CA1095319A

CA1095319A - Chewing gum composition

Info

Publication number: CA1095319A
Application number: CA292,002A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Ronald L. Ream; David M. Moore
Original assignee: WM Wrigley Jr Co
Current assignee: WM Wrigley Jr Co
Priority date: 1977-09-26
Filing date: 1977-11-29
Publication date: 1981-02-10
Also published as: IT1104608B; ATA213378A; AT361126B; BE864665A; IE46689B1; DE2811816C2; DE2811816A1; US4151270A; CH633166A5; IE780587L; IT7848470A0; GB1582499A; NL7803145A

Abstract

ABSTRACT
Novel chewing gum composition for use by athletes and other persons to stimulate salivation while exercising, compris-ing the combination of at least three per cent by weight of an organic acid selected from the group consisting of adipic, ascorbic, citric, fumaric, lactic, malic and tartaric acids, and fructose. The organic acid and fructose combination provides a synergistic saliva stimulating effect greater than that of either ingredient alone. Sodium and potassium salts are inclu-ded to help replenish those salts lost in prespiration, and high levels of dextrose or fructose provide a quick energy source and a hygroscopic agent for improved shelf life.

Description

9531g This invention relates to chewing gum and, more part-icularly, to :Elavored chewing gum having a combination if ingre-dients enabling it to stimulate salivation synergistically be-yond that attributable to the act of chewing Eood or either of the ingredients alone.
The present invention is directed to a chewing gum composition essentially comprising gum base; a sweetener; fla- :
voring additives, a palatable and safe amount of an organic acid selected from the group consisting of adipic, ascorbic, citric, fumaric, lactic, malic and tartaric acids, said organ-ic acid being capable of stimulating salivation beyond that attributable to the act of chewing food and constituting at least 3 per cent by weight of the final gum composition; and fructose constituting at least 10 per cent by weight of the final gum composition.
Chewing gum is used by athletes and other persons ::
while exercising to relieve nervous tension. Chewing ordinary gum for a prolonged exercise period sometimes causes a dry mouth condition known as "cottonmouth~. Exercising, of course, causes muscular fatigue along with loss of essential potassium and sodium salts through perspirationO Shelf life, that is, the ability to remain soft and readily chewable in storaye, is ~.
also important.
Known gum compositions typically contain some form of chewable gum base, a softener, a flavoring ingredient and a sweetener, which can be either natural or artificial~ While certain organic acids derived from natural products such as fruits, vegetables, plants and milk stimulate salivation, in ,,,\j i31~
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order to be effective for this purpose, they have to be used in high concentrations (above 3% by weight), resulting in an ob-jectionable strong and sour taste. One example of such an organic acid, which is an excellent salivating agent, is citric acid. Straight lemon juice, containing 5 to 8 par cent citric acid, is too sour to use as is, and must be diluted substan-tially for use in foods and beverages. In the low concentra-tions normally found in foods and beverages, citric acid is not a very effective salivation agent.
Chewing gum is an ideal medium for the controlled re- ::
lease of salivation agents, quick energy sugars and sodium and potassium salts for athletes or other persons engaged in stren-uous exerciseO However, prior to the present invention, the only known gum composition developed to accomplish these re-sults is disclosed in U. S. Patent 4,088j788. This gum compo-sition contains high levels of an organic acid and saccharin, t.he latter ingredient being considered by some to be harmful~ ;:
Applicants are unaware of any other gum composition having a palatable taste yet containing a hi.gh concentration of an or-ganic acid to ach.ieve heavy saliva stimulation.
In Johnson Patent 3,681,087, sticks of gum containing citric acid are dusted with miraculin powder, an odd substance ~ .
which has the peculiar, taste~inverting characteristic of mak-ing sour things taste sweet~ This is exactly th~ opposite of the effect which is needed in a saliva-stimulating gum compo-sition, which should be quite tart for maximum salivation, yet not objectionably so.
Atkins and Attaway Patent 3,657,424 discloses a .

