WO2020176526A1

WO2020176526A1 - Methods for delivering nutritional and therapeutic supplements with food and drug products

Info

Publication number: WO2020176526A1
Application number: PCT/US2020/019723
Authority: WO
Inventors: Paul Mendell
Original assignee: Paul Mendell
Priority date: 2019-02-25
Filing date: 2020-02-25
Publication date: 2020-09-03

Abstract

Methods and systems are provided for infusing a crystalline food and/or drug product with a desired fluid, particularly a nutritional and/or therapeutic supplement, as well as infused crystalline food and/or drug products produced thereby. Food products which may be infused with a nutritional and/or therapeutic supplement according to the invention include table salt, table sugar, and baking soda, calcium carbonate, acetic acid, ascorbic acid and other crystalline materials that are consumable.

Description

METHODS FOR DELIVERING NUTRITIONAL AND THERAPEUTIC SUPPLEMENTS WITH FOOD AND DRUG PRODUCTS

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application 62/809,942, filed 25 February 2019, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to delivering a nutritional and/or therapeutic supplement together with a food and/or drug product, and specifically to the infusion of molecules of a fluid nutritional and/or therapeutic supplement into the lattice structure, grain boundaries and fluid inclusions of a crystalline food and/or drug product.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The combined global consumption of just three crystalline or potentially crystalline food products— table salt (sodium chloride), table sugar (sucrose), and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)— exceeds 300 million tons per year. Of these, table salt and baking soda are typically consumed in their crystalline forms; delivery of table sugar in its crystalline form is less frequent, but still commonly known and encountered.

The crystals of crystalline food products often contain fluid inclusions, i.e. molecules of liquid and/or gas that are contained within a crystal of the lattice structure and/or occupy a“gap” or“hole” in the lattice structure. Fluids also become trapped within crystal-crystal boundaries. The fluids included in the crystalline food products are generally representative of the liquids and/or gases present in the environment at the time of crystallization of the crystalline food product. Such fluids commonly include atmospheric gases, molecular hydrogen and molecular helium, especially when the crystals are formed in the presence of water and/or air, but may also include any other molecule sufficiently small to be contained within a crystal of the lattice structure or a hole therein, or between crystal-crystal boundaries and/or within fluid inclusions.

The possibility of providing methods by which a desired liquid and/or gas is intentionally introduced into the environment of a food or drug product prior to crystallization, such that the desired liquid and/or gas is present in the crystalline food or drug product as a fluid inclusion after crystallization and thus may be consumed together with the crystalline food product, has not heretofore been investigated or pursued in any depth. Trapping gases within amorphous solids such as in candy products has been successfully employed commercially, however this requires heating or melting the sucrose prior to recrystallization. Trapping desired fluids such as molecular hydrogen or other gases, at room temperature and over various pressures would be highly advantageous in that they would enable the consumption of a nutritional and/or therapeutic supplement together with a crystalline food and/or drug product, making the delivery of the nutritional and/or therapeutic supplement to the consumer of the food and/or drug product simpler, easier, less time-consuming, and less expensive. Further, heating, in the case of reactive gases like molecular hydrogen, may support catalytic reactions with undesirable by-products.

There is thus a need in the art for methods and systems for introducing a fluid nutritional and/or therapeutic supplement into the lattice structure, grain boundaries and fluid inclusions, particularly under room temperature conditions, of a crystalline food and/or drug product, and for crystalline food and/or drug products including nutritional and/or therapeutic supplements obtained thereby.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is one aspect of the present invention to provide a method for infusing crystals of a food and/or drug product with a desired fluid, comprising providing a solution of the food and/or drug product in a food-grade or pharmaceutical-grade solvent; introducing the desired fluid into the solution; and crystallizing the food and/or drug product.

In embodiments, the food and/or drug product may comprise a food product selected from the group consisting of sodium chloride, sucrose, sodium bicarbonate, potassium chloride, calcium carbonate, acetic acid, ascorbic acid, and erythritol and various other sugar alcohols or other crystalline consumable materials.

In embodiments, the food and/or drug product may comprise a drug product selected from the group consisting of cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinol.

In embodiments, the desired fluid may be a nutritional and/or therapeutic supplement. The nutritional and/or therapeutic supplement may, but need not, be selected from the group consisting of helium, xenon, molecular hydrogen, other noble gases, a vitamin, a mineral, a drug, a vaccine, nitric oxide, and hydrogen sulfide.

In embodiments, the food-grade or pharmaceutical-grade solvent may consist essentially of water or as in the case of calcium carbonate, a carbonated water.

It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a method for delivering a nutritional and/or therapeutic supplement to a subject together with a crystalline food and/or drug product, comprising providing a solution of the food and/or drug product in a food- grade or pharmaceutical-grade solvent; introducing the desired fluid into the solution; crystallizing the food and/or drug product to form an infused crystalline food and/or drug product; and administering the infused crystalline food and/or drug product to the subject.

In embodiments, the subject may be a human.

In embodiments, the subject may be an animal.

