MXPA99009647A - Centre filled confectionery - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to throat drops comprising from 60 to 95%, of an edible shell ad from 5 to 40%of an aqueous filling, by weight of the drop, the filling comprising from 8 to 20%water, from 50%to 85%of a bulk sweetener and suffucient emulsifier to provide a contact angle of from 90 to 120°, the filling having a contact angle of greater than 120°in the absence of the emulsifier. The reduction in contact angle relative to a composition without the emulsifier provides an improved perception of liquidity of the filling.

Description

CONFECTION WITH FILLING FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a confectionery with liquid filling, especially throat lozenges with liquid filling, for the relief of the throat and irritated nasal passages. Products in the form of cough drops have been known for a long time as vehicles for the delivery of drugs that help to relieve inflamed or irritated throats. Such medications include analgesics, antitussives, expectorants, cooling agents such as menthol, and heating agents such as ethanol or gingerol. The medication can be administered by means of a throat pill or troche that releases the active agent upon ingestion. Particularly in the case of a volatile active agent, the product can also give relief of cold symptoms by decongesting the nasal passages. For example, EP-A-431,376 describes solid confections for sustained release treatment of inflamed throats comprising hydrogenated somaltulose and an active ingredient which may be an antitussive or an antihistamine but may also be a volatile oil such as menthol or eucalyptus. The confection normally contains an additional flavoring agent such as lemon, honey or cherry but it can also be menthol or eucalyptus.

An accepted form of throat lozenges is a filled throat pill consisting of an edible cover and a liquid filling. The liquid center provides a pleasant relief effect on the throat which can also be increased by an active agent as described above. One of the problems with these throat lozenges is to provide the optimum degree of liquidity in the center filling. Typically the edible cover can not withstand a high degree of moisture in the filling for reasons of product stability. The moisture levels in the fill are generally below 20%. The volume of the filling generally comprises a bulk sweetener to improve the taste of the product. These restrictions often mean that the viscosity of the filling is preferably high, ie in excess of 50,000 mPa.s, resulting in a reduction in perception of liquidity of the center. US-A-3,894,154 describes the inclusion of a glycerin in the center of the chewing gum with liquid filling to retain increases in viscosity of the liquid filling portion. Although such an approach is effective, especially on a corn syrup basis, it is often not sufficient by itself. US-A-4, 157,402 discloses the use of an emulsifier in the filling of a chewing gum with filling to prevent the flavored liquid filling from penetrating the composition of the gum surrounding it, thereby improving the ability to retain the taste of chewing gum.

It has surprisingly been found that the addition of sufficient emulsifier to the liquid filling of a solid confectionery with filler to reduce its contact angle against a gelatin-coated plate of more than 120 ° to a value on the scale of 90 to 120 °, is sufficient to provide an improvement in the perception of liquidity, and therefore to relieve the throat, although said addition may increase the viscosity. An object of this invention is to provide filled confectionery compositions, especially throat lozenges, with improved liquidity perception of the filling. A further object of the invention is to provide filled throat lozenges, with improved perception of throat relief.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a pill for the throat comprising from 60 to 95%, from a sweet coating and from 5 to 40% of an aqueous filler, by weight of the tablet, the filling comprises from 8 to 20% of water, from 50 to 85% of a bulk sweetener and enough emulsifier to provide a contact angle of 90 to 120 °, the filling having a contact angle greater than 120 ° in the absence of the emulsifier. All levels and relationships are by weight, unless otherwise indicated. The percentages are in weight of the filling unless otherwise specified.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The throat lozenges of the present invention comprise from 60 to 95%, preferably from 75 to 85%, from a sweet cover and from 5 to 40%, preferably from 15 to 25%, of an aqueous filler, by weight of The pill. Solid sweets with filling are described in US-A-4,372,942 and US-A-4,466,983. A sugar base suitable for a solid candy coating comprises from about 30% to about 85% glucose syrup and from about 15% to about 70% sucrose. Alternatively, a sugar-free base can be used for the cover. Suitable sugar-free bases include bulk sweeteners such as isomalt, maltitol and sorbitol. Isomalt and maltitol are preferred. The interior surface of the cover may also have a separate edible interior liner to avoid or reduce the interaction of the filler with the cover. The edible cover may further comprise flavorants and throat relieving agents as described above. The aqueous filler comprises water at a level of from about 8 to about 20%, most preferably from about 10 to about 15% by weight of the filler. Water levels greater than about 20% are not suitable for the production of solid confectionery with filling.

