MXPA00006096A - Granular sweetener - Google Patents

Abstract

A granular sweetener improved in the solubility of an otherwise poorly soluble high-sweetness synthetic sweetener aspartame (APM), characterized by containing aspartame and acesulfame K as the active ingredient in such a manner that acesulfame K accounts for 5-90 wt.%of the whole and comprising granules with the maximum grain diameter of about 1,400 mm or less.

Description

GRANULATED SWEETENER SUBSTANCE TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a highly soluble sweetener granule (ie, granular sweetener or granular sweetener) containing Aspartame (hereinafter referred to by the abbreviation "APM") and Acesulfame K (hereinafter referred to by the abbreviation "ACE-"). K ") as active ingredients.

RELATED PREVIOUS TECHNIQUE It is known that the sweetness level of the APM, which is a synthetic sweetener based on amino acids, is about 200 times that of sucrose in terms of weight ratio (Japanese Patent Application No. 31031 / '72, issued to Kokoku). Compared with sucrose, which is considered to be the standard for evaluating sweetness characteristics, the profile of sweetness characteristics of APM is such that it is weak in early tasting (which means that by placing this sweetener in the mouth does not taste sweet as quickly as sucrose), while it is strong in its late tasting (which means that placing the sweetener in the mouth takes longer than sucrose in knowing sweet). Accordingly, various approaches have been proposed to improve the sweetness profile of the APM, mainly with respect to the late tasting (for example, patent applications open to the public Nos. 148255 / '81, 141760 / '83, 220668 / " 83, issued to Kokai, and the like), and a method to obtain a more natural sweetness profile that approximates more sucrose, for example, using the APM in combination with sucrose, has also been proposed (Japanese patent application open No. 152862 / '82, issued to Kokai.) On the other hand, ACE-K is also a synthetic sweetener with a sweetness level of about 200 times that of sucrose, such as APM, but compared to The latter has a poorer sweetness profile, is stronger in late tasting, and its bitter, astringent and peculiar flavor, as well as its stimulation, are also strong, and therefore it has undergone various approaches to improve it, including its use. in combination with the APM to improve the sweetness profile (U.S. Patent No. 4,158,068 and corresponding Japanese patent application No. 51262 / '84, issued to Kokoku). For example, the issued Japanese patent application describes the simultaneous or concurrent use of ACE-K and APM in a weight ratio of between 1: 10 and 10: 1, especially between 2: 5 and 5: 2, which, a in turn, it has a sweetness profile closer to that of sucrose than that of either of the two substances separately. In this way, several proposals have been made to improve the sweetness profile of the APM, each of which has been successful to some extent. However, the APM presents other problems that have to do with its solubility characteristics, and an APM powder produced in industrial form (crystals) is difficult to dissolve in water (because it has the tendency to form lumps or agglomerates (in Japanese, lady) and therefore, it is not easy to dissolve, and even without taking this into account, it has a lower dissolution speed, among other things). The lower solubility (that is, the slower rate of dissolution) due to these clumps and other factors, causes a reduction in the efficiency of the production of food products or beverages complemented with APM to sweeten them, including soft drinks or soft drinks, which in turn is very disadvantageous for the commercial production of the same. Some approaches have been proposed to improve APM solubility, including a crystallization or grain conversion (granulation) method. However, these approaches remain unsatisfactory due, for example, to the need to further improve the solubility (patent application open to the public No. 346769/02, issued to Kokai, and the like) and because it should be used in concomitantly a relatively greater quantity of an excipient (patent applications open to the public Nos. 126855/74, 19965/75, 150361/82, issued to Kokai, and the like). Incidentally, the concurrent use of ACE-K together with APM described in patent application No. 51262 / '84 issued to Kokoku mentioned above, is concurrent in that in this description two aqueous solutions of the two components are mixed ( that is, an aqueous solution of ACE-K and an aqueous solution of APM), and no suggestion is made in this patent of any concurrent use of the two components, both in their granule form, nor is there mention of the solubility of either component in its granular form. In view of the prior art described above, the object of the present invention is to provide an excellent method for improving the solubility of the APM.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The inventors of the present have attempted to achieve this objective and have discovered that when a mixture of APM and ACE-K is made in its granular form, the resulting granules do not clump or form lumps and exhibit a faster dissolution rate in comparison with the APM granules only, that is, it improves the overall solubility, thus establishing the advantage of the present invention. Accordingly, the present invention relates to a granulated sweetening substance which includes Aspartame and Acesulfame-K as active ingredients, characterized in that the amount of Acesulfame-K is from 50 to 90% by weight based on the total amount of both components and characterized in that the maximum particle size of the granules is about 1, 400 μm or less. The present invention is described in more detail below. (a) Solubility of the original powders and of the single component granules: Original APM powder, original ACE-K powder and granules produced by the method of example 1 described below were placed in a tester apparatus respectively. of dissolution to determine the dissolution times required respectively. In the case of APM, granules with a maximum particle size of about 1, 400 μm or less require a shorter period of dissolution, compared to the original powder, that is, an effect of improvement of the solubility by granulation, while no improvement in solubility was obtained by this granulation with respect to APM granules with a particle size greater than 1, 400 μm. In contrast, the original ACE-K powder showed extremely high solubility as such, and the granulation produced no improvement in particular with respect to the solubility of ACE-K (see experiment 1 ). Incidentally, a granulated sweetening substance that includes APM and ACE-K as active ingredients, with an ACE-K content of 90% by weight or higher is not convenient because the bitter taste characteristic