Swallowing aid jelly

Abstract

To provide swallow-assisting jelly capable of desirably assisting swallowing of a capsulated formulation and stably keeping the capsulated formulation in inclusion for a long time.SOLUTION: Swallow-assisting jelly contains glycerin, κ-carrageenan and water, the jelly being superior in function of assisting swallowing since transfer of water in the jelly into a capsule coating and softening / dissolution thereof are retarded by setting the water content at 4-10 mass% and being capable of stably keeping a capsulated formulation included in the jelly for a long time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a swallowing-aid jelly suitable for use when taking capsules. [Background technology]

[0002] Solid or powdered medicines and supplements are usually taken with water or lukewarm water. However, people with weak swallowing functions, such as the elderly and children, have difficulty swallowing them, and they may choke or the medicine may become lodged in the mouth. In addition, they may experience discomfort or a feeling of the medicine getting stuck in the throat.

[0003] Therefore, jelly-like substances have been proposed to aid in the swallowing of medicines and the like (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3). By encapsulating the medicines and the like in jelly, they pass through the throat more easily, thereby assisting swallowing. The swallowing-aid drink of Patent Document 1 is a viscous liquid containing 80.0 to 99.9 wt. % water and 0.1 to 5.0 wt. % of at least one thickening agent selected from the group consisting of agar, carrageenan, gellan gum, furcellaran, gelatin, pectin, curdlan, locust bean gum, tara gum, guar gum, xanthan gum, alginic acid, alginates, Azotobacter vinelandii gum, cassia gum, psyllium seed gum, tamarind gum, CMCNa, CMCCa, whey protein, starch, and modified starch.

[0004] The jelly drink of Patent Document 2 contains a bitterness-masking component, a bitterness-masking auxiliary component, at least one gelling component selected from the group consisting of carrageenan, gellan gum, locust bean gum, xanthan gum, guar gum, and pectin, at least one taste-adjusting component selected from the group consisting of acids, their derivatives, and their salts, and the balance being 83% to 87.5% by mass of water.

[0005] The swallowing jelly of Patent Document 3 contains 0.070 to 0.163 mass% of a jelly component consisting of agar and locust bean gum, and 0.260 to 0.370 mass% of a thickening component consisting of xanthan gum and carrageenan, and has a high water content of 90 to 97.72 mass%.

[0006] As described above, previously proposed swallowing aid jellies are made by thickening water with a gelling agent and contain a high proportion of water, at least 80% by mass. However, the capsule shells of both soft and hard capsules are generally water-soluble. Therefore, when conventional jellies are used to aid in the swallowing of capsules, the capsule shell dissolves due to the water content of the jelly, resulting in leakage of the contents.

[0007] Furthermore, as the number and variety of capsules to be taken increases, forgetting to take them becomes a problem. In order to solve this problem, the inventors came up with the idea of, for example, encapsulating all of the capsules to be taken in a day in a jelly beforehand.

[0008] However, as mentioned above, in conventional jellies that contain a high proportion of water, 80% by mass or more, the capsule shell softens and dissolves in a short time of 20 to 30 minutes, so the only option is to enclose the capsule in the jelly immediately before taking it. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0009] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 3257983 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 5249941 [Patent Document 3] Patent No. 5122522 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0010] In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, the present invention aims to provide a swallowing-aid jelly that can effectively assist in the swallowing of capsules and that can stably preserve the capsules contained therein for a long period of time. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] In order to solve the above problems, the swallowing-assistance jelly of the present invention (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "jelly") is "Containing glycerin, kappa carrageenan, and water, Glycerin is 88.25% by mass to 95.5% by mass, The water content is 4% by mass to 10% by mass.

[0012] As described above, conventional swallowing aid jellies contain water as the main ingredient, whereas the present invention uses glycerin as the main ingredient. The inventors screened a wide variety of gelling agents in combination with glycerin and found that using κ-carrageenan as a gelling agent can provide a jelly that effectively assists the swallowing of capsules. While κ-carrageenan does not dissolve in glycerin, adding a small amount of water (4% to 10% by mass) allows the κ-carrageenan to dissolve and mix with glycerin, resulting in a homogeneous jelly that has excellent swallowing-aiding properties.