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commercial bottled citrus drink employing oranye, grape~ruit, lemon, lime or other acid Eruit juices. Reference is made to use by athlates or other parsons for replacing the loss oE
body 1uids which .results from exercising or working in high temperature anvironments. calcium, sodium and potassium ions are included as supplements to make up Eor loss oE these ions in perspiration. These citrus juices are very diluted and lack the concentration required for producing any salivation eEfect. Citrus -2a-~' , juices, marketed in a can or'hottle,:,cannot serve:the same purp~e as chewing gum. ~ professional at:hl'ete'ca,n che~ cJum ~h.ile play-ing ootball, ~sket~all or.hock~ey to obtain extended.slo~-release benefits therefro~m but obviously cannot carry a ~ottled be~eragé
into play.
Further example~ o:E the state'of thb art are'shown in Ogawa and Terasawa Patent 3~826r847'and Bilotti Patent 3,352 r 689 ~ ~oth relate to ch:e~i~ng gums~ NeIth.er discloses any salivation stimulating .percentage'(above 3~ by ~eight) of'any organic acid. The Ogawa et al;patent has only a single'exa~ple illustrat.ing about 0.2:per. cent-tartaric acid, which.amount is insufficlent for salivation~ The Bilotti patent does not men- ~
tion'any organic acid ingredient:at all~ The gums disclosed ., in the.se'patents-are'ineffecti.ve to act as stimulants of ~aliva '~;
to a deyree'greater than that attributabIe to the'act of chewin,g ~`
food itself.
Accordingly, it :is a~principal obj'ect of the'inven- :
tion to provide'a good'tasting.ch'ewing gum composition'having the ability, ~hen usea in:the'ordinary way~ to stimula:te, .~' 20 salivation:to a degrea'beyond that attributabIe'to the'mere act ~ , of c~wing ,~ood and to eIiminate:the'dry, so-called "cot-ton~
mouth" condition experienced wi'th.'conventional che~ing gum products; to reduce muscular ~atigue'by providing a quick ::
source'of energy; to replenish'a portion'o~'the ~od~ salts nor-mally lost in perspiration; and to have'lmprov.ed :shel~ life.
These'and other objects and advantages of the invention will be appaxent:from':the'following .descr'.iption'~
~hich dlscloses a prefe~rred em~odiment of ~he'in.ventionO` :'' ' The ch:ewing ~um composition'of'this invention is prl.-marily intended for use'by.athIet'es and other persons duringstrenuous physical exercise~' It is ~ell~kno~n that.ath.Ietes engaged ln competitive effQrts che~ gum to reIieve'.tension;

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9S3~9 chewing, whether i-t be gum, tob~cco, betel nut or a stick of wood, is a kno~n me~ns of xeIaxation`~ A che~ing ~um co~po~i tion typically includes a gum basej ~lavoring additi~es, enulsi-fying agents, a sweetener and sometimes coloring ingredients, among others. Into such a gu~ composition, the pxesent inven-tion incorporates three additional features, namely, a saliva-stimu-lating and acid-m~s~ng combi'nation'of ingredi~ents, a source of energy to reduce fatigue and a source of potassium and sodium salts to replenish'those $~1ts lost in perspiration during exercise.
In general, the present invention utilizes the hereto-fore unrecognized synergistic saliva-stimulating effect pxoduced by the combination of a high'level' of fructose with high ~ercent-ages (that is, above 3~ by weight) o~ certain specified organic acids in a pleasant-tasting chewing gum. Actual tests have dem- '~
onstrated that the~resultant saliva-st'imulating effect greatly exceeds that of either fructose'or organic acid alone in gum com-positions. The high'leveI of fructose, which is a strong s~eet-ener, partially masks the otherwise unacceptably soux taste caused by such high le~els of organic acids. ~n addition, high levels of dextrose or ~ructose'are'preferably incorporated to provide'both`a quick energy source'and a h~groscopic a~ent to improye shelf life.' Furthe~more~ potassium or sodium salts, or both,' are'incorporated for slow'~ controlled release with'the other ingredients.
It is weIl-known that the presence of a hi~h leveI of certain organic acids specified herein, above about 3% o~ the total ~eightf makes a gum product`unpleas~ntly sour~ Similarly~
a high leveI of fructose or'other sweetener makes it too sweat.
For these reasons, neithe'r of these'two ingredients is used separately at high'levels in gum compositions~ As pxeviously state~, however, their combined use in the pres'ent invention, a-t ~ss3~

