CHEWING GUM COMPRISING FUNCTIONAL SWEETENER

Abstract

The present invention provides a chewing gum composition comprising a functional sweetener, which has high sweetness sustainability, excellent refreshing feeling, excellent organoleptic properties, low hygroscopicity, and excellent storage stability.

Claims

1. A chewing gum composition comprising gum base, allulose and emulsifier, wherein the emulsifier has an HLB value of 1 to 8.

2. The chewing gum composition according to claim 1, wherein the moisture absorbed upon storage at a temperature of 30° C. and a relative humidity of 75% RH for 8 hours is 0.1 to 2.3% based on 100% by weight immediately after preparation.

3. The chewing gum composition according to claim 1, wherein the emulsifier is contained at 0.1% to 1% by weight based on 100% by weight of total solid content of chewing gum composition.

4. The chewing gum composition according to claim 1, wherein the emulsifier is at least one selected from the group consisting of monoglycerides and diglycerides (MD), sorbitan monostearate (SMS), sorbitan tristearate (STS), polyglycerol ester (PGE), lactic acid ester of monoglyceride and diglycerides (LMD), phosphoric acid ester of monoglyceride and diglycerides (PMD), monoglyceride diacetyl tartrate (DATEM), sugar ester and lecithin.

5. The chewing gum composition according to claim 1, wherein the allulose is contained at 10 to 40% by weight based on 100% by weight of total solid content of chewing gum composition.

6. The chewing gum composition according to claim 1, further comprising one or more additional saccharides selected from the group consisting of monosaccharides, disaccharides, sugar alcohols, dietary fibers, and oligosaccharides.

7. The chewing gum composition according to claim 6, wherein the sugar alcohols are one or more selected from the group consisting of xylitol, maltitol, erythritol, mannitol, lactitol, inositol and sorbitol.

8. The chewing gum composition of claim 6, wherein the additional saccharide is sugar, and wherein allulose and sugar are added such that the weight ratio of sugar and allulose is 1:99 to 99:1.

9. The chewing gum composition according to claim 1, wherein the gum base comprises 20 to 50% by weight based 100% by weight of total solid content of chewing gum composition.

10. The chewing gum composition according to claim 1, wherein the gum base are at least one selected from the group consisting of natural gums, polyvinyl acetates, polyisobutylenes, waxes, polybutenes, emulsifiers, fillers, and ester gums.

11. A sugar-free chewing gum composition comprising gum base, allulose, sugar alcohol and emulsifier, wherein the emulsifier has an HLB value of 1 to 8.

12. The chewing gum composition according to claim 1, wherein the allulose is an allulose crystal having an X-ray spectrum which has a peak at angles of diffraction (2θ)±0.2° of (a) 15.35, 30.95, 18.83, and 47.15; or (b) 15.35, 30.95, 18.83, 47.15, and 25.17.

13. A method of preparing a chewing gum composition comprising a step of mixing allulose, emulsifier and gum base, wherein the emulsifier has an HLB value of from 1 to 8.

14. The chewing gum composition of claim 1, wherein the emulsifier has an HLB value of 1 to 3.

15. The sugar-free chewing gum composition according to claim 11, wherein the allulose is an allulose crystal having a peak on a powder X-ray spectral spectrum at 2θ±0.2° of (a) 15.35, 30.95, 18.83, and 47.15; or (b) 15.35, 30.95, 18.83, 47.15, and 25.17.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0053] FIG. 1 is a table showing the moisture absorption over time in the chewing gums of Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Example 1 of the present invention.

MODE FOR INVENTION

[0054] The present invention will be described in more detail by the following exemplary examples, but the protection scope of the present invention is not intended to be limited to the following examples.

[0055] Allulose Production

[0056] A high-purity allulose syrup containing 96% by weight of allulose was concentrated to a concentration of 81 Bx (%, w/w), and was slowly cooled from a temperature of 35° C. at which the supersaturation occurred to 10° C. to grow crystals. At this time, after the allulose seed crystals were added and slowly stirred at a temperature of 35° C. to produce a small amount of crystal nuclei, the temperature was decreased by 1° C. per hour to grow crystals, and in the crystal growth step, a step of increasing the temperature of the solution to 30-35° C. was performed, in order to re-dissolve the generated fine crystals during cooling. The crystallization was performed by repeating the crystal growth process and the microcrystalline dissolution process at least once or more. The prepared allulose crystals were recovered by removing the mother liquor by centrifugal dehydration and washing the crystals with cooling water, followed by drying. The yield of allulose crystallization was 61%.

