CHEWING GUM AND GUM BASES CONTAINING ELASTOMERS DERIVED FROM EDIBLE OIL SOURCES

Abstract

A chewing gum base which contains an edible Oil Elastomer prepared by reacting an epoxidized edible oil with a multifunctional acid.

Claims

1. A chewing gum base comprising an Edible Oil Elastomer wherein the Edible Oil Elastomer is prepared by reacting an epoxidized edible oil with a multifunctional acid.

2. A gum base of claim 1 wherein the Edible Oil Elastomer has a gel content of at least 12%.

3. A gum base of claim 1 wherein the Edible Oil Elastomer has a gel content of at least 25%.

4. A gum base of claim 1 wherein the Edible Oil Elastomer has a gel content of at least 30%.

5. A gum base of claim 1 wherein the Edible Oil Elastomer has a gel content of no more than 85%.

6. A gum base of claim 1 wherein the Edible Oil Elastomer has a gel content of no more than 75%.

7. A gum base of claim 1 wherein the Edible Oil Elastomer has a gel content of no more than 70%.

8. A gum base of claim 1 wherein the Edible Oil Elastomer has a gel content of no more than 65%.

9. A gum base of claim 1 wherein the Edible Oil Elastomer has a gel content of no more than 59%.

10. A gum base of claim 1 wherein the Edible oil Elastomer has a molecular weight of at least 8,000.

11. A gum base of claim 1 wherein the Edible oil Elastomer has a molecular weight of no more than 130,000.

12. A gum base of claim 1 wherein the Edible oil Elastomer has a complex shear modulus of the EOE is greater than 210.sup.3 Pa.

13. A gum base of claim 1 wherein the Edible oil Elastomer has a complex shear modulus of the EOE is greater than 610.sup.3 Pa.

14. A gum base of claim 1 wherein the Edible oil Elastomer has a complex shear modulus of the EOE is greater than 210.sup.4 Pa.

15. A gum base of claim 1 wherein the Edible oil Elastomer has a complex shear modulus of the EOE is less than 110.sup.7 Pa.

16. A gum base of claim 1 wherein the Edible oil Elastomer has a complex shear modulus of the EOE is less than 110.sup.6 Pa.

17. A gum base of claim 1 wherein the Edible oil Elastomer has a complex shear modulus of the EOE is less than 110.sup.5 Pa.

18. The gum base of claim 1 wherein the gum base further comprises at least one of an inorganic filler, a high melting fat or a wax.

19. The gum base of claim 1 wherein the gum base comprises a natural wax.

20. The gum base of any claim 1 wherein the gum base further comprises a fully hydrogenated oil.

Description

EXAMPLES

[0083] The following examples of the invention and comparative formulations illustrate certain aspects and embodiments of the present invention, but do not limit the invention described and claimed. Amounts listed are in weight percent, based upon the total weight of the gum base, or chewing gum, as the case may be.

[0084] Two samples of Edible Oil Elastomer (EOE) were prepared from Epoxidized Soybean Oil and Citric Acid according to method of US 2015/0087732. The polymerized oils were tested and found to have properties shown in Table 1.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Example 1 Example 2 ESO:CA (weight) 4.54 4.02 ESO:CA (molar) 0.95 0.84 Ratio Epoxide:nucleophilic groups 1.00 0.92

[0085] Gum bases were prepared from the EOE of Example 1 according to the formulas in Table 2.

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Ex. 3 Ex. 4 Ex. 5 Ex. 6 Ex. 7 EOE of Ex. 1 58.00 58.00 43.50 58.00 58.00 Carnauba Wax 25.00 18.58 5.15 Calcium 20.60 20.60 15.45 11.49 15.45 Carbonate Glycerol 4.24 4.24 3.18 2.37 4.24 Monostearate Fully 4.83 4.83 3.62 2.69 4.83 Hydrogenated cottonseed Oil Hydrogenated 4.49 4.49 3.37 2.50 4.49 Soybean Oil Partially 4.49 4.49 3.37 2.50 4.49 Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil Lecithin 3.29 3.29 2.47 1.83 3.29 BHT 0.06 0.06 0.05 0.03 0.06 Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

[0086] The Gum bases of Examples 3-7 were used to make chewing gums according to the formulas in Table 3, 4 and 5.

TABLE-US-00003 Ex. 8 Ex. 9 Ex. 10 Ex. 11 Ex. 12 Carnauba wax 8.00 8.20 Gum base of 24.00 35.00 Ex. 4 Gum base of 32.00 Ex. 5 Gum base of 32.00 Ex. 6 Gum base of 32.00 Ex. 7 Sorbitol 45.00 45.00 45.00 45.00 45.00 Mannitol 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 Co-Evaporated 15.00 15.00 15.00 15.00 15.00 Polyol Syrup and Glycerin Glycerin 3.50 3.50 3.50 3.50 3.50 Flavor 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 Aspartame 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 Example 13 Sugar 53.13 Corn Syrup 14.85 Glycerin 1.23 Flavor 0.79 Gum Base of Ex. 3 30.00 Total 100.00

TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 Example 14 Carnauba Wax 8.20 Gum Base of Ex. 7 35.00 Sorbitol 33.80 Mannitol 3.00 Co-Evaporated Polyol Syrup 15.00 and Glycerin Glycerin 3.50 Spearmint Flavor 1.00 Aspartame 0.50 Total 100.00

[0087] The chewing gums were evaluated in an informal sensory test and the comments in Table 6 were reported.

TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 6 Example 8 Fell apart 1.sup.st bite, came back after 30 sec, not sticky, citric off-note Example 9 Firm 1.sup.st bite, crumbling until 30 sec, bitter, not sticky, fell apart in 4 min Example 10 OK 1.sup.st bite, sticky, soft tacky chew for more than 7 min, bitter Example 11 Soft and sticky, citric off- note Example 12 OK 1.sup.st bite, sli. sticky, soft tacky chew for more than 7 min, bitter Example 14 OK 1.sup.st bite, sli. sticky, soft tacky chew for more than 7 min, bitter

[0088] Unless defined otherwise, technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as is commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Unless otherwise stated, percentages provided are percentages by weight. The terms first, second, and the like, as used herein do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but rather are used to distinguish one element from another. Also, the terms a and an do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced item, and the terms front, back, bottom, and/or top, unless otherwise noted, are merely used for convenience of description, and are not intended to limit what is being described to any one position or spatial orientation.

[0089] All patents, patent applications, provisional applications, and publications referred to or cited herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety to the extent they are not inconsistent with the explicit teachings of this specification. Further, while only certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.