In embodiments, the food and/or drug product may comprise a food product selected from the group consisting of sodium chloride, sucrose, sodium bicarbonate, potassium chloride, calcium carbonate, sugar alcohols including erythritol, acetic acid, ascorbic acid and other crystalline materials that are consumable.

In embodiments, the nutritional and/or therapeutic supplement may be selected from the group consisting of helium, xenon, other inert gases, molecular hydrogen, a vitamin, a mineral, a drug, a vaccine, nitric oxide, and hydrogen sulfide.

In embodiments, the food-grade or pharmaceutical-grade solvent may consist essentially of water or carbonated water.

It is another aspect of the present invention to provide an infused crystalline food and/or drug product, comprising a food and/or drug product lattice structure; and at least one molecule of a desired fluid, present within a crystal of the lattice structure, within a hole in the lattice structure, between two or more crystals of the lattice structure, along a grain boundary of the lattice structure, and/or within an inclusion in the lattice structure.

In embodiments, the desired fluid may be a nutritional and/or therapeutic supplement. The nutritional and/or therapeutic supplement may, but need not, be selected from the group consisting of helium, xenon, other noble gases, molecular hydrogen, a vitamin, a mineral, a drug, a vaccine, nitric oxide, and hydrogen sulfide.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides methods and systems for infusing crystals of a crystalline food and/or drug product with a composition of a desired fluid, i.e. a desired liquid and/or gas, to enable delivery of the desired fluid to a human or animal together with the crystalline food and/or drug product, as well as crystalline food and/or drug products containing desired fluids produced according to such methods and systems. In many embodiments, the desired fluid comprises a nutritional and/or therapeutic supplement, such that consumption of the infused crystalline food and/or drug product by the human or animal provides the benefit of both the food and/or drug product and the nutritional and/or therapeutic supplement to the health and well-being of the human or animal.

In embodiments of methods of the present invention, the method begins by providing a solution of a potentially crystalline food and/or drug product in a food-grade and/or pharmaceutical-grade solvent; the solution may be provided by any suitable means, including but not limited to providing a source of the food and/or drug product in crystalline form and dissolving the food and/or drug product in the food-grade and/or pharmaceutical- grade solvent. Solutions of crystalline food and/or drug products, and methods of manufacture thereof, are well-known, especially where the solvent is water (e.g. brine (table salt in water) and simple syrup (table sugar in water)).

After providing the solution, the desired fluid, e.g. a nutritional and/or therapeutic supplement, is introduced into the solution by any suitable means. By way of non-limiting example, the desired fluid may be introduced into the solution by bubbling the desired fluid, e.g. as microscale and/or nanoscale bubbles, into the solution (particularly where the desired fluid is a gas), or by simply mixing a bolus or mass of the desired fluid into the solution (particularly where the desired fluid is a liquid).

Finally, after the desired fluid is introduced into the solution, crystals of the infused food and/or drug product may be formed and, optionally, separated and/or removed from the solvent. The crystals may be formed by any suitable method of crystallization, including but not limited to evaporation of the solvent, precipitation (e.g. temperature-induced precipitation, introduction of a precipitating agent, etc.), or chemical dehydration (where the solvent is water). The degree of fluid inclusion, crystal on crystal dynamics and grain morphology, and hence the volume of the desired fluid contained within the crystalline food and/or drug product after crystallization, is dependent upon the kinetics of crystallization and the design of the vessel. Thus, the nutritional and/or therapeutic content and effect of the infused crystalline food and/or drug product may be controlled or tuned by controlling parameters of crystallization, such as temperature and pressure within a mixing vessel in which the solution is held and quantity of the desired fluid introduced. Crystals that have been separated and/or removed from the solvent may, but need not, be subjected to further processing, including but not limited to bulk shipment. Additionally and/or alternatively, crystals of the infused food and/or drug product may be formed by solution and evaporation processes under a gas headspace, wherein the gas headspace comprises the desired fluid, e.g. a nutritional and/or therapeutic supplement in the gas phase. Such manner of evaporation and recrystallization may occur at room temperatures so as to not effect or catalyze a reaction which would produce undesirable by products.

The crystalline food and/or drug product may comprise any one or more food substances or drug compositions that may be delivered in crystalline form. By way of non limiting example, food products that may be infused with desired liquids according to the present invention include table sugar, baking soda, table salt and any other chemical salt used in food (e.g. potassium chloride), erythritol, and the like. By way of further non limiting example, drug products that may be infused with desired liquids according to the present invention include cannabidiol (“CBD”), tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”), and the like.

