Untitled record

The present invention relates to tobacco compositions, more particularly to smokeless tobacco compositions consisting of tobacco and mint plant material. More particularly, the compositions consist of a mixture of tobacco and mint plant material, including mint leaves, with or without endogenous mint oil, and mint stems, with or without endogenous mint oil, and the like. Mixtures of mint plant material and tobacco are combined in amounts effective to minimize the sometimes negative aroma characteristics present in tobacco.

Smokeless tobacco is a product that is consumed orally without subjecting the product to incineration. These products are manufactured in a variety of forms including chewing tobacco, dry tobacco and wet tobacco. Typically, this type of product is produced in the following order, with no special sequence of operations: tobacco is cut or ground to the proper size; the tobacco is dipped or sprayed into the coating solution; the coated tobacco is partially dried; the tobacco is kept in containers for a while; and then packaged.

Baguettes are typically sold in three forms: as pressed tobacco ("plug"), where tobacco is pressed into one of several shapes; as twists when the leaves are knotted into a rope-like product; and like a loose leafy chutney, it comes in an · · · envelope holder. The moisture content of pressed tobacco blocks is typically about 15% by volume for "hard" pressed tobacco blocks and more than 15% for "soft" pressed tobacco blocks. Twisted and loose leafy materials typically have a lower moisture content.

As mentioned above, snuffs are typically sold as "dry" or "wet" snuffs. Dry snuff is usually finely ground, almost dusty, and has a moisture content of about 8%. Wet snuffs, which typically have a moisture content of about 40-60%, may have different particle sizes, depending on the product.

Chubby and stamens are often treated with different flavors to help reduce the less desirable taste characteristics sometimes associated with base tobacco. Thus, for example, oral use of tobacco typically induces salivation, and the resultant tobacco juice can sometimes have an unpleasant bitter taste. Flavors are often added to tobacco to eliminate these flavors. There is, therefore, a need in the market for a smokeless tobacco-based product that can provide satisfactory oral tobacco while reducing or eliminating the sometimes less desirable flavor.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to smokeless tobacco compositions such as chewing tobacco and / or snuff compositions consisting of tobacco and mint plant material, in which the mint plant material is mint leaves with or without endogenous mint oil and mint stems with or without endogenous mint oil and the like. The combination of tobacco and mint plant material provides a smokeless product, resulting in a chewing sensation and enjoyment associated with oral tobacco, while reducing the sometimes less desirable properties. The addition of mint leaves synergistically reduces these properties beyond what would normally be expected or observed if the same amount of exogenous mint oil is introduced instead of the mint.

In one important aspect, a mixture of tobacco and mint plant material is effective in minimizing the less desirable flavor properties of the chewing gum. Further, the mixture of tobacco and mint plant material allows the user to chew or soak the composition while reducing the negative taste that can sometimes be encountered with conventional tobacco products.

The tobacco product of the invention is a mixture of more than about 7.5% tobacco and less than about 92.5% by weight of mint plant material, based on the total weight of tobacco and mint plant material. Mint plant material may include mint leaves, with or without endogenous mint oil, and mint stems, with or without endogenous mint oil, and mixtures thereof. In one important aspect of the invention, the tobacco product contains from about 7.5% to about 20% by weight of mint plant material; in another aspect, about 20% to about 40% by weight of mint plant material, in another aspect, about 40% to about 60% mint plant material, and in another aspect, about 60% to about 90% mint plant material, and in another aspect, about 40% to about 50% by weight of mint plant material, based on the total weight of all tobacco and mint plant material in the blend.

In an essential aspect, the invention provides a chewing and / or snuff composition comprising tobacco and mint plant material in an amount effective to produce a preferred product as compared to a product containing no mint plant material or the mint plant material being substituted with cellulose. / mint oil or any combination that contains exogenous or added mint oil.

The composition of the invention is a mixture of mint plant material and tobacco. The tobacco and mint material are mixed in an amount that effectively provides a product that does not sometimes have the negative aroma characteristics associated with tobacco. "Negative aroma characteristics" refer to bitter, astringent, pungent, raw-flavored tobacco aromas, aftertaste, negative sensation in the throat or stomach, and the like. Definitions of flavor characteristics are described in The Dictionary of Flavors, DeRovira, Food & Nutrition Press, Inc., 1999.