of ACE-K becomes evident. (b) Solubility of granules of a mixture (ie, a granulated mixture) and a mixture of granules: The granules of a mixture of APM and ACE-K produced by the method of example 1 (granules of the mixture), and a mixture of granules of APM and granules of ACE-K (mixture of granules) produced by the same method were placed respectively in a dissolution tester apparatus to determine the time periods required for dissolution. The results revealed that, with respect to the maximum particle size of the granules of 1, 400 μm or less, the dissolution rate of the granules of a mixture is always greater than the dissolution rate of the granule mixture, with the content of ACE-K (percentage by weight of the ACE-K present in the granules of a mixture, and, percentage by weight of the granules of ACE-K present in the mixture of granules) being the same and the particle size being the same, and that the difference in the speed of dissolution between the two becomes more marked as the content of ACE-K is increased and the particle size of the granules decreases, that is, the effect of improvement of the solubility of ACE-K on APM becomes more evident (see experiment 2). It was considered that the improvement observed in the solubility with the granule of a mixture was due to the enhancing effect of the dissolution / disintegration of the granules by the ACE-K, in addition to the ACE-K helped to avoid the formation of lumps and that these lumps would float on the surface of the water. Incidentally, the ACE-K content of 5% by weight or less practically does not provide any dissolving effect for this ACE-K, while a content of 90% by weight or greater makes evident the bitter taste of the ACE. -K, as stated above. So, the effect of improving the solubility by the ACE-K according to the present invention can be achieved by using granules of a mixture of APM and ACE-K in which the content of ACE-K is between 5 and 90 % by weight and, at the same time, the maximum particle size is about 1, 400 μm or less. Granules with a maximum particle size of about 500 μm or less further improve the rate of dissolution if the ACE-K content is between 20 and 90% by weight. Also, it is possible to significantly improve the dissolution rate if granules with a maximum particle size of about 1400 μm or less and at the same time, with an ACE-K content between 50 and 90% by weight are used. The APM granules with a better solubility as a result of their mixing with the ACE-K, that is, the granulated sweetening substance of the invention, can be produced by a known method. For example, a dry granulation process and also a wet granulation process can be used. Specifically, the granulation can be carried out by various methods such as granulation by mixing, granulation by compaction, extrusion granulation, fluidization granulation, rotary granulation, spray granulation, spraying with ceramic products, pressing of the powder into tablets, or the like . However, for objects of less heat storage or storage, as well as a less complicated manufacturing process, it is commercially convenient to use a dry granulation process such as granulation by compaction. The granulated sweetening substance of the invention may, depending on its use, contain a diluent or an excipient such as a sugar alcohol, an oligosaccharide and a dietary fiber, as well as other high intensity synthetic sweetening substances such as Alitame, Saccharin, methyl ester of 3,3-dimethylbutyllaparti-phenylalanine and the like, as in the case of conventional intense synthetic sweetener compositions, for objects to obtain better handling or to improve the sweetness profile, as long as the solubility is not adversely affected improved APM according to the present invention. Among the diluents or excipients referred to herein are low intensity sweetening substances such as sucrose, glucose and the like. It is known that the solubility of the APM can be improved by its granulation (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 346769 / '92, issued to Kokai, referred to above.) On the other hand, the ACE-K has an extremely high solubility even in the form of an original powder, and this solubility does not improve when the ACE-K is subjected to a granulation process (as discovered by the present inventors). Therefore, if the APM and the ACE-K were used concurrently for some purpose, those skilled in the art would commonly place the APM granules and the original ACE-K powder separately, but concurrently in the water, and it would be difficult for those skilled in the art to expect the granules of a mixture of APM and ACE-K to dissolve more rapidly than when the APM granules and the original ACE-K powder are placed separately, but concurrently in water, and it is even more difficult to hope that the solubility of the APM can be improved by converting it into granules of a mixture together with ACE-K. From the fact that the original APM powder, if granulated, improves its solubility by preventing the formation of lumps in a liquid, one skilled in the art would infer that an original APM powder, when mixed with ACE-K and granulated, would not create lumps and would have the same solubility as the granules formed by APM only. The increase in the solubility of the APM when it is granulated in a mixture together with the ACE-K, in comparison with the granules composed of APM only, is apparently due to the simultaneous application of the disintegrating effect of the ACE-K on the granules with greater particle size, and the effect of ACE-K that prevents the agglutination or aggregation of granules with smaller particle sizes; both effects can be attributed to the addition of ACE-K. The solubility of APM granules (ie, granules consisting of APM only) is only slightly less unsatisfactory than that of the original APM powder, and users demand that it improve their solubility. According to the present invention, this improvement in the solubility of the APM has been achieved, and an excellent sweetening substance with sweetness profiles exceeding both those of the APM and those of ACE-K is also obtained. Although at first glance those skilled in the art would find it necessary to use a binder to mix and granulate the APM along with the ACE-K, which is difficult to integrate on its own, unexpectedly and in accordance with the present invention the APM functions as a binder by means of which the granulation of the two components in their pure state is possible. A pure two-component sweetening substance composed solely of ACE-K and APM, without the presence of a binder, diluent or excipient, can be of enormous utility, especially for use in beverages.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITY The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the following experiments, as well as the following example.

