GRANULAR BED FOR OBTAINING NON-EFFERVESCENT FOOD TABLETS

COUCHE DE GRANULES POUR L'OBTENTION DE COMPRIMES ALIMENTAIRES NON EFFERVESCENTS

English Abstract

An alimentary granular layer constituted by a mixture of non-effervescent
disintegrating additives and solid coffee extract, decaffeinated coffe, tea or
chocolate, which, upon adding water, produces a beverage. This granular
layer, upon being compressed in commercial tablet machines, provides
quick disintegration in watery solutions from which it is obtained beverages
whose sensorial characteristics do not make any significative difference with
those sensorial characteristics of the beverages prepared with additiveless
dehydrated solid vegetable extracts.

Claims

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The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive
property or privilege is claimed are defined as
follows:
1. A dehydrated granular layer composition with a proper
free flow for making self dissolution tablets to prepare beverages in watery
solutions, characterized by the mixture of disintegrating additives and a
vegetable solid extract, wherein the disintegrating additives mixtures is
formed by:
(a) a carboxymethylcellulose composition according to the
formula (I),
<IMG>
wherein m represents the number of cellobioses, or
(b) polyethylene glycol according to the formula (II),
<IMG>
wherein n represents the degree of polymerization.

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(c) mixture of them.
2. The composition of dehydrated granular layer with free flow,
according to claim 1, which in addition is characterized for having:
(a) between 90 and 99 parts of dehydrated solid vegetable
extract, and
(b) between 1 and 10 parts of disintegrating additives, single
or mixed.
3. The composition of dehydrated granular layer with free
flow, according to claim 1, characterized because the solid vegetable extract
is lyophilized coffee.
4. The composition of dehydrated granular layer with free
flow, according to claim 1, characterized because the solid vegetable extract
is lyophilized coffee, wherein for every 100 parts of it there are four parts
of
disintegrating additives.
5. The composition of dehydrated granular layer with free
flow, according to claim 1, characterized because the solid vegetable extract
is decaffeinated coffee.
6. The composition of dehydrated granular layer with free
flow, according to claim 1, characterized because the solid vegetable extract
is chocolate.
7. The composition of dehydrated granular layer with free
flow, according to claim 1, characterized because the solid vegetable extract
is tea.

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8. The composition of dehydrated granular layer with free
flow, according to claim 1, characterized because the solid vegetable extract
is lyophilized coffee and, in addition, contains a compound chosen among the
group consisting of:
natural sugar, or
artificial sugar, or
milky cream, or
non-milky cream, and/or
mixtures among them.
9. The composition of dehydrated granular layer with free
flow, according to claims 1 through 8, characterized because upon being
subjected to compression, it produces self dissolution tablets
non-effervescent in watery solutions with a weight between 800 and 1800
milligrams.

Description

CA 02253143 1998-11-06
Background of the Invention
Usually, the disintegrating additives used industrially in the making of
tablets
produce in the obtained beverages, after being dissolved, sensorial defects
which are significatively perceptible; for example, the additives used for
effervescent disintegration produce saline and/or metallic flavor and even
defects in the overall appearance of the beverage. Such defects are totally
objectable in beverages requiring sensorial characteristics, like those of
coffee, tea and chocolate.
Objects of the invention
The object of this invention is to provide a composition made of the
mixture of non-effervescent disintegrating agents, useful in the making of
self dissolving tablets in watery solutions, which are obtained from the
dehydrated solid vegetable extracts, such as coffee, tea, chocolate and
alike, so the beverages obtained after being dissolved will preserve
completely the sensorial characteristics of the original additiveless beverage
and will not require special operation conditions upon being made.
Summary of the Invention
The mixture of sodium carboxymethylcellulose (NaCMC) and polyethylene
glycol (PEG), both of food degree, and a dehydrated solid vegetable
solid extract produces a granular layer which upon becoming tablet and
reconstituted in water generates a beverage which does not make a
significative difference with the beverage obtained from the additiveless
dehydrated solid vegetable extract.
The mixture of sodium carboxymethylcellulose (NaCMC) and polyethylene
glycol (PEG) of this invention in general is useful for the production of
solid

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forms for self dissolution in water, for example, in the preparation of solid
form medicaments for reconstitution in watery solutions and for oral
administration and, namely, for the obtainment of alimentary beverages
requiring sensorial characteristics (taste, aroma, substance and color), such
as coffee, tea, chocolate and similar.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Figure 1 shows the molecular structures of the constituting monomers of
the compounds used to obtain the disintegration of the tablets prepared
from dehydrated solid vegetable extracts.
Structure I represents the sodium carboxymethylcellulose, wherein m
represents the number of cellobioses, and the Structure II corresponds
to that of polyethylene glycol, wherein n represents the degree of
polymerization.
Description of the Invention
This invention refers to the composition of the mixture necessary to obtain
the water-self dissolution non-effervescent alimentary tablets without the
production of flavors or sensorial defects objectable in the obtained
beverage, with a dissolution time similar or inferior to that presented by
the effervescense disintegration tablets.
In addition to the foregoing, it is described the optimal physical properties
of the materials constituting the mixture for the obtainment of the tablets
of coffee, tea, or chocolate in conventional tablet equipments.
NeCMC is a chemical agent which in solid form owns a high disintegrating