the high:leveIs sta.ted~ pro~`.ides:the:excellent:desixed result~
nameIy,. eff.ective saliva-stimulat.ion in a pleasant-ta~tin~
che~i.ng gum. It should be no.ted that while certa:in organic acids are known saliva stimulants~ fructose'alone.is not thbught to have that attribute and is not typically used for that purpose~ The combination of these'two ingredients increases saliva flow/
reduces or. eliminates "cotton~outh"' inherent with'prolon~ea chewing while exercising and results in a tart-~l.ayoxed ~ut pleasant-tasting chewi:ng gum pr.od`uct:. .
Specifically, the'organic :acids~.. which,' ~ith~fructose~ ~.
will produce' the~des'irea sali~atlon:effect:in the'present inven-tion, are one or more of those'seIected fxom th~ grouP consist-ing of adipic, ascorbic, citric,'fumaric, lactic, malic and tartar;c acids. These'organic acids occur in natural products, although.,~ as a pr-act'ical matter,: they may ~e'synthes'i.zed for lo~'-co'st mass product'ionO Adipic acid occurs in .beet:jui.ce.
~c-orbic:acid is-found in citrus .ruits~ hip berries, and ~resh tea leaves. Citric acid is present:in lemon', lime'and grape- :~
fruit juicesr to name'a few sources. Fumaric acid is found in 20 many plants. Lactic acid makeb sour milk'tart. Malic acid is '~
found in unripe'fruits, maple:'~ice'and apples. Finally~ tc~.~aric acid occurs in fruit and vege~able tissues~
The ~ollow'ing examples~ill specifically list citric acid as the'organic acid ingredient, but it will be'understood' that:any one'or combination'of. the'other organic acids listed above may!be substituted ~ith:the'~ame.~bene~icial results.
One. example'of.the'ch'e~îng.gum compos'ition of the present invention, employîng the:Gom~ation'of h~h:le~els of organlc acids and ~ructose~ ~long ~îth a hl:gh'dextrQse'leveI~
3~ comprises the follo~ing in~xedîents on a weight' ~5i'5: gum ba~e~: ~rom'lQ per cent to '87 pex centi dextrose s~rup ~conven-tionaI:corn.s~rup), from'O per cent to 25 per cent; granulated ~9~9 dextrose, from O.per cent to 80.per .cent; citr.ic acid, from 3 per cent t.o lO pex cent; a sof.tenex such as glyce.rine, from O.psr cent to 25 per cent, fru-tose, .from lO per' cent to 70 p~r cent sol~lble food'~xade'po~a:ssium salts, from`0 p~r ~t t~ 4 pe~. cen'tu a sodium salt~ rom'0.per ce'nt to '4 per centg and sucrose~' a bulking component, from 0 per cent to'80'per cent. ~dditionally, conventional 1a~or's (f:rom'0.1 per cent to 6 per .cent~ and coloring Ingxedients can be added as desired.
~ithin the specified ranges~ the optimum leveIs of che~ing gum ingredients are determined empirically, depending on the par ticular end product desired. -Another advan-tage'of this inventionf nameIy improved shelf life! results from the'hygroscopic effect achieved by ' the.'combination of dextrose'or fructose and the specified organic acids. In addition'to 'supplying quick ener~y, the dextrose or fructose, when combined with these'organic acids, .
can readily absorb and retain moisture :Erom the'air, allowing the inal formulated gum product to hold moistu:re~and stay fres~
The'preferred chewing gum composition of the present invention further includes a potassium salt or a sodium salt, or both~' to replenish such'salts lost in perspiration.
Replenishment of'these salts tends to reduce dehydxation of muscle cells and retards fatigue.' It will be understood that any of the following potassium and sodium salts can be uti]ized~
potassium bi-sulfate`. sodium acetate potassium bi-tartrate' sodium bi-~phate potassium carhonate sodium carbbnate' potassium chloxide' sodium citrate:

potassium phosphate - sodium glucona.te`
(mono & di~basic)`
potassium pyro phosphate sodium phosphate' potassium stearate' sodium sulfate S3~L9 potassium sul:Eate sodi~ tartrate potassium sulfite potassium tri poly phosphate It should be noted that the presence of too high a level of either the potassium or sodium s~lts listed will adversely a~fect the -taste of the gum product.
The preferred formula for the chewing gum composi-tion of the present invention ls as follows:
Ingredient Per Cen`t By Weight Base 25.Q0 Dextrose Syrup 10.00 ;.
Dextrose (~ranulatedl 30~43 ~
Fructose 20~00 ~.
Citric ~cid 6.00 Glycerine (softener)2.00 ~lavors 1.25 Potassium Salts 0.~.27 Sodium:Salts 0.,05 Sucrose 5.00 If dextrose in syxup form is.not utilized in formu-lating the gum composition, the addition of some foxm o~
plasticizer will be necessary to assist in the manu~acture of such gum products and the percentage of granulated dextrose will have to be increased~

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Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclus-ive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A chewing gum composition essentially comprising gum base; a sweetener; flavoring additives; a palatable and safe amount of an organic acid selected from the group consis-ting of adipic, ascorbic, citric, fumaric, lactic, malic and tartaric acids, said organic acid being capable of stimulat-ing salivation beyond that attributable to the act of chewing food and constituting at least 3 per cent by weight of the final gum composition; and fructose constituting at least 10 per cent by weight of the final gum composition.

2. The chewing gum composition of claim 1 wherein said fructose constitutes from 10 per cent to 70 per cent by weight of the final gum composition.

3. The chewing gum composition of claim 1 wherein said sweetener is dextrose.

4. A chewing gum composition of claim 1 including potassium salts up to about 4 per cent by weight of the final gum composition.

5. The chewing gum composition of claim 1 including sodium salts up to about 4 per cent by weight of the final gum composition.

6. A chewing gum composition comprising on a weight basis: from about 10 per cent to about 87 per cent gum base;
from about 0 per cent to about 25 per cent dextrose syrup;
from about 0 per cent to about 80 per cent granualted dextrose;
from about 0 per cent to about 80 per cent sucrose; from about 10 per cent to about 70 per cent fructose; from about 3 per cent to about 10 per cent of an organic acid selected from the group consisting of adipic, ascorbic, citric, fumaric, lactic, malic and tartaric acids; from about 0 per cent to about 4 per cent potassium salts; from about 0 per cent to about 4 per cent sodium salts; and effective amounts of flavoring and softening agents.

7. A chewing gum composition comprising the follow-ing on a weight per cent basis:
gum base 25.00 per cent dextrose syrup 10.00 per cent granulated dextrose 30.43 per cent fructose 20.00 per cent citric acid 6.00 per cent glycerine 2.00 per cent flavors 1.25 per cent sodium salt 0.05 per cent potassium salt 0.27 per cent sucrose 5.00 per cent.