EXPERIMENT 1 (Solubility of the original powders and of the single component granules) A one liter dissolution tester was used (the Japanese Pharmacopoeia, paddle method (container 100 mm in internal size, 160 mm in height, with a hemispherical bottom of 50 mm radius, and a net volume of 1000 ml; the pallets are formed by dividing a disk of 83 mm in size, and 3 mm in thickness, with parallel strings of 42 mm and 75 mm in length, there is a distance of 25 mm between the bottom of these blades and the bottom of the container), 100 rpm) together with 900 ml of water (20 ° C), and 1 g of a sample was added, which was examined to determine the period of time required for its dissolution (the final point is determined visually ). Original APM powder (average particle size of around 15 μm, with a maximum particle size of around 100 μm, beam-shaped crystals of type IB) and original ACE-K powder (average particle size) was used. particles of approximately 250 μm, and maximum particle size of around 500 μm) as samples directly in their original form, then they were granulated according to the method of example 1, and subsequently these samples were sieved into fractions of various sizes, depending of the thickness of the mesh used. The samples respectively exhibited the periods (minutes) required for their dissolution, which are indicated in Table 1 below.

TABLE 1 Period of dissolution (minutes) EXPERIMENT 2 (Solubility of the granules of a mixture and a mixture of granules) As in experiment 1, the time periods required for the dissolution of the granules were determined. The granules of the sample mixtures were prepared by the method of example 1 described above, using the same original powders that were used in experiment 1. The mixtures of granules of the sample were prepared by mixing granules of APM of a particle size determined and ACE-K granules of a given particle size as referenced in experiment 1, at a given ratio. In each test 1 g of each sample was used. In greater detail, as shown in Table 2 below, the time periods required for the dissolution of the granules of APM and ACE-K mixtures (mixing granules) and mixtures of APM granules and ACE-K granules were determined. (mixture of granules), changing the mixing ratios (content of ACE-K) and the sizes of the particles. Incidentally, a mixture of granules was obtained by gently mixing APM granules and ACE-K granules with a spatula. The results appear in the same Table 2.

TABLE 2 Periods of dissolution time (minutes) * 1, 2,3 = The values in these columns correspond to unshifted granules of a mixture or a mixture of granules EXAMPLE 1 (Preparation of granules of a mixture of APM and ACE-K): The same ACE-K used in experiment 1 was sprayed (average particle size of about 250 μm and a maximum size of particles of around 500 μm) by means of a compact centrifugal laboratory sprayer (mesh size 250 μm f, 20,000 rpm) to obtain a pulverized ACE-K product with an average particle size of around 20 μm and a maximum size of particles of around 250 μm. This pulverized ACE-K product was mixed with the same APM used in experiment 1 (average particle size of about 15 μm and a maximum particle size of about 100 μm) at different ratios, and each resulting mixture was pelletized using a dry roller mill (compacting and dry disintegration) and sieving to obtain granule fractions of the APM and ACE-K mixture with different particle sizes. Specifically, the compaction and dry disintegration was carried out using a "ROLLER COMPACTER Model WP90 X 30" compaction machine (ex TURBO KOGYO), and the mixture was fed to a compaction machine by means of a screw feed feeder for compaction endless (88 rpm) under a roller pressure of 4.9 Mpa and a roller speed of 12 rom, and subsequently it was disintegrated using a fine granulation mesh with a tissue size of number 12 (pore size of 1, 400 μm). The granules were screened using a standard JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) screen. The granules of the APM and ACE-K mixtures with different mixing ratios and various particle sizes thus obtained were used to perform the above-described test of experiment 2.

Industrial applicability of the method By mixing and granulating Aspartame (APM) and Acesulfame-K (ACE-K) according to the invention, it is possible to noticeably improve the low solubility of the APM (that is, the low dissolution rate) , and it is possible to prepare a sweetening substance with an excellent sweetness profile.

Claims (3)

NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION CLAIMS

1. - A granulated sweetening substance that includes Aspartame and Acesulfame-K as active ingredients, characterized in that the amount of Acesulfame-K is from 5 to 90% by weight based on the total amount of both components and also characterized because the maximum size of the particles of the granules is around 1, 400 μm or less.

2. The granulated sweetening substance according to claim 1, further characterized in that the amount of Acesulfame-K is 50 to 90% by weight.

3. The granulated sweetening substance according to claim 1, further characterized in that the amount of Acesulfame-K is from 20 to 90% by weight and characterized in that the maximum particle size of the granules is around 500 μm or less. P00 / 767F