The filler further comprises a bulk sweetener, such as a sugar, suitable at a level of about 50 to 85%, preferably about 60 to about 75% on a dry solids basis by weight of the filler. A preferred source of the sweetener is corn syrup with a high fructose content which, being commercially available as an 85% active material whose equilibrium is essentially water, can also provide some, or almost all, of the water required. Sugar-free compositions containing a sugar alcohol such as sorbitol can also be used. An essential component of the filler is an emulsifier, present in sufficient quantity to provide a contact angle of about 90 to 120 °, the filler having a contact angle greater than 120 ° in the absence of the emulsifier. Preferably the filler comprises sufficient emulsifier to provide a contact angle of 95 to 115 °, preferably 100 to 110 °. The 'contact angle', as used herein, is the static contact angle of a filler pellet on a gelatin coated coverslip, as measured using a surface tensiometer and an optical measuring apparatus (such as those manufactured in Kruss, Germany). The gelatin-coated coverslip, prepared by immersing a glass coverslip in a hot gelatin solution and cooling it, is used as a model for the human mucous membrane. The emulsifier must be a food grade material. Suitable emulsifiers include monoglycerides and diglycerides of fatty acid, such as those based on soybean oil for example Imwitor 440 from Huels, acetoglycerides such as Dynacet 21 1, monoglycerides esterified with citric acid, such as Imwitor 370, and lecithins such as the Topicithin series of Lucas Meyer, Germany. Soy lecithin is preferred. Suitable levels of the emulsifier are between 0.001 to about 1%, most preferably about 0.005 to about 0.1% and especially about 0.01 to about 0.05% by weight of the filler. An optional but desirable component of the throat lozenges of the present invention is an agent for throat relief. By "throat-relieving agent" herein is meant any organic compound or mixture of compounds capable of providing relief to a person with inflammation or irritation of the throat or nasal passages. Classes of agents for throat relief include, but are not limited to analgesics, antitussives, expectorants, physiological cooling agents, physiological heating agents and mixtures thereof. Preferably the throat relieving agent is selected from physiological cooling agents, physiological heating agents and mixtures thereof. Suitable levels of the throat relief agent are between about 0.001 to about 10%, preferably about 0.01 to about 5%, most preferably about 0.1 to about 3% by weight of the aqueous composition.

