Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CREATINE CONTAlNING CEREAL-BASED FOOD PRODUCT,-
PROCESSES FOR MAKING THESE, AND USES THI~REOF
FIELD OF THE IlWENTION
- 5 This invention re}ates to cereal-based food products. More particularly, it relates to
food bars cont~ining the amino acid creatine, as well as mixes useful in making the food
products. The food product is preferably a snack bar or a cereal. The creatine is incorporated
into the food product, so as to yield an organoleptically acceptable product. The food
products may be used to ~simil~te creatine into the diet for any of the goals associated
therewith.
BACKGROUNDANDPRIOR ART
Energy for muscle contraction is derived from a hydrolysis of ATP (adenosine
triphosphate). When expenditure exceeds ATP stores, muscle turns to its backup system:
phosphocreatine (creatine phosphate) stores. Creatine phosphate is degraded and the
phosphate is donated to ADP (adenosine diphosphate) to form ATP with the help of the
enzyme creatine kinase. To date, research suggests that creatine supplementation may
increase performance in situations where the availability of creatine phosphate is important,
i.e., performance is improved in very high-intensity, short duration, intermittent exercise.
Additional research suggests that dietary supplementation induces an increase in total
availability of muscle creatine, which can decrease recovery time and delay the onset of
fatigue. This decrease in recovery time is especially important in repeated bouts of high-
power exercise/sports, including but not limited to tennis, weight-lifting, swimming,
racquetball, and rowing.
Creatine has been reported to be an anti-infl~mm~tory agent that might be useful as
a treatment of connective tissue infl~mm~tory disease and arthritis (see U.S. Patent No.
4,647.453). Creatine has also been reported to be useful for the treatment of diarrhea (see
U.S. Patent No. 5,516,798), for post-poning muscle fatigue (European Application No. 95
200489.3) and for treating fatigue syndrome (see U.S. Patent No. 5,312,817). While these
applications and patents refer to the benefits of creatine on the body, they do not disclose
incorporating creatine into a cereal-based food product.
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U.S. Patent No. 3,624,~89 discloses incorporating nitrogenous substances, one ofwhich could be creatine, into an expanded and gelatinized cereal-based feed for rllmin~nt
~nim~ls. Unlike this invention, wherein the creatine is in a readily available form, the
r--min~nt feed is prepared such that the creatine is not readily available. Rather, the
nitrogenous substances, e.g., creatine, are unavailable to the rlmin~nt until they are
hydrolyzed by bacteria in the rumen to release ammonia, which is then converted into amino
acids by those bacteria. Creatine has been incorporated previously into dietary supplements,
primarily dry powders and capsules. However, those previous products do not possess the
characteristics of the invention described herein.
Dl~TAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE lNVENTlON
The invention described herein relates to incorporating creatine into cereal or grain-
based food products, so that the creatine can be consumed as part of a regular meal or other
aspect of a normal diet, without any connotation or association with medicines, as well as
with acceptable organoleptic and shelf stable properties.
The food products of this invention are economical and are readily available to the
consumer, e.g., they would not have to be purchased from a specialty food store. In addition,
the food products of this invention are cooked rather than cold formed, have shelf-stability
similar to ready-to-eat cereals and snack bars, about 6-12 months. and may also contain micro
nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals, as well as macro nutrients, such as carbohydrates,
proteins, and fats. The pH and moisture levels during processing of these food products are
such that the creatine is readily bioavailable.
Creatine may be incorporated into a variety of cereal-based food products, such as,
filled or unfilled snack bars, breakfast cereals, such as Corn Flakes~ either frosted or
unfrosted, toaster pastries, such as Pop-Tarts~, cookies, bagels, breads, muffins, cakes,
beverages and toppings such as, e.g.. a crurnbled, granulated or powdered cereal-based
composition. In another embodiment of this invention, creatine may be incorporated into a
topping such as an icing, e.g., a chocolate, yogurt or fruit-based icing, which is applied to a
food product. The topping may be added to a food product which itself may or may not
contain creatine. Preferably, the creatine is incorporated into snack bars and breakfast
cereals.
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Creatine is an essential ingredient of the cereal-based food products of this invention.
