewing training gum of the present invention in a free chewing manner without specifying the chewing intensity or speed. The chewing training was terminated when the color unevenness caused by the mixing of the color derived from the gum dough and the color derived from the pigment carrier completely disappeared. According to the chewing training gum of the present invention, it is possible to visually determine whether chewing training has ended without completely removing the gum from the oral cavity.

Furthermore, when a dye carrier having a texture different from the gum dough, such as a thermoplastic resin chip or a dye carrier capsule, is used as the dye carrier, the difference in texture from the gum dough can be utilized. By checking the presence or absence of color unevenness when the texture derived from the pigment carrier disappears due to mastication, the number of times to confirm the disappearance of color unevenness can be significantly reduced. Furthermore, according to the chewing training gum of the present invention, even if the chewing force and mastication speed of each subject differs, if the same gum is used, it is possible to perform training with the same amount of chewing work.

Examples will be described below, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[Manufacture of gum]
A chewing training gum was produced by the method shown below. The dye carrier used was one containing Blue No. 1 as the dye and produced by the method described above.

(Gum 1)
The gum base, maltitol, softener, and fragrance were added to a mixer at the contents (% by weight) listed in Table 1, and kneaded with the mixer so that each component was sufficiently mixed. Thereafter, gelatin capsules with a particle size of 0.7 mm were added as dye carrier 1 according to the formulation shown in Table 1, thoroughly kneaded with a mixer, rolled, and then cut with a cutter to form the mixture. Thereafter, it was aged at room temperature (15° C. to 25° C.) to obtain 3 g of gum 1 per grain.

(Gum 2-4)
Gums 2 to 4 were produced in the same manner as Gum 1, except that the amount of Dye Carrier 1 was changed to the amount shown in Table 1.

(Gum 5)
Gum 5 was produced in the same manner as Gum 1, except that Dye Carrier 1 was replaced by Dye Carrier 2, which was a polyvinyl acetate chip with a particle size of 0.7 to 1.0 mm and a molecular weight of 10,000 to 25,000. did.

(Gum 6-8)
Gums 6 to 8 were produced in the same manner as Gum 5, except that the amount of pigment carrier 2 was changed to the amount shown in Table 2.

(Gum 9)
Gum 9 was produced in the same manner as Gum 7, except that Dye Carrier 2 was changed to Dye Carrier 3, which was a chip of polyvinyl acetate with a particle size of 0.7 to 1.0 mm and a molecular weight of 20,000 to 45,000. did.

(Gum 10)
Gum 10 was produced in the same manner as Gum 7, except that Dye Carrier 2 was changed to Dye Carrier 4, which was a chip of polyvinyl acetate with a particle size of 0.7 to 1.0 mm and a molecular weight of 20,000 to 100,000. did.

(Example 1)
Three subjects with no problems with masticatory ability were used as subjects, and each subject was made to chew 3 g of Gum 1. Changes in color of the dye carrier and gum dough were observed every minute after the start of chewing. Table 3 shows the average cumulative chewing time until the color unevenness disappears for each subject.

(Examples 2 to 10)
Examples 2 to 10 were carried out in the same manner as in Example 1, except that Gum 1 was replaced with Gums 2 to 10, respectively.

Claims (8)

A pigment carrier containing a pigment different from the color of the gum dough is dispersed in the gum dough,
A chewing training gum having color unevenness caused by a pigment derived from the pigment carrier and a pigment derived from the gum dough,
A gum for chewing training, characterized in that the end of the chewing training is determined by the disappearance of the color unevenness. The chewing training gum according to claim 1, wherein the pigment carrier contains at least one selected from gelatin, agar, carrageenan, guar gum, gellan gum, starch, and cellulose. The chewing training gum according to claim 1, wherein the color carrier contains at least one selected from natural resin, natural rubber, wax, polyvinyl acetate, and polyisobutylene. The chewing training gum according to claim 1, wherein the color carrier contains at least one selected from calcium carbonate and magnesium silicate. The chewing training gum according to claim 1, wherein the amount of the dye carrier is 0.1% to 20% by weight based on the total weight of the chewing training gum. The pigment used in the gum dough and the pigment supported on the pigment carrier are pigments of different colors,
Claim characterized in that the amount of pigment in the gum dough is 0.001% to 1% by weight, and the amount of pigment in the pigment carrier is 0.001% to 1% by weight. The chewing training gum according to item 1. A chewing training method using the chewing training gum according to any one of claims 1 to 6. 8. The chewing training method according to claim 7, wherein the required amount of mastication work can be adjusted by increasing or decreasing the amount of the pigment carrier in the chewing training gum.