Suitable physiological cooling agents are described in WO 97/06695, incorporated by reference herein. Preferred for use herein are the physiological cooling agents selected from the group consisting of menthol, peppermint oil, N-substituted p-menthane-3-carboxamides, tertiary and secondary acyl carboxamides, 3-1-mentoxy propane-1. , 2-diol and mixtures thereof. To be used herein, menthol and menthol which contains oils such as peppermint oil are particularly preferred. The most useful carboxamides are those described in US-A-4,136,163, January 23, 1979 to Watson et al., And US-A-4,230,688, October 28, 1980 to Rowseil et al. The carboxamides in US-A-4,136,163 are N-substituted p-menthane-3-carboxamides. In the present, N-ethyl-p-menthane-3-carboxamide, commercially available as WS-3 from Wilkinson Sword, is preferred. The carboxamides of US-A-4,230,688 are certain tertiary and secondary acyclic carboxamides, of which, for use herein, trimethylisopropylbutanamide, commercially available as WS-23 in Wilkinson Sword, is preferred. Preferred physiological heating agents are those selected from the group consisting of n-butyl ether of vanillic alcohol, n-propyl ether of vanillic alcohol, isopropyl ether of vanillic alcohol, isobutyl ether of vanillic alcohol, n-amino alcohol ether vainíllico, isoamílico ether of vanillic alcohol, n-hexílico ether of vainíllico alcohol, methyl alcohol of vainíllico alcohol, ethyl ether of alcohol vainíllico, gingerol, shogaol, paradol, zingerón, capsaicina, dihidrocapsaicina, nordihidrocapsaicina, homocapsaicina, homodihidrocapsaicina, ethanol, alcohol iso -propyl alcohol, so-amyl alcohol, benzyl alcohol, chloroform, eugenol, cinnamon oil, cinnamic aldehyde, phosphate derivatives thereof. The phosphate derivatives mentioned are those described in WO 97/02273, incorporated herein by reference. The throat lozenges of the present invention can also comprise from 0.001 to 10% by weight of the filling of a vesicle-forming agent that acts to form vesicles that disperse within the filler and encapsulate the throat relief agent. By 'vesicle' is meant an essentially spherical structure comprising a double lipid layer which encapsulates a central core. The vesicles herein may be unilamellar or multilamellar and have a number average particle size of about 1 to about 100 μm, most preferably about 5 to about 50 μm. The size of the particle can be measured using an optical microscope, such as a Nikon Optiphoto 2, linked to an electronic image analysis system such as Linkam MS100. The measurement can also be done using a graduated grid in the display field. EP-A-534,823, which describes anhydrous cosmetic compositions that can form vesicles upon exposure to water, gives a complete list of amphiphilic liquids that can be used to form vesicles. Suitably, the emulsifier that was used herein is a vesicle-forming agent. The preferred vesicle-forming agent of the present invention is a lecithin derived from plants and, especially, soy lecithin. Soy lecithin can act to form vesicles at very low levels. Preferably the vesicle-forming agent is present at a level of from about 0.001 to about 1%, most preferably from about 0.005 to about 0.1% and especially from about 0.01 to about 0.05% by weight of the filler. With a suitable mixture, in the presence of water and a throat relieving agent as described herein, lecithin forms vesicles that encapsulate the agent for throat relief. It has also been found that the formation of the vesicle is increased by the presence of glycerin, which is preferably present at a level of from about 5 to about 25%, preferably from about 10 to about 20%, most preferably from about 12 to about 18% by weight of the stuffing. When the filling is a sugar-free base comprising a sugar alcohol, it is preferred that the sugar alcohol be used together with the glycerin, since it has been found, that the sugar alcohols by themselves can suppress the formation of the vesicle. . The aqueous fillers herein may also include a flavoring agent. As used herein, the term "flavoring agent" means those flavoring essences and equivalent synthetic ingredients that are added to the flavoring composition for the primary purpose of providing flavor to the confectionery product. This excludes agents for throat relief as described above. Flavoring agents well known in the confectionery art can be added to the flavoring compositions of the invention. These flavoring agents can be selected from liquids and / or synthetic flavor oils derived from the leaves of plants, flowers, fruits and so forth, and combinations thereof. Representative flavoring liquids include: artificial, natural or synthetic fruit flavors such as lemon, orange, banana, grape, lime, peach and grape oils and fruit essences including apple, strrry, cherry, orange, pineapple and so on; flavorings derived from seeds and nuts such as coffee, cocoa, cola, peanut, almond and so on; and soborizantes derived from the root like orosus. The amount of the flavoring agent employed is generally a matter of preference subject to factors such as flavor type, type of base and desired strength. In general, amounts of up to about 4% by weight are useful, with amounts ranging from about 0.1% to about 1% being preferred. Aqueous fillers can be made by direct mixing techniques. The general techniques for making confectionery products with filling can be found in "Silesia Confiserie Manual No. 3", published by Silesia-Essenzenfabrik Gerhard Hanke K.G., Abt. Fachbücherei Suitably, the fillers herein have a scale viscosity of from about 5,000 to about 500,000, preferably from about 20,000 to about 250,000, most preferably from about 50,000 to about 100,000 mPa.s. The viscosity is measured at 25 ° C at a shear rate of 50s "1 using a Physica Rheolab MC100 rheometer.The throat pellets with filling according to the invention can be manufactured by deposition, stringing and extrusion processes as It is known in the art that extrusion and filament forming processes are preferred, An example of an extrusion process is disclosed in US-A-5,458,894, an example of an extrusion process is described in US-A-5,002,791. The following examples are given to illustrate the compositions and uses according to the invention, however, the invention is not limited thereto.