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capacity in watery solutions surpassing the other disintegrating agents
generally used. NaCMC is an unflavored, odorless, colorless compound in
watery solutions, hydrophilous and innocuous for the human health.
The dehydrated solid extracts generally own high cohesiveness, which
becomes unfavorable in the tablet manufacture operations in equipments
that are part of the manufacture process. In order to diminish said
cohesiveness, it is necessary the use of slipping, lubricant and antiadherent
agents which eliminate the flow problems of the granular layer in the stages
prior to the compression and ejection, once the tablet has been formed.
PEG is a compound characterized for giving the granular slipping,
lubricant and antiadherent properties. In addition, in proper proportions, it
acts as synergist agent of the disintegrating agent and since it is
unflavored,
odorless, colorless in watery solutions and hydrosoluble, it does not alter
the
sensorial characteristics of the watery solutions.
The particle size of NeCMC should be found between 200 and 900 llm
and it should have a particle sphericity factor between 0.60 and 0.95 for
the tablet disintegrating time to be minimum and for the flow of the granular
layer in the equipments operating in the process to be optimum. PEG should
be incorporated to the mixture with a granulometric size comprised between
130 and 250 um. For a better distribution of the solids in the layer intended
to be compressed, PEG should be mixed with the dehydrated solid vegetable
extract, which can be lyophilized and with a granulometric size comprised
between 130 and 900 ttm.
Once the mixture of PEG and the dehydrated solid vegetable extract has
been performed, NBCMC is incorporated to it. PEG and NaCMC should
be incorporated in accordance with the dehydrated solid vegetable extract

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used, but in general, out of 100 parts of a dehydrated solid vegetable
extract 2 to 10 parts of the NecMC and PEG mixture should be added.
In addition to the dehydrated solid vegetable extract and the NaCMC and
PEG mixhire, one or more ingredients can be incorporated, such as natural
sugar, artificial sugar, powdered cream and similar compounds conveniently
mixed until obtaining a proper granular layer for the making of the tablets in
the conventional tablet machines.
The making process of the granular layer is described as follows: the
frozen-preconcentrate coffee extract was subdivided until obtaining a
granular layer whose granulometric size was between 200 and 600 um
and it was immediately lyophilized (a). Equally, PEG with a relative
molecular mass of 4000 was subdivided until its granulometric size was
between 150 and 200 um (b); immediately it was mixed in a proportion
of 2 parts of PEG to 100 parts of dehydrated solid coffee extract (c).
NnCMC was granulated through humidity until reaching a granulometric size
between 420 and 900 micra and a sphericity factor of 0.7 to 0.8 (d).
Further NaCMC was incorporated to the ganular layer, product of the
mixture of the dehydrated solid coffee extract and PEG and mixed in a
proportion of 2 parts of NaCMC to every 100 parts of dehydrated solid
coffee extract (e). The resulting granular layer presented an intermal
friction
angle between 25 and 35 degrees (characteristic of free flow granular
layers) and was compressed in a conventional tablet machine (f) until forming
tablets with a weight between 800 and 1800 milligrams.
The tablets thus obtained were dissolved in hot and cold water and did not
present overfloating residues nor objetable precipitate residues. The coffee
beverage obtained upon dissolving these tablets was sensorially evaluated by
specialized examiners and examiners trained in tasting coffee beverage, who

CA 02253143 1998-11-06
determined that the sensorial characteristics of the beverage resulting from
the dissolution of the tablet would not difer significatively from those of
the
coffee beverage obtained from the additiveless dehydrated solid coffee
extract.
Tablets were made of solid extracts of tea, chocolate, decaffeinated coffee
varying their granulometric size and proportion with respect to the additional
additives and ingredients, obtaining results similar to tablets made of
dehydrated solid coffee extract. As additional ingredients, natural and
artificial powdered sugar and non-milky powdered cream were used. The
complete dissoluion of these tablets was quick and generated beverages that,
in the opinion of the tasting examiners, preserved the sensorial
characteristics
of the beverages obtained from the additiveless solid vegetable extracts.
The operations necessary to obtain the alimentary tablets with the formula,
object of this invention, can be implemented with relative ease and
versatility
in industrial processes aimed at the production of vegetable extracts of
coffee, tea, chocolate and similar.
Such is the case of the conventional process to obtain lyophilized
coffee, which includes the following general operations:
1. Basic raw material (green coffee)
2. Roasting
3. Grain grinding
4. Extraction
5. Preconcentration
6. Foaming
7. Freezing
8. Solid extract grinding
..

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9. Lyophilization (sublimation)
10. Postproduction operations (packaging/storage)
In order to obtain coffee tablets from lyophilized coffee, the invention
implements the following operations:
1. Basic raw material (green coffee)
2. Roasting
Grain grinding
4. Extraction
5. Preconcentration
6. Foaming
7. Freezing
8. Solid extract grinding
9. Lyophilization (sublimacion)
10. Postproduction operations (packaging/sotrage)
11. Granulometric classification (selection of useful granular and/or
readaptation of form)
13. Modified additives mixture (NgCMC-PEG)
14. Compaction
Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the implementation of the operations
necessary for the obtainment of coffee tablets from the industrial proceeses
aimed at the production of dehydrated coffee extracts. In this Figure the
dehydrated coffee extract is called ECD (Mixture 1).

Representative Drawing