Tobacco mint plant material product

The invention relates to tobacco compositions, more particularly to smokeless tobacco compositions comprising tobacco and mint plant material. Specifically, the composition consists of tablecloth and mint plant material, such as mint leaves, said leaves having or without endogenous mint oil, mint stems with or without endogenous mint oil, and the like. - the mixture. Mixtures of mint and tobacco are obtained by mixing in quantities that effectively reduce the sometimes negative taste of tobacco.

KNOWN TECHNICAL BACKGROUND

Smokeless tobacco is a product which is taken orally without burning. These products come in many forms including chewing tobacco, dry snuff and wet snuff. Typically, this type of product is produced as follows (the sequence is not important): cutting or grinding the tobacco into particles of appropriate size, dipping or spraying the coating with a coating solution, partially drying the coated tobacco, holding the tobacco in containers for some time and packaging.

Chewing tobacco is usually sold in one of three forms: "cork" when the tobacco is compressed into one of many forms, "roll" when the leaves are wrapped in rope and loose leaf chewing tobacco is stored in envelope containers. "Hard" stoppers typically have a moisture content of about 15% or less by weight, and "soft" stoppers more than 15%. Curly and loose, leafy material usually has less moisture.

As mentioned above, snuff is generally described as "dry" or "wet." Dry snuff is usually finely ground, almost powdered, and has a moisture content of about 8%. Moist snuff with a moisture content of 40 to 60% can be composed of particles of different sizes, depending on the product.

Chewing tobacco and snuff are often treated with various flavors to suppress some of the less desirable taste characteristics of tobacco. For example, oral ingestion of tobacco usually results in salivation, and the resulting "tobacco juice" can sometimes have an unpleasant bitterness. Flavors are often added to eliminate these flavors. Consequently, smokeless tobacco products are needed in the market to provide pleasure when taken orally, while at the same time reducing or eliminating the less desirable taste characteristics they sometimes possess.

THE SUBSTANCE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a smokeless tobacco composition such as a chewing or snuff composition containing tobacco and mint plant material, wherein the mint plant material is mint leaves, with or without endogenous mint oil, mint stems with or without endogenous mint oil, and the like. The combination of tobacco and mint herb gives a smokeless product that gives chewing the sensation and pleasure of chewing tobacco and reduces the undesirable characteristics inherent to it. In addition, the added mint plant material synergistically reduces these characteristics below the threshold normally observed with the addition of the same amount of exogenous oil in place of the mint plant material.

The combination of tobacco and mint plant material effectively reduces the undesirable flavors of chewing tobacco. In addition, a mixture of tobacco and mint herb allows the user to chew or suck the composition, reducing the negative taste sensations that are sometimes found in regular tobacco products.

The tobacco product of the present invention is a mixture of more than 7.5% by weight of tobacco and less than 92.5% by weight of mint, based on the total weight of tobacco and mint. Mint plant material can be mint leaves with or without endogenous mint oil, mint stems with or without endogenous mint oil, and mixtures thereof. According to one embodiment of the invention, the tobacco product may contain from 7.5 to 20% by weight of mint plant material, in another embodiment from 20 to 40% by weight mint plant material, in another embodiment from 40 to 60% by weight mint plant material. plant material, in yet another embodiment 3, from 60 to 90% by weight of a mint plant material, and in another embodiment, from 40 to 50% by weight of a mint plant material, calculated on the total weight of the mixture of tobacco and mint plant material.

The present invention provides a chewing and / or snuff composition comprising an effective amount of a tobacco and mint herb in an amount effective to obtain a product which does not contain a mint plant or wherein the mint plant material is replaced by a cellulose-mint oil composition or any in any other combination that contains exogenous or added mint oil.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The composition of the present invention is a mixture of mint plant material and tobacco. Tobacco and mint plant material are mixed in amounts that effectively give the product some of the negative taste characteristics of tobacco. "Negative taste characteristics" include bitterness, pungency, acidity, unpleasant taste of tobacco, negative feelings in the throat or stomach and so on. Descriptions of flavor characteristics are given in "The Dictionary of Flavors, DeRovira, Food & Nutrition Press, Ine., 1999", which is incorporated herein by reference.

According to the present invention, the mint plant material effectively reduces the adverse taste characteristics of the chewing or sucking tobacco product, sometimes present in the chewing tobacco, as compared to compositions containing no mint plant material.

In another aspect of the present invention, the compositions are improved without the addition of mint oil. As used herein, the expression "added mint oil" refers to mint oil that has already been processed and is separated from mint plant material such as leaves, stems and roots. This type of mint oil is sometimes added and mixed with tobacco.

The mixture of the present invention may comprise the following amounts of mint plant material and tobacco:

Mint plant material (% by weight) Tobacco (% by weight)

92,5

7,5

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

<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>

Mint plant material

Mint plant materials are used in the practice of the present invention. As used herein, the expression "mint plant material" refers to plants of the Mentha species. The Metha species include, but are not limited to, the plants listed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Research Service (ARS), the National Genetic Resources Program, the Genetic Resources Information Network (GRIN), the National Genetic Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland (www.ars-grin.gov/ var / apache / cgibin / npgs / html / tax / tax! ist.pl? metha). Examples thereof are 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 be mint leaves, mint stems and the like. All mint herbs may contain a quantity of mint oil that is naturally occurring or endogenous. In addition, mint herbs may contain mint herbs that have a certain amount of mint oil removed. The mint plant material may be exclusively mint leaves or mint stems, or a combination of mint leaves and stems with or without endogenous oils.