[0013] Furthermore, as exemplified in Patent Documents 1 to 3, conventional jellies with a water content exceeding 80% by mass cannot preserve capsules whose capsule shells are water-soluble, whereas the swallowing-aid jelly of the present invention can stably preserve capsules encapsulated in the jelly for a long period of time, even if the capsule shells are water-soluble. This allows, for example, the entire amount of capsules to be taken in a day to be encapsulated in the jelly in advance, and capsules can be taken anytime, anywhere without the need for water or lukewarm water, thereby preventing forgetting to take them.

[0014] The swallowing-assist jelly of the present invention has the following features in addition to the above: "If the water content is X% by mass and the κ-carrageenan content is Y% by mass, When the water content is 4≦X<7, the kappa carrageenan content is 0.50≦Y≦0.25X; When the water content is 7≦X≦10, the kappa carrageenan content is 0.50≦Y≦1.75.

[0015] By creating a jelly with a composition that satisfies these conditions, it is possible to provide a swallowing-aid jelly that has uniform gelling properties, good swallowing aid properties for capsules, and can stably store capsules for as long as 72 hours while still containing the capsules, as will be described in detail below. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] As described above, according to the present invention, a swallowing-aid jelly can be provided that can effectively assist in the swallowing of capsules and can stably preserve the capsules contained therein for a long period of time. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is a graph summarizing the results of the studies in Tables 3 to 11 on soft capsules. [Figure 2] Based on the graph in Figure 1, this graph shows range A, where uniform gelation, swallowing assistance, and storage stability are all good, and ranges where at least one of uniform gelation, swallowing assistance, and storage stability is poor. [Figure 3] This is a graph plotting the results of a study on hard capsules on the graph in Figure 2. [Figure 4] 1 is a graph showing the upper and lower limits of the glycerin content in range A. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] The swallowing-aid jelly of this embodiment is described below. The swallowing-aid jelly of this embodiment contains glycerin as the main ingredient, kappa-carrageenan as a gelling agent, and a small amount of water, and is suitable as a swallowing-aid jelly for capsules (soft capsules and hard capsules) whose capsule shells are water-soluble.

[0019] Since the dissolution of the capsule shell due to the water in the jelly and the resulting leakage of the contents are suppressed, the contents of the capsule are not particularly limited, and capsules containing medicinal ingredients, herbal ingredients, health food ingredients, or nutritional supplement ingredients can all be used as swallowing-aid jelly.

[0020] Here, κ-carrageenan is insoluble in glycerin but soluble in water, whereas glycerin is readily soluble in water. The swallowing-aid jelly of this embodiment has a low water content within a range that allows κ-carrageenan to be dissolved and mixed with glycerin to form a uniform gel.

[0021] The results of examining the composition of such swallowing-aid jellies are described below. First, samples E1-1 to E1-11 were evaluated for "uniform gelling ability" using the following method. The kappa-carrageenan used was "GENUGEL (registered trademark), carrageenan type WG-108" manufactured by Sansho Corporation. The kappa-carrageenan was a constant 1% by mass of jelly, the water content was varied from 3% to 20% by mass, and the remainder was glycerin.

[0022] Furthermore, the uniformly gelled jelly was evaluated for its "swallowing aid" and "storage stability" using the following methods for soft capsules. Soft capsules with a water-soluble capsule shell made of gelatin as the shell base were used. The results are shown in Table 1.

[0023] <Uniform gelation> Glycerin, κ-carrageenan, and water were mixed and heated in a hot water bath for 1 hour. If the κ-carrageenan was completely dissolved without forming any lumps due to remaining κ-carrageenan and gelling occurred uniformly, the gelling was evaluated as good and uniform, with a "Good" mark. If insoluble components remained or the gelling proceeded unevenly, the gelling was evaluated as poor and with a "Poor" mark.

[0024] <Swallowing aid> The uniformly gelled jelly was filled into a 9 ml container with a lid, and one capsule was encapsulated inside. After 24 hours, if the jelly had enough fluidity to flow under its own weight when the container was tilted, and the capsule was still encapsulated in the jelly, the swallowing aid was evaluated as "Good", and if the capsule floated out of the jelly, the swallowing aid was evaluated as "Poor". Glycerin alone cannot encapsulate the capsule, and the capsule floats up, but if the jelly has fluidity and appropriate viscosity, the capsule will be encapsulated in the jelly.

[0025] <Storability> One capsule was placed inside a jelly filled into a 9 ml container with a lid, and the appearance of the capsule was visually observed after 24 hours, 48 ​​hours, and 72 hours. If the capsule showed no changes such as deformation or dissolution, it was evaluated as having good storage stability and given a "○", and if any change in appearance was observed it was evaluated as having poor storage stability and given a "×".