EXAMPLE 1 The throat lozenges with liquid filling were prepared according to the formulas A and B presented below. The liquid filling was made by adding a pre-mixture of lecithin, coloring solution, flavor oils and / or cooling and heating agents to a high-fructose corn syrup mixture pre-heated to 82 ° C. The components were mixed for two minutes and co-extruded with a sweet base made separately to produce filled throat lozenges. 1. - 85% sugar solids, the balance being essentially water. 2.- A heating agent available from David Michael & Co., Inc. Philadelphia, E.U.A. The liquid fillings in the center have a contact angle of about 109 ° but a contact angle of about 126 ° in the absence of the lecithin. The throat lozenges provide a relief effect to the throat and provide an improved perception of liquidity of the filling.

Claims (13)

1. NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION CLAIMS 1 .- A pill for the throat comprising 60 to 95%, a cover of sweet and 5 to 40% of an aqueous filler, by weight of the tablet, the filling comprises of 8 to 20% of water, 50 to 85%, of a bulk sweetener and sufficient emulsifier to provide a contact angle of 90 to 120 °, the filling having a contact angle greater than 120 ° in the absence of the emulsifier.
2. 2. The throat pill according to claim 1, further characterized in that the filling comprises sufficient emulsifier to provide a contact angle of 95 to 115 °, preferably 100 to 110 °.
3. 3. The throat pill according to claim 1 or 2, further characterized in that the emulsifier is soy lecithin.
4. 4. The throat pellet according to claim 1 to 3, further characterized in that the pellet comprises from 75 to 85% of the shell and from 15 to 25% of the filling by weight of the pellet.
5. 5. The throat pellet according to any of claims 1 to 4, further characterized in that the filling comprises 10 to 15% water.
6. 6. - The throat pill according to any of claims 1 to 5, further characterized in that the filling comprises from 5 to 25%, preferably from 10 to 20%, most preferably from 12 to 18% glycerin.
7. 7. The throat pill according to any of claims 1 to 6, further characterized in that the filling comprises from 5 to 80%, preferably from 50% to 75%, of sugar.
8. 8. The throat pill according to claim 7, further characterized in that the sugar is provided with a corn syrup with a high content of fructose.
9. 9. The throat pill according to any of claims 1 to 6, further characterized in that the cover comprises a base without sugar.
10. 10. The throat pill according to claim 9, further characterized in that the filling comprises a sugar alcohol, preferably mixed with glycerin. 1.
11. The throat pellet according to any of claims 1 to 10, further characterized in that the filling comprises an agent for throat relief selected from physiological cooling agents, physiological heating agents and mixtures thereof. .
12. 12. The throat pill according to claim 1, further characterized in that the filling comprises

    0. 001 to 10% by weight of the filling of a vesicle-forming agent that acts to form vesicles that disperse within the filler and encapsulate the agent for throat relief.
13. 13. The throat pellet according to any of claims 1 to 12, further characterized in that the filling has a viscosity on the scale of about 5,000 to 500,000, preferably 20,000 to 250,000. most preferably from 50,000 to 100,000 mPa.s.