Generally, they contain 1-1 Og of creatine per serving. Preferred food products are a creatine-
containing snack bar and a cereal. Preferably, the snack bars contain 3-lOg creatine per
serving and the cereals preferably contain l-Sg of creatine per serving. Doughs used to
S prepare the snack bars are formulated such that the finished product will comprise l-lOg
creatine per 35g serving. Preferably, the doughs will contain from about 3g to about lOg of
creatine per serving. It must be noted that a '~serving" may be more or less than 35g, as the
softer bars of the invention will weigh more than the crispier bars. In any event, the finished
product, e.g., the snack bar or cereal. should contain anywhere from about 3% to about 30%
by weight of creatine. In a preferred embodiment, the finished product contains from about
10% to about 25% by weight creatine. While percentages by weight are recited here, those
of skill in the art will appreciate that the concentration of creatine may vary depending on the
product and on the product serving size so that it will achieve the desired grams of creatine
per serving.
1 S Creatine is a readily available amino acid derivative. The creatine may be creatine
itself, a creatine salt, creatine monohydrate, creatine phosphate or obtained from any of the
raw materials known to the art as creatine. The creatine may have various physical
characteristics, e.g., it may have various particle sizes or may be enc~ps~ ted
The moisture content of the creatine cont~ining snack bar may vary, it being
especially preferred that the snack bar contain anywhere from about 2% to about 20% by
weight of moisture. At moisture levels above about 20%, snack bars in general are more
likely to spoil and thus the shelf life of the bars is short, about 3 weeks. However, moisture
values higher than 20% may be secured when the product is made "at home," as discussed
infra. The higher the moisture content, the softer and chewier the snack bar product will be.
Within the preferred range of from 2-20% moisture, softer products more preferably contain
from about 10% to about 20% moisture, and most preferably from about 12% to about 16%
moisture. If a crispier product is desired, it preferably contains from about 2% to about 10%
moisture? and most preferably from about 2% to about 5% moisture.
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The snack bars will contain as additional components, a shortening, a sweetener and
a grain product. "Shortening" as used herein, refers to one or more edible fats or fat
substitute which is stable during baking. Included therein are vegetable shortenings, edible
oils such as corn oil, cottonseed oil, rapeseed oil, palm oil, coconut oil, and so forth, liquid
and solid soy oil products, oleomargarine, margarine, and so forth. The shortening may also
be comprised, in whole or in part, of fat substitutes such as "OLESTRA~." The finished
product may contain from about 10% to about 20% by weight of shortening.
"Sweetener" as used herein refers to one or more sweeteners and includes all natural
and synthetic materials used as sweetening agents, including white sugar, cane and beet
sugar, dark and light brown sugar, honey, molasses syrups such as maple syrup and sorghum
syrups, fruit syrups, fruit juice concentrates, "NUTRASWEET~," "SUCRALOSE~" and so
forth. The food products of this invention may have from about 10% to about 60% by weight
sweetener. Those of skill in the art appreciate that the amount of sweetener in the food
products may vary depending, inter alia, on the type of sweetener used and the desired
properties of the finished product. For example, a snack bar, preferably contains from about
10% to about 20% by weight sweetener when a natural sweetener is used. The amount of
sweetener may also be in the range of about 10% to about 15% by weight as well. If artificial
sweeteners, such as "NUTRASWEET~" or "SUCRALOSE~" are used, the total amount by
weight can, and should be reduced. The artificial sweetener can be as little as 1% by weight.
"Grain product" as used herein refers to one or more grain products and encompasses any
edible material obtained from any grain, including wheat, oats, corn, barley, rice, rye, millet,
sorghum, amaranth seed, and so forth, and mixtures thereof. Flours, grits, bran, flaked
materials, groats, meal, and so forth are also included, as are processed materials derived
from grains. Exemplary of these grain products are ready-to-eat cereals such as puffed or
crisped rice, cereal flakes such as Corn Flakes~, and toasted grains.
The grain product is the major component of the finished food product, and
constitutes anywhere from about 20% to about 80% of the food product by weight. In a
preferred embodiment, the finished snack bar contains from about 50% to about 80% of grain
product, and may even contain from about 60% to about 80% by weight of grain product.