[0026] If the uniform gelation was good, the swallowing aid property was evaluated, and if the swallowing aid property was good, the storage stability was evaluated. In the table, items that were not evaluated are marked with "-".

[0027] [Table 1]

[0028] In addition, samples E2-1 to E2-11 were prepared from the same jellies as samples E1-1 to E1-11, but with soft capsules having a plant-derived capsule shell. These samples were then evaluated for "swallowing aid properties" and "storage stability" in the same manner as above. The results are shown in Table 2. Naturally, when samples E1-1 to E1-11 and samples E2-1 to E2-11 have the same jelly composition, the evaluation of "uniform gelation" is the same. Here, the plant-derived capsule shell uses starch as the shell base and iota-carrageenan as the gelling agent (see JP 2012-144504 ​​proposed by the present applicant).

[0029] [Table 2]

[0030] When the water content was 3.0% by mass, the viscosity increased rapidly upon mixing with glycerin and κ-carrageenan, preventing complete dissolution of the κ-carrageenan and resulting in a homogeneous gel. On the other hand, samples with a water content of 4.0% by mass or higher exhibited good uniform gelation. Furthermore, as can be seen from a comparison of Tables 1 and 2, when the jelly composition was the same, the swallowing aid properties and shelf life were the same for soft capsules with gelatin capsule shells and soft capsules with plant-derived capsule shells. Specifically, when the water content was between 4% and 10% by mass, both the swallowing aid properties and shelf life were good, but when the water content was 11% by mass or higher, shelf life after 72 hours was poor.

[0031] As mentioned above, it is thought that soft capsules with gelatin capsule shells and soft capsules with plant-derived capsule shells have the same swallowing aid properties and storage stability when the jelly composition is the same. Therefore, below we conducted a more detailed composition study of soft capsules with gelatin capsule shells. Samples S3-1 to S3-3, each containing a constant 3% water content and varying κ-carrageenan content with the remainder being glycerin, were similarly evaluated for their uniform gelation, swallowing-assistance, and shelf life. The results are shown in Tables 3 to 11. Samples S4-1 to S4-8, each containing a constant 4% water content, S5-1 to S5-8, each containing a constant 5% water content, S6-1 to S6-8, each containing a constant 6% water content, S7-1 to S7-8, each containing a constant 7% water content, S8-1 to S8-8, each containing a constant 8% water content, S9-1 to S9-8, each containing a constant 9% water content, S10-1 to S10-8, each containing a constant 10% water content, and S11-1 to S11-8, each containing a constant 11% water content.

[0032] [Table 3]

[0033] [Table 4]

[0034] [Table 5]

[0035] [Table 6]

[0036] [Table 7]

[0037] [Table 8]

[0038] [Table 9]

[0039] [Table 10]

[0040] [Table 11]

[0041] Figure 1 shows a graph in which the evaluation results of uniform gelling properties, swallowing aid properties, and storage stability shown in Tables 3 to 11 are plotted against the composition, with the X axis representing the water content and the Y axis representing the κ-carrageenan content. In Figure 1, storage stability is ultimately rated as "good" if it is still rated as good after 72 hours. This represents a very high level of storage stability. That is, in Figure 1, compositions that are good in all of uniform gelling properties, swallowing aid properties, and storage stability after 72 hours are marked with a "◯."

[0042] As is clear from Tables 3 to 11 and Figure 1, there were no samples with good uniform gelation properties when the water content was 3% by mass, but compositions with good uniform gelation properties existed when the water content was 4% to 11% by mass. Specifically, as the water content increased from 4% to 7% by mass, the upper limit of the κ-carrageenan content in compositions with good uniform gelation properties increased linearly from 1.00% to 1.75% by mass. Between 7% and 11% by mass of water, the upper limit of the κ-carrageenan content in compositions with good uniform gelation properties remained constant at 1.75% by mass. These results suggest that a uniform gel would not form if the water content was too low or too high.

[0043] When the water content was 4% to 10% by mass, the swallowing aid properties were poor in the sample with a κ-carrageenan content of 0.25% by mass, as the capsules floated up. Furthermore, when the water content was 11% by mass, the swallowing aid properties were also poor, even in the sample with a κ-carrageenan content of 0.5% by mass. From these results, it was considered that when the κ-carrageenan content was low relative to the water, the viscosity of the jelly was low and the capsules could not be adequately encapsulated.