In one important aspect of the invention, the mint plant material effectively allows the user of the product to chew or soak (suck) the tobacco while reducing the negative aroma characteristics sometimes associated with oral tobacco use compared to formulations containing no mint plant material. .

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In another important aspect, the formulations are refined without the addition of mint oil. As used herein, the term "addition of mint oil" refers to mint oil that has been processed and is in a form substantially free of plant materials such as leaves, stems and roots. These types of mint oils are sometimes added and mixed with tobacco.

In one important aspect, the composition of the invention may comprise the following amounts of mint plant material and tobacco:

<td>Mint plant material</td><td>Tobacco</td>

<td>(crowd%)</td><td>(crowd%)</td>

<td> 92,5</td><td> 7,5</td>

<td> 90,0</td><td> 10,0,</td>

<td> 85,0</td><td> 15,0</td>

<td> 80,0</td><td> 20,0</td>

<td> 70,0</td><td> 30,0</td>

<td> 65,0</td><td> 35,0</td>

<td> 60,0</td><td> 40,0</td>

<td> 55,0</td><td> 45,0</td>

<td> 50,0</td><td> 50,0</td>

<td> 45,0</td><td> 55,0</td>

<td> 40,0</td><td> 60,0</td>

<td> 35,0</td><td> 65,0</td>

<td> 30,0</td><td> 70,0</td>

<td> 25,0</td><td> 75,0</td>

ζ

<td> 20,0</td><td> 80,0</td>

<td> 15,0</td><td> 85,0</td>

<td> 10,0</td><td> 90,0</td>

<td> 5,0</td><td> 95,0</td>

In one important aspect, the invention includes mint plant materials. The term "mint plant material" as used herein refers to plants of the genus Mentha. The Mentha genus includes, but is not limited to, the following: USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program, Germplasm Resource Resources Network (GRIN), National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maiyland (www, ars-grin.gov / var / apache / cgibin / npgs / html / tax / taxlist.-pl? Mentha).

Examples of Mentha include Mentha aquatica, Mentha canadensis, Mentha cervina, Mentha japonica, Mentha logifolia, Mentha piperita, Mentha pulegium, Mentha spicata, and Mentha suaveolens.

The mint plant material of the present invention may include mint leaves, stems and the like. Each of the mint plant materials may contain a certain amount of mint oil, which is naturally occurring or endogenous in the plant.

In addition, mint plants may contain mint plants from which a certain amount of mint oil has been extracted. The mint plant material may be mint leaves alone, mint stems per se, or a combination of mint leaves and mint stems, with or without endogenous oils in the mint plant material.

In an essential aspect, the tobacco used in the product of the invention may be any tobacco known to be suitable as chewing tobacco or snuff. Suitable tobacco products are fermented and non-fermented tobacco, air-dried, purified, dark-heated, heat-fermented, and cigar-filling or cigar-wrapping tobacco leaves, as well as products of the whole leaf-dehydration operation. Alternatives and variants include the use of a tobacco leaf or leaf and stalk. In addition, waste-sized tobacco shavings may be blended with the homogenized product to control texture and aroma release during chewing or mouth-soaking.

The tobacco used in the present invention can be blended with other additives known in the art of choking. Therefore, the percentages of tobacco described herein may refer to tobacco alone or in combination with various known additives.

After selecting the right type of tobacco, the tobacco is minced or ground to the appropriate size, depending on the type of product to be manufactured. The material can also be separated by its size, passed through a screen for breeding purposes. The comminution and grinding of tobacco can be carried out using any method known in the art. Mint plant material can be crushed or ground using similar methods.

The tobacco and mint plant material, suitably chopped or ground, are blended using techniques and equipment known in the art. Other known additives may be added to the tobacco and / or the mint plant material, either before or after the tobacco and mint plant material are mixed 8 · · ·. the · " * · · ·*··**·*

........

Juk. The tobacco and mint material may be processed separately before being blended or may be processed together after blending.