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As discussed, supra, th~e snack bars of the invention may contain more than 20% by
weight of moisture if made at home. Indeed, a further aspect of the invention is a prepared
mix useful for making creatine cont~ining snack bars at home, using standard ovens and/or
microwave ovens, e.g., such mixes do not contain added moisture, or shortening, as these are
added at home, but the dry mixes do contain the creatine, the sweetener, and the grain product
as described supra, over the recited ranges. Of course, in the dry mixes of the invention,
liquid sweeteners are not used; rather dried, powdered, or crystallized sweeteners are
preferred. Where moist ingredients, such as the fruit fillings, and icings described infra are
used, these are provided as a separate component of the mix. For example, a boxed dry mix
may contain a separate, bagged portion of the dry ingredients, together with a can, tube, or
other container of wet or moist ingredients and/or filling, topping or icing. Instructions will
accompany the mixes, to facilitate preparation of a moist or crispy product.
The cereal-based food products of this invention may also contain additional optional
ingredients, such as ingredients based upon fruit, nuts, flavorings, spices, and vegetables.
The unfilled snack bars produced in example 2 are exemplary of snack bars, which may
further comprise a fruit ingredient, e.g., in the form of a filling Fruits which may serve as
the basis for the snack bar filling include blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, apple, fig, dates,
citrus fruits, dried fruits such as raisins and cranberries and so forth. These fruit ingredients
may be in the form of a puree, a marrn~l~de, a jam, a preserve, a candied peel, a dried fruit
product, and so forth. An optional nut ingredient includes any type of nut, in whole, chopped,
ground, grated or powdered form, as well as others not recited herein in view of their
notoriety. The optional flavoring ingredients include essences and extracts such as vanilla,
chocolate, almond, and all others used in the culinary arts. This is also true of optional spice
ingredients. The snack bars (and other cereal-based food products) may also be frosted,
coated or enrobed by materials such as chocolate, yogurt, and other standard coatings well
known in the art. As those of skill in the art appreciate the snack bars and other cereal-based
food products may include fortifying ingredients such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids
food supplements, and so forth. These additional ingredients may be added as required for
specific needs.
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The cereal-based food products of this invention may also contain high fiber sources
such as psyllium as set forth in U.S. patent no. 5,227,24~ and in PCT/US94110290incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.
The process by which the snack bars are made is also a feature of the invention. In
one embodiment, the creatine may be precombined with the fat, oil, and sugar before
incorporation into the rem:~ining ingredients, however, this is not required. In the one
cmbodiment, the creatine and the fat, oil and sugar are combined in a discrete step. The
rem~ining ingredients are combined apart from the creatine, fat, oil and sugar, and the two
mixes are then combined, and baked to form a snack bar.
"Snack bar" as used herein, refers to a baked product which has substantially less
sugar and has substantially more grain product than a cookie. For example, U.S. Patent No.
5,095,008 to Pflaumer et al describes conventional cookie dough as cont~ining 20-50% by
weight of sugar, and 4-25% by weight of flour, where a portion of the latter can be replaced
by other products. The artisan of ordinary skill will immediately note that a dough, which
by definition contains moisture, will yield a baked product cont~ining substantially more than
20% sugar by weight if the dough contains this quantity of sugar. While the percent by
weight of flour will also increase, it would not increase to, e.g., 40% by weight of the finished
product.
This invention also provides for ready-to-eat (R-T-E) cereal compositions that are
supplemented with creatine. Creatine is added to the R-T-E cereal compositions without
adversely affecting the organoleptic characteristics, such as the color, flavor, or aroma of the
cereal. The creatine may be added to the cereal during the cereal's production or the cooked
R-T-E cereal may be coated with creatine or a creatine containing composition, such as a
syrup or sprinkles.
In the manufacture of the products described herein, it will be understood that
optional ingredients may be added at any time which is suitable for that product. A coating,
for example, is of course added at the very end of the processing. Flavor ingredients and
spice ingredients are best added to the sweetener/grain moisture mixture. Fruit ingredients
may be added either during the mixing and baking steps, or as a coextruded ingredient, as a
middle, bottom or top layer in a baked product.