[0044] Regarding storage stability, when the water content was 11% by mass, all samples that had good swallowing aid properties showed deformation and softening after 72 hours. This was thought to be due to the increased water content in the jelly, which caused the water to migrate from the jelly to the capsule shell over time.

[0045] From the above results, when the water content is X% by mass and the κ-carrageenan content is Y% by mass, it can be deduced that the range in which uniform gelling properties, swallowing assistance properties, and shelf life over a long period of 72 hours are all good is the range that satisfies the following conditions (i) to (iii). Condition A: 4≦X≦10 Condition B: If 4≦X<7, 0.50≦Y≦0.25X Condition C: If 7≦X≦10, then 0.50≦Y≦1.75

[0046] Based on Figure 1, Figure 2 shows a graph in which the range in which uniform gelation, swallowing assistance, and shelf life over a long period of 72 hours are all good is labeled "Range A," the range in which uniform gelation is poor is labeled "Range B," the range in which uniform gelation is good but swallowing assistance is poor when used with soft capsules is labeled "Range C," and the range in which uniform gelation is good and swallowing assistance is good when used with soft capsules, but shelf life over a long period of 72 hours is poor is labeled "Range D."

[0047] The above describes the results of a study using soft capsules as the target capsules for swallowing assistance. Next, we will show the results of a study using hard capsules as the target capsules.

[0048] Specifically, the swallowing assistance properties and storage stability of hard capsules were evaluated using the same method as described above for jellies: Samples P1-1 to P1-3, which had a constant water content of 4% by mass and varying κ-carrageenan contents; Samples P1-4 to P1-6, which had a constant water content of 7% by mass and varying κ-carrageenan contents; and Samples P1-7 to P1-9, which had a constant water content of 10% by mass and varying κ-carrageenan contents. The hard capsules used contained hypromellose (HPMC) as a coating material. The results are shown in Table 12. These jellies were previously shown to have good, uniform gelling properties. The results are shown in Table 12.

[0049] [Table 12]

[0050] As shown in Table 12, all of Samples P1-1 to P1-9 had good swallowing aid properties and good shelf life over a long period of 72 hours. The results are plotted on the graph in FIG. 2 and shown in FIG. 3. As is clear from this figure, the plotted points for the results for hard capsules are located on the outer edge of "Range A" (a range for which uniform gelling properties, swallowing aid properties, and long-term shelf life over a long period of 72 hours are good) for soft capsules. Therefore, it was considered that Range A, which satisfies at least the above conditions A to C, is a range for which uniform gelling properties, swallowing aid properties, and long-term shelf life over a long period of 72 hours are good, even for hard capsules.

[0051] Thus, for both soft capsules and hard capsules, the upper and lower limits of the glycerin content, the main component of jelly, are plotted for range A, which is the range in which uniform gelling properties, swallowing assistance properties, and long-term storage stability of 72 hours are favorable. This graph shows that when the water content is x% by mass, the glycerin content y% by mass in range A satisfies the following conditions D and E. Condition 2: 4≦x≦10 Condition E: -1.125x+99.339≦y≦-x+99.5

[0052] As described above, according to this embodiment, by using glycerin as the main component and κ-carrageenan as the gelling agent, and by reducing the water content to the extent that uniform gelling is possible, it is possible to provide a swallowing-aid jelly that has excellent swallowing-aiding properties and can stably store capsules encapsulated therein for long periods of time.

[0053] The present invention has been described above by citing preferred embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various improvements and design changes are possible as described below, without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0054] For example, the swallowing-aid jelly described above contains glycerin, κ-carrageenan, and water at a total content of 100% by mass, but coloring and flavoring can also be added in addition to these three ingredients. Even jellies containing a coloring (red coloring) or a coloring and flavoring (peach essence), such as samples P2-1 to P2-4 shown in Table 13, can be swallowing-aid jellies that have good uniform gelling properties and provide good swallowing aid and storage stability for capsules (in this case, soft capsules with gelatin capsule shells).

[0055] [Table 13]

Claims

1. Contains glycerin, kappa carrageenan, and water, glycerin is 88.25% by mass to 95.5% by mass, The water content is 4% by mass to 10% by mass, If the water content is X% by mass and the κ-carrageenan content is Y% by mass, When the water content is 4≦X<7, the kappa carrageenan content is 0.50≦Y≦0.25X; When the water content is 7≦X≦10, the kappa carrageenan content is 0.50≦Y≦1.

75. A swallowing-aid jelly characterized by:

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