[0057] The collected allulose crystals had an average particle size of 853.3 μm and an average short diameter of about 208.0 μm. In addition, as a result of DSC analysis (Diamond DSC, 30 to 250° C., 10° C./min elevated temperature, N2 gas purge), Tm (° C.) was found to be 125.8° C. and ΔH was 211.7 J/g. The XRD analysis results (D/MAX-2200 Ultrama/PC) of the allulose crystals are shown in Table 1 below.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Angle 2-Theta degree Relative Intensity % 15.35 100.0 18.83 4.4 25.17 1.8 30.95 11.7 47.15 2.8

Examples 1-3. Chewing Gum Preparation

[0058] Chewing gum was prepared with the ingredients and compositions in Table 2 below, including xylitol, maltitol or sorbitol as sugar alcohols and the produced allulose. The emulsifier used was S370 with an HLB value of 3 and/or S770 with an HLB value of 7 (Mam Yung Commercial Co. ltd.). As a specific mixing step, the composition of the table below was placed and kneaded in a gum kneader and then mixed at a temperature of 40° C. to discharge when the network was completely formed in spread of the mixture. The gum composition was pressed into a mill to sit at 1.5 to 2 mm and cut.

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Exam- Exam- Exam- Comparative ple 1 ple 2 ple 3 Example 1 Components (wt %) (wt %) (wt %) (wt %) Allulose(Samyang Corp) 10.24 10.24 10.24 10.24 Xylitol (Samyang Corp) 59.52 0 0 59.59 Maltitol (Samyang Corp) 0 59.18 0 0 Sorbitol (Samyang Corp) 0 0 59.52 0 Sugar ester (S370) 0.2 0.7 0.2 0 Sugar ester (S770) 0.02 0.02 0.02 0 Sugar ester (S1670) 0 0 0 0.2 Maltitol syrup C 3.29 3.27 3.29 3.26 Gum base (Bolak Co. 25.17 25.04 25.17 25.15 Ltd) L-menthol (Takasago 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 international Corp) Citric acid (Samyang 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 Corp) Sucralose (Samyang 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 Corp) Acesulfame K 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 Flavor 1 0.99 1 1 Sum 100 100 100 100

[0059] As a comparative example for Examples 1 to 6 above, a chewing gum was prepared in the same manner, but an emulsifier was prepared with the composition in Table 2 below including S1670 (Myamsian) having an HLB value of 16.

Examples 4 to 6: Chewing Gum Preparation

[0060] The chewing gums containing allulose and sugar as saccharides in different ratios of amounts were prepared in the same manner as in the preparation methods of Examples 1 to 3 by using the compositions shown in Table 3 below. As a Comparative Example, a chewing gum was prepared with a composition containing sugar, starch syrup and glucose, but no allulose.

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Exam- Exam- Exam- Comparative ple 4 ple 5 ple 6 Example 2 Components (wt %) (wt %) (wt %) (wt %) Allulose(Samyang Corp) 52.53 10 20 0 Powdery sugar(Samyang 0 42.53 32.53 52.55 Corp) Glucose(Samyang Corp) 15.57 15.57 15.57 15.57 Starch syrup(Samyang 5.84 5.84 5.84 5.84 Corp) Sugar ester (HLB 7) 0.02 0.02 0.02 0 Gum base(Bolak Co. 24.52 24.52 24.52 24.52 Ltd) L-menthol (Takasago 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 international Corp) Citric acid(Samyang 0.39 0.39 0.39 0.39 Corp) Sucralose (Samyang 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 Corp) Acesulfame K (Samyang 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 Corp) Flavor 0.97 0.97 0.97 0.97 Sum 100 100 100 100

Examples 7 to 9: Chewing Gum Preparation

[0061] According to the same production methods of Examples 1 to 3, the chewing gum was produced with the compositions shown in Table 4 below, containing allulose, sugar, glucose or starch syrup as saccharides, with varying the type and content of the emulsifier. The chewing gums were produced with no emulsifier (Comparative Example 3) or with containing only an emulsifier having an HLB value of 16 (Comparative Example 4).

TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 Comparative Comparative Example7 Example8 Example9 Example3 Example4 Component (wt %) (wt %) (wt %) (wt %) (wt %) Allulose(Samyang Corp) 20 20 20 20 20 Powdery 32.44 32.44 32.51 32.55 32.44 sugar(Samyang Corp) Glucose(Samyang Corp) 15.54 15.54 15.55 15.57 15.54 Starch syrup(Samyang 5.83 5.83 5.83 5.84 5.83 Corp) Sugar ester (HLB 1) — 0.2 0.09 — — Sugar ester (HLB 7) 0.2 — — — — Sugar ester (HLB 16) — — — — 0.2 Gum base (Bolak Co. 24.47 24.47 24.5 24.52 24.47 Ltd) (wt %) L-menthol (Takasago 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 international Corp) (wt %) Citric acid (Samyang 0.39 0.39 0.39 0.39 0.39 Corp) (wt %) Sucralose (Samyang 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 Corp) (wt %) Acesulfame K(wt %) 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 Flavor(wt %) 0.97 0.97 0.97 0.97 0.97 Sum(wt %) 100 100 100 100 100

Test Example 1. Moisture Absorption Evaluation

[0062] The chewing gums containing allulose of Examples 1 to 3, Examples 8 and 9 and Comparative Examples 1 to 4 were evaluated for moisture absorption over time. Specifically, the chewing gum prepared in the tray was weighed after 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8 hours under constant temperature (30° C.) and constant humidity (75% RH) conditions, and the increased weight calculated by the following formula (1) was calculated as the ratio over time, to show in Table 5, Table 6, and FIG. 1.