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The creatine-cont~inin~ food products of this invention are useful in any of the ways
creatine has been used in the past. As indicated supra, creatine has long been implicated as
a compound that is beneficial in exercise. Thus, another aspect of the invention relates to a
method for enhancing perforrnance and in some cases muscle mass, by consuming an amount
of the inventive snack bars, or other cereal-based food products, sufficient to provide
performance enhancing and muscle building amounts of creatine to the subject. The creatine
is provided in palatable, organoleptically acceptable cereal-based food product; The grain
components provide energy and the creatine provides perforrnance enhancement thus
reducing recovery time. The amount of creatine necessary to accomplish this goal may vary.
For exarnple, a total of about 20g of creatine per day may be consumed in a short term
"loading" regimen and thereafter about 3 to 7 grams may be consumed on a daily basis.
Alternatively, the loading regimen may be omitted and about 3g to about 7g may be
consumed on a daily basis. The snack bars and other creatine-cont~ining food products of
this invention can be used to provide a daily dose of creatine, or they can be used in
combination with other food sources of creatine, as will be recognized by the skilled artisan.
The terms and expressions which have been employed are used as terrns of
description and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms and
expressions of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions
thereof, it being recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the
invention.
The following examp!es set forth preferred products and methods for making the
cereal-based food products of the invention.
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EXAMPLE 1 Unfilled Snack ~ar
1n~redient Pcrcent by wei.~ht
Shortening 9.5
Dextrose 1.50
Rolled Oats 19.50
Granulated Sugar 11 .50
Flavoring 0.60
Ice Water 7.70
Salt 0.55
Hard Wheat Flour 23.80
Cellulose 0.50
Whey 0.70
Vitamins/Minerals 0 35
Nonfat dry Milk 1.00
Potassium Bicarbonate 0.40
Corn Syrup 11 ~35
Creatine 1 1.10
The creatine was blended with shortening and sugar, and then mixed at high speedin a kitchen aid bench-top model mixer for 5 minutes.
All remaining ingredients, except oats were added to the mixture and mixed for an
additional 3 minutes at high speed.
The oats were added, and mixed for 1 minute at high speed.
The mix was then formed into bar-shape of approximately 1.5 x 4 inches.
The bars were then baked at 365~F for 9 minutes.
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EXAMPLE 2Fruit Filled Snack Bar
ln~redient Percent by weight
Shortening 9.5
Dextrose 1.50
Rolled Oats 19.50
Granulated Sugar 11 .50
Flavoring 0.60
Ice Water 7.70
Salt 0 55
Hard Wheat Flour 23.80
Cellulose 0.50
Whey 0.70
Vitamins/Minerals 0.35
Nonfat dry Milk 1.00
Potassium Bicarbonate 0.40
Corn Syrup 11 .35
Creatine 1 1.10
Fruit Filling --
The snack bars were prepared as in Exarnple I except, the bars were filled with the
fruit filling prior to baking at 365~F for 9 minutes.
.
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EXAMPLE 3 Protein - Enriched Cereal Bar
In.~redient Percent by weight
Shortening 9.5
Dextrose 1.50
Rolled Oats 5.0
Granulated Sugar 1 1.50
Flavoring 0.60
Ice Water 7.70
Salt 0.55
Hard Wheat Flour 23.80
Cellulose 0.50
Whey 0.70
Vitamins/Minerals 0.35
Nonfat dry Milk 1.00
Potassium Bicarbonate 0.40
Corn Syrup 9.00
Creatine 1 1.10
Soy Protein Concentrate 14.5
The creatine was blended with shortening and su~ar, and then mixed at high speedin a kitchen aid bench-top model mixer for 5 minutes.
All remaining ingredients, except oats were added to the mixture and mixed for an
additional 3 minutes at high speed.
The oats were added, and mixed for 1 minute at high speed.
The mix was then formed into bar-shape of approximately 1.5 x 4 inches.
The bars were then baked at 365~F for 9 minutes.
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EXAMPLE 4 Cereal ~ar
In~redients Wei~ht (~rn~)
Crisped Rice 308.8 gms
Marshmallows 518.95 gms
Margarine 104.95 gms
Creatine 100 gms
Vegetable cooking spray
l O Margarine was melted in large saucepan over low heat.
Marshmallows were added and stirred until completely melted.
The marshmallow and margarine mixture was removed from heat.
Crisped rice cereal was mixed into the mixture and stirred until well coated.
Creatine was then added and mixed in uniformly.