The desired fluid may comprise any compound or combination of compounds that is desirable to administer in a composition together with the crystalline food and/or drug product. By way of non-limiting example, helium, xenon, other noble gases and molecular hydrogen have each recently received attention as antioxidants and organ protectants and as having other health benefits, and so a crystalline food product (e.g. table salt, table sugar, baking soda, etc.) and/or a crystalline drug product may be infused with helium, xenon, and/or molecular hydrogen by methods and systems of the present invention to provide an antioxidant effect as part of the benefits of the food and/or drug product. Research is underway with respect to the potential health benefits of noble gases including Xenon, Argon and Helium. It is particularly difficult to trap such gases within a solid for mass consumption with appreciable shelf life. Other nutritional and therapeutic compositions may be delivered as liquids and/or gases in compositions according to the present invention, including but not limited to vitamins, minerals, drugs, vaccines, and the like, or gases that may have therapeutic or other beneficial effect at low concentration (e.g. nitric oxide, hydrogen sulfide).

The present disclosure, in various aspects, embodiments, and configurations, includes components, methods, processes, systems and/or apparatus substantially as depicted and described herein, including various aspects, embodiments, configurations, sub combinations, and subsets thereof. Those of skill in the art will understand how to make and use the various aspects, aspects, embodiments, and configurations, after understanding the present disclosure. The present disclosure, in various aspects, embodiments, and configurations, includes providing devices and processes in the absence of items not depicted and/or described herein or in various aspects, embodiments, and configurations hereof, including in the absence of such items as may have been used in previous devices or processes, e.g., for improving performance, achieving ease and\or reducing cost of implementation.

The foregoing discussion of the disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. The foregoing is not intended to limit the disclosure to the form or forms disclosed herein. In the foregoing Detailed Description for example, various features of the disclosure are grouped together in one or more, aspects, embodiments, and configurations for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. The features of the aspects, embodiments, and configurations of the disclosure may be combined in alternate aspects, embodiments, and configurations other than those discussed above. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed disclosure requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed aspects, embodiments, and configurations. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into this Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate preferred embodiment of the disclosure.

Moreover, though the description of the disclosure has included description of one or more aspects, embodiments, or configurations and certain variations and modifications, other variations, combinations, and modifications are within the scope of the disclosure, e.g., as may be within the skill and knowledge of those in the art, after understanding the present disclosure. It is intended to obtain rights which include alternative aspects, embodiments, and configurations to the extent permitted, including alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions, ranges or steps to those claimed, whether or not such alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions, ranges or steps are disclosed herein, and without intending to publicly dedicate any patentable subject matter.

Claims

1. A method for infusing crystals of a food and/or drug product with a desired fluid, comprising:

providing a solution of the food and/or drug product in a food-grade or pharmaceutical-grade solvent;

introducing the desired fluid into the solution; and

crystallizing the food and/or drug product.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the food and/or drug product comprises a food product selected from the group consisting of sodium chloride, sucrose, sodium bicarbonate, potassium chloride, calcium carbonate, sugar alcohols including erythritol, acetic acid, ascorbic acid and other crystalline materials that are consumable.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the food and/or drug product comprises a drug product selected from the group consisting of cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinol.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the desired fluid is a nutritional and/or therapeutic supplement.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the nutritional and/or therapeutic supplement is selected from the group consisting of helium, xenon, other noble gases, molecular hydrogen, a vitamin, a mineral, a drug, a vaccine, nitric oxide, and hydrogen sulfide.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the food-grade or pharmaceutical-grade solvent consists essentially of water.

7. A method for delivering a nutritional and/or therapeutic supplement to a subject together with a crystalline food and/or drug product, comprising:

introducing the desired fluid into the solution;

crystallizing the food and/or drug product to form an infused crystalline food and/or drug product; and

administering the infused crystalline food and/or drug product to the subject.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the subject is a human.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the subject is an animal.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the food and/or drug product comprises a food product selected from the group consisting of sodium chloride, sucrose, sodium bicarbonate, potassium chloride, calcium carbonate, sugar alcohols including erythritol, acetic acid, ascorbic acid and other crystalline materials that are consumable.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the food and/or drug product comprises a drug product selected from the group consisting of cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinol.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the nutritional and/or therapeutic supplement is selected from the group consisting of helium, xenon, other noble gases, molecular hydrogen, a vitamin, a mineral, a drug, a vaccine, nitric oxide, and hydrogen sulfide.

13. The method of claim 7, wherein the food-grade or pharmaceutical-grade solvent consists essentially of water.

14. An infused crystalline food and/or drug product, comprising:

a food and/or drug product lattice structure; and

at least one molecule of a desired fluid, present within a crystal of the lattice structure, within a hole in the lattice structure, within crystal - crystal grain boundaries, and within fluid inclusions of the crystals.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the food and/or drug product comprises a food product selected from the group consisting of sodium chloride, sucrose, sodium bicarbonate, potassium chloride, calcium carbonate, sugar alcohols including erythritol, acetic acid, ascorbic acid and other crystalline materials that are consumable.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the food and/or drug product comprises a drug product selected from the group consisting of cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinol.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the desired fluid is a nutritional and/or therapeutic supplement.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the nutritional and/or therapeutic supplement is selected from the group consisting of helium, xenon, other noble gases, molecular hydrogen, a vitamin, a mineral, a drug, a vaccine, nitric oxide, and hydrogen sulfide.