Hygroscopicity (%)={(weight of chewing gum at n hour)−(weight of chewing gum at 0 hour)}/(weight of chewing gum at n hour)×100%  [Equation 1]

TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 Storage Exam- Exam- Exam- Comparative time ple1(%) ple2(%) ple3(%) Example1(%) 0 h 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 2 h 0.58 0.00 0.77 1.49 4 h 0.72 0.17 1.29 1.93 6 h 0.92 0.26 1.55 2.28 8 h 1.00 0.43 1.81 2.37

TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 6 Storage Comparative Comparative Comparative time Example8(%) Example9(%) Example2(%) Example3(%) Example4(%) 0 h 0 0 0 0 0 2 h 0.36 0.48 0.42 0.55 0.65 4 h 1.29 1.61 1.43 1.56 1.59 6 h 1.77 1.87 1.98 2.07 2.12 8 h 2.12 2.3 2.39 2.43 2.62

[0063] As could be shown from the above results, it was confirmed that the moisture absorptivity could be maintained to be lower as an emulsifier having a lower HLB value is used when the same saccharide was used, regardless of the type of sugar excluding allulose. In particular, in the case of Example 1 or 8 using an emulsifier having an HLB value of 1, the moisture absorption was significantly lower than that of the chewing gum of Comparative Examples 1 or 4 containing an emulsifier with an HLB of 16. It has been confirmed that even when the emulsifier was contained in a half amount (Example 9), it was possible to maintain low moisture absorption, compared to the use of an emulsifying agent having an HLB of 16.

Test Example 2. Hardness Evaluation

[0064] The hardness of the chewing gums prepared in Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Example 1 was measured by repeating the measurement five times at a speed of 1 mm/s using a probe having a diameter of 5 mm according to Punture Test (Measure Force in Compression) method.

[0065] The measurement results are shown in the following table. It was confirmed that the hardness of Examples 1 to 6 (HLB 1 or 7), in particular, Examples 3 to 6, using an emulsifier having a low HLB value was high.

TABLE-US-00007 TABLE 7 Comparative Item Example1 Example2 Example3 Example1 Hardness(g) 3.4 2.7 3.8 2.7

[0066] In the case of Comparative Example 1 containing xylitol as a sugar alcohol and an emulsifier having a high HLB value (HLB 16), the hardness was low and the physical properties were poor, so that chewing properties were expected to be poor. However, in Example 1 including an emulsifier having a low HLB value (HLB 3) had high hardness, showing that the hardness of a certain level or more could be imparted, even if sugar alcohol was included.

Test Example 3. Sensory Evaluation

[0067] The sensory evaluation of the chewing gums of Examples 4 to 6 and Comparative Example 2 was carried out. While putting the sample in the mouth and chewing, the sweet taste intensity, sweet taste preference, hardness, and hardness preference were evaluated on a 5-point scale, and the preference was at the initial stage and three minutes after the sample was placed in a mouth. The results are shown in Table 8.

[0068] The evaluation criteria of the items are as follows, and the results are shown in the table below.

[0069] <Evaluation Criteria>

[0070] Sweetness: 5 points for high sweetness intensity and 1 point for low sweetness intensity.

[0071] Sweet taste preference: 5 points for excellent preference of sweetness quality and 1 point for low preference of sweetness quality

[0072] Hardness: 5 points for high hardness and 1 point for low hardness

[0073] Hardness preference: 5 points for excellent preference of hardness and 1 point for low preference of hardness.

TABLE-US-00008 TABLE 8 Comparative Example4 Example5 Example6 Example2 Sweetness (initial) 3.2 3.5 3.4 3.4 Sweet taste preference 3.0 3.7 3.6 3.8 (initial) Hardness (initial) 3.1 3.2 3.2 3.1 Hardness preference 3.1 3.7 3.6 3.7 (initial) Sweetness 2.1 3.1 3.2 2.5 (after 3 minutes) Sweet taste preference 2.5 3.7 3.4 3.4 (after 3 minutes) Hardness 3.8 2.8 2.8 3.2 (after 3 minutes) Hardness preference 3.1 3.6 3.7 3.6 (after 3 minutes) refresh feeling 3.4 3.3 3.2 3.2 Overall preference 2.5 3.5 3.4 3.5

[0074] As could be seen from the above results, it was confirmed that the chewing gum of Example 6, which was prepared with a composition containing about 53% by weight of allulose as a saccharide without including sugar commonly used in a conventional chewing gum composition, was not only low sweetness, but also increased hardness over time, as compared with the chewing gums of Comparative Example 2 containing no allulose.

[0075] In particular, in the case of Examples 5 and 6 prepared with the compositions containing sugar and allulose in a weight ratio of about 42:10 and 33:20 respectively, it was confirmed that the sweet taste was more highly felt as compared with Comparative Example 2 containing a large amount of sugar, and the sweet taste preference was high due to the refreshing feeling (cooling feeling). In addition, it was confirmed that Examples 5 and 6 had the effect of maintaining the sweet taste at a high level for a long time, as compared with that of Comparative Example containing only sugar or allulose.