The following examples illustrate embodiments of the process of the invention, but are not intended to limit the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

l. example

We made general air-cured tobacco from aged air-cured leaf, which was ground in a Whiley mill using a 4 mm sieve. We used the same arrangement to grind the Madras mint leaf, which grows on the northwest coast of the Pacific Ocean. Mint oil distilled from the same mint leaf material was also used in the placebo sample.

In the oven, we removed the volatiles from the tobacco and mint leaves to determine the moisture content of each. This was then used to calculate the amount of water needed to keep the moisture content of the mixture at 30%. The blends were prepared within a few weeks and subjected to an internal Commission taste test. The series contained 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, 60 and 80% ment leaves. Each subject received a humidified composition from the pooled samples and an appropriate percentage of placebo when mixed and asked to evaluate within 2 days to eliminate aging interferences in any product.

”*· »·· ··· :··;·

The placebo formulation was a mixture of tobacco and cellulose at the appropriate percentage. The cellulose was washed, dried and concentrated. Cellulose was used industrially as an aroma carrier. The specific properties of cellulose are such that minimal flavor is introduced from the cellulose itself. The same amount of mint oil contained in the leaves was added to the cellulose before mixing to ensure as much as possible the interaction and composition of the flavor with both the real and placebo samples.

During the blind test, the taste testers were asked to evaluate the aroma characteristics, such as bitter taste, tartness, pungent taste and aftertaste of tobacco, and indicate the best sample. 1 rating was poor and 10 ratings good. The results obtained are as follows.

Pattern: 20% mint leaf

<td>Bitter taste</td><td>sourness</td><td>smartness</td><td>TOBACCO</td><td>AFTERTASTE</td>

<td>Average: 4.89 Preferred%: 88.9%.</td><td> 5,11</td><td> 5,67</td><td> 4,22</td><td> 5,44</td>

<td>Sample: 20% placebo</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td>

<td>Bitter taste</td><td>sourness</td><td>smartness</td><td>TOBACCO</td><td>AFTERTASTE</td>

<td>Average: 3.89</td><td> 3,89</td><td> 4,11</td><td> 4,33</td><td> 2,89</td>

<td>Preferred%: 11.1%.</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td>

Pattern: 40% mint leaf

<td>Bitter taste</td><td>sourness</td><td>smartness</td><td>TOBACCO</td><td>AFTERTASTE</td>

<td>Average: 5.00</td><td> 5,43</td><td> 4,79</td><td> 4,71</td><td> 5,79</td>

<td>Preferred%: 71.43%.</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td>

<td>Sample: 40% placebo</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td>

<td>Bitter taste</td><td>sourness</td><td>smartness</td><td>TOBACCO</td><td>AFTERTASTE</td>

<td>Average: 3.57</td><td> 4,14</td><td> 2,79</td><td> 4,79</td><td> 4,21</td>

Preferred%: 28.57%.

Pattern: 60% mint leaf

<td>Bitter taste</td><td>sourness</td><td>smartness</td><td>TOBACCO</td><td>AFTERTASTE</td>

<td>Average: 5.33 Preferred% 83.33%.</td><td> 6,17</td><td> 6,33</td><td> 4,17</td><td> 5,50</td>

<td colspan="5">Sample: 60% placebo</td>

<td>Bitter taste</td><td>sourness</td><td>smartness</td><td>TOBACCO</td><td>AFTERTASTE</td>

<td>Average: 4.17 Preferred%: 16.67%.</td><td> 4,67</td><td> 4,83</td><td> 3,00</td><td> 3,67</td>

Favorable comparison

Mint leaves, %

<td></td><td> 60 %</td><td> 40 %</td><td> 20 %</td><td></td>

<td>Mint plant material</td><td> 83,33 %</td><td> 71,43 %</td><td> 88,89</td><td> %</td>

<td>Placebo</td><td> 16,67 %</td><td> 28,57 %</td><td> 11,11</td><td> %.</td>

One of ordinary skill in the art will find many modifications and changes to the practice of the present invention upon examination of the foregoing detailed description of the invention. Therefore, these modifications and changes are within the scope of the following claims.