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Sweetness enhancers, sweetness enhanced sweetener compositions, methods for their formulation, and uses

Sweetness enhancers, sweetness enhanced sweetener compositions, methods for their formulation, and uses description/claims

The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(c) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/939,554, filed on May 22, 2007, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The present invention relates to sweeteners having enhanced sweetness. In particular, the present invention relates to use of sulfamate analogues as sweetness enhancers and/or taste modulators.

Although natural caloric sweetener compositions such as sucrose, fructose, and glucose taste good to most consumers, they are caloric. Therefore, alternative non-caloric or low-caloric sweeteners have been used widely as sugar or sucrose substitutes. Many non-caloric or low-caloric sweeteners, however, are prohibitively expensive. Thus, it may be desirable to identify compounds capable of enhancing or increasing the perception of sweetness of such sweeteners. By combining such compounds with sweeteners, the amount of sweetener needed to obtain a desired degree of sweetness may be reduced significantly, thereby reducing the calories imparted by natural caloric sweeteners or reducing the amounts of low-caloric or non-caloric natural or synthetic high-potency sweeteners.

It is well known to those skilled in the art of food/beverage formulation, however, that changing the sweetener in a composition requires re-balancing of the flavor and other taste components (e.g., acidulants). For example, the sweetness enhanced sweet tastes of natural caloric sweeteners and alternative non-caloric or low-caloric sweeteners may be slower in onset and longer in duration than the sweet taste produced by sugar and thus change the taste balance of a food composition. In addition, sweetness enhanced sweet tastes of natural caloric sweeteners and alternative non-caloric or low-caloric sweeteners may exhibit (i) lower maximal response than sugar, (ii) off tastes including bitter, metallic, cooling, astringent, licorice-like taste, etc., and/or (iii) sweetness which diminishes on iterative tasting. If the taste profile of sweetness enhanced sweetener compositions could be modified to impart specific desired taste characteristics to be more sugar-like, the type and variety of compositions that may be prepared with that sweetness enhanced sweetener may be expanded significantly. Accordingly, it may be desirable to selectively modify the taste characteristics of sweetness enhanced sweetener compositions.

Generally, this invention addresses the above-described need by providing a sweetness enhancer comprising a sulfamate analogue for enhancing sweetness. In a particular embodiment, the sweetness enhancer comprises a sulfamate having the chemical formula:

wherein R1 and R2, independent of one another, comprise a hydrogen, alkoxy, aryloxy, nitro, acyl, cyano, thioester, thioether, or a straight chained, branched, or cyclic alkyl alkenyl, alkynyl, aryl, heteroaryl, or heterocyclic group; wherein R3 comprises any alkali or alkaline earth metal, hydrogen, or a straight chained, branched, or cyclic alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, aryl, heteroaryl, or heterocyclic group; wherein both R1 and R2 may be incorporated into a substituted or an unsubstituted heteroaryl or heterocyclic group; and wherein both R2 and R3 may be incorporated into a substituted or an unsubstituted heteroaryl or heterocyclic group. The functional groups or moieties of R1, R2, and R3 may optionally be substituted with one or more moities. Non-limiting examples of such moieties include hydrogen, hydroxyl, halogen, haloalkyl, carboxyl, acyl, acyloxy, amino, amido, carboxyl derivatives, alkylamino, dialkylamino, arylamino, alkoxy, aryloxy, nitro, cyano, sulfo, mercapto, imino, sulfonyl, sulfenyl, sulfinyl, sulfamoyl, carboalkoxy, carboxamido, phosphonyl, phosphinyl, phosphoryl, phosphino, thioester, thioether, oximino, hydrazino, carbamyl, phospho, phosphonato, substituted or unsubstituted straight, branched, cyclic, alkyl, alkynl, alkenyl, aryl, heteroaryl, or heterocyclic group, or any other viable functional groups or moieties known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

The sweetness enhancer may be combined with any suitable sweetener to provide a sweetener composition having enhanced sweetness. In another embodiment, the sweetener composition may further comprise at least one sweet taste improving composition.

Other embodiments described herein provide sweetened compositions comprising at least one sweetener and at least one sweetness enhancer comprising a sulfamate, methods for enhancing the sweetness of sweetener compositions by combining a sweetener with a sweetness enhancer comprising a sulfamate, and methods for enhancing the sweetness of sweetened composition by combining a sweetenable composition with a sweetener and a sweetness enhancer comprising a sulfamate.

Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms and abbreviations used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. Although methods and compositions similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice of the present invention, suitable methods and compositions are described without intending that any such methods and compositions limit the invention herein.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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