Tobacco

The tobacco used in the present invention may be any known tobacco suitable for the manufacture of chewing tobacco or snuff. Suitable tobacco products include fermented or unfermented tobacco, air curled tobacco, Burley tobacco, smoke tobacco and open fire tobacco, smoked tobacco, tobacco filler or wrapper, and products obtained by rolling whole leaves. Alternatively, tobacco leaves or leaf blades and stems may be used. In addition, the leaf blade waste may be mixed with a homogenized product to control the texture and taste of chewing or sucking tobacco.

The tobacco used in the present invention may be blended with other additives known in the art of chewing tobacco. Thus, the percentages of tobacco used herein refer only to tobacco or a combination of tobacco with any known additives.

Preparation of the product of tobacco-mint plant material

When the right type of tobacco is selected, the tobacco is cut or minced into appropriate size pieces, depending on the type of product being manufactured. The particles of material can still be sized by passing them through a sieve. Cutting or grinding of tobacco can be accomplished by methods already known for this purpose. The mint plant material may also have been cut or ground in similar ways.

Tobacco and mint plant material, which have already been cut or ground, as appropriate, are mixed together using techniques and equipment already known. Other known additives may be mixed with tobacco and / or mint plant material, either before or after mixing tobacco and mint plant material. The tobacco and the mint plant material may be further processed individually before mixing or further processed after mixing.

The following examples are illustrative only and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

EXAMPLES

EXAMPLE Conventional air curled tobacco was obtained from air curled leaves that were milled in a Whiley mill using a 4 mm sieve. The same parameters were used to grind Madras mint leaves grown in the northeastern Pacific coast. Mint oil distilled from the same mint leaves was also used in the placebo sample.

The furnace-derived tobacco and mint leaf volatiles were used to determine the moisture content of each of the ingredients. This indicator was later used to calculate the water content required to give the mixture a moisture content of 30%. Within a few weeks, several blends were prepared and submitted for internal tasting. The samples contained 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, 60 and 80 percent mint leaves. Each participant received a kit consisting of a true sample and a placebo with the same percentage and was asked to evaluate within 2 days to avoid differences in product aging.

The placebo formulation was an appropriate mixture of tobacco and cellulose. The cellulose was washed, dried and compressed. Cellulose was commercially used as a flavor carrier. The specific characteristics of the cellulose were such that the cellulose itself gave the mixture a minimal aroma. The same amount of mint oil found in the leaves was added to the cellulose before mixing to give the placebo the most realistic aroma interaction and compatibility properties possible.

During the blind evaluation, the evaluators were asked to grade the taste characteristics such as bitterness, acidity, pungency and residual tobacco taste, and to indicate which example they prefer. 1 meant a poor grade and 10 a good grade. The results are shown below.

<td>EXAMPLE</td><td>20% mint leaves</td><td></td>

<td>Bitterness</td><td>ACETITIMIC AXICITY</td><td>TOBACCO</td>

<td>Avg. 4.89</td><td> 5,11 5,67</td><td> 4,22</td>

BACKGROUND

Taste

5,44

88.9% prioritized

EXAMPLE 20% placebo

<td>Bitterness</td><td>ACIDITY</td><td>EARNINGS</td><td>TOBACCO</td><td>BACKGROUND Taste</td>

<td>Avg. 3.89</td><td> 3,89</td><td> 4,11</td><td> 4,33</td><td> 2,89</td>

<td colspan="4">PREFERRED BY 11.11%</td>

<td>EXAMPLE Bitterness</td><td>40% mint leaves ACETITIMIC AXICITY</td><td>TOBACCO</td><td>BACKGROUND</td>

<td>Avg. 5.00</td><td> 5,43 4,79</td><td> 4,71</td><td>Taste 5.79</td>

PRIORITY 71.43%

<td>EXAMPLE</td><td colspan="3">40% placebo</td>

<td>Bitterness</td><td>ACETITIMIC AXICITY</td><td>TOBACCO</td><td>BACKGROUND Taste</td>

<td>Avg. 3.57</td><td> 4,14 2,79</td><td> 4,79</td><td> 4,21</td>

<td colspan="2">28.57% prioritized</td><td></td><td></td>

<td>EXAMPLE</td><td>60% mint leaves</td><td></td><td></td>

<td>Bitterness</td><td>ACETITIMIC AXICITY</td><td>TOBACCO</td><td>BACKGROUND Taste</td>

<td>Avg. 5.33</td><td> 6,17 6,33</td><td> 4,17</td><td> 5,50</td>

PREFERRED BY 83.33

<td>EXAMPLE</td><td colspan="4">60% placebo</td>

<td>Bitterness</td><td colspan="2">ACETITIMIC AXICITY</td><td>TOBACCO</td><td>BACKGROUND Taste</td>

<td>Avg. 4.17</td><td> 4,67</td><td> 4,83</td><td> 3,00</td><td> 3,67</td>

PRIOR TO 16.67%

<td colspan="3">COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT</td>

<td></td><td> 60%</td><td>Mint leaves (%) 40%</td>

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

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

20%

88,89%

11,11%

Various practical modifications and variations of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing detailed description of the invention, which is encompassed by the following claims.