The creatine-cont~ining mixture was spread evenly into a 1 3x9x2 inch pan coated with cooking spray, and then cut into 2x2 squares.
.~ ..
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EXAMPLE 5 Multigrain Cereal Bar
Ingredients Wei.~ht (gm.~)
Multigrain cereal 308.8 gms
Marshmallows 518.95 gms
Margarine 104.95 gms
Creatine 100 gms
Vegetable cooking spray
Margarine is melted in large saucepan over low heat.
Marshmallows is added and stirred until completely melted.
The marshmallow and margarine mixture is removed from heat.
Multigrain cereal is mixed into the mixture and stirred until well coated.
Creatine is then added and mixed in uniformly.
The creatine-cont~ining mixture is spread evenly into a 1 3x9x2 inch pan coated with
cooking spray, and then cut into squares.
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EXAMPLE 6 Coated Corn Flakes~
Ingredients Weight (Ib.)
Water 7.2
Corn Flakes~ 16.3
Sucrose 1 0.9
Creatine 4.5
Flavoring 0.21 g
Sucrose and water are combined, and heated in a continuous flow heater to 270~F to
concentrate the syrup/water combination to approximately 85 Brix forming a superheated
syrup.
Corn Flakes~ are placed in a coating drum, the dry creatine is added to the CornFlakes~ and simultaneously the superheated syrup is sprayed onto the flakes, while tumbling
to coat the flakes.
The coated flakes are dried at 1 00~F for 5 minutes and cooled to room temperature.
=
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EXAMPLE 7 Protein Enriched Cereal
Ingredients Wei~ht (Ib.)
Water 20.7
Precooked Rice 69.1
Creatine 15.5
Wheat Germ Flour 5.8
Sucrose 3.88
Whey Solids 0.57
Calcium Caseinate 0.24
Soy Protein Concentrate 7.64
Wheat Gluten Flour 4.11
The rice was cooked with sugar in a rotary cooker under 15-25 Ibs. stearn pressure for
a period of between one to two hours. or until uniformly cooked throughout.
The cooked rice was then dried to approximately 13% moisture content.
The cooked and dried rice was sprayed with water at a temperature of 110-180~F to
moisten to about 20-24%. The remaining ingredients were combined and as the rice was
mixed slowly in a Hobart mixer, the rem~ining ingredients were added to coat the rice.
The coated rice was tempered for a few minutes and then promptly fed between rolls
and bumped to a medium flake. The flakes were then dried at about 165~F to a moisture
content of 10-15%~ tempered 25 minutes. and thcn baked at about 390-450~F for 15-30
seconds to a slightly puffed, light golden condition. After discharge, the flakes were
subjected to a vitamin solution spray.
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EXAMPLE 8 Topping
~ngredients Wei~ht (Ib.)
Water 4.0
Powdered sugar ~.4
Creatine 2.8
Sorbitol 0. 16
Gelatin 0.08
A syrup is prepared by mixing the water, gelatin, powdered sugar, and sorbitol at
room temperature. The syrup is heated in a double boiler to 1 70~F. One third of the syrup
is sprayed on top of a grain-based food product using a low air pressure spray gun.
Creatine is then added on top of the partially sprayed grain-based food product by
15continually spraying the syrup while simultaneously coating with creatine.
The creatine containing-coated product is then dried in room temperature air for 30
minutes.
Depending on the type of grain-based product the concentration of creatine in the
topping may vary so that it will be higher or lower than the concentration recited here to
20achieve the desired grams of creatine per serving of grain-based products.
. .
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16
EXAMPLE 9 Creatine-Containing Clusters
In, redients Percent bywei~ht
Crisped rice 37.40%
Barley flakes, crushed 13.91%
syrup: 34.78%
Percent by wei~ht
water 10.71%
sugar, granulated, white 35.71%
corn syrup, 42DE 53.58%
Total 100.00%
creatine powder 13.91%
Total l 00.00%
The syrup ingredients (water, sugar, corn syrup) were placed in a small pan ~total
weight 1 120 g) and heated on a gas range to 250~F. During heating the sides of the pan were
washed down to recover sugar crystals that may have attached to the sides and to increase the
solids content of the syrup. 500 g of the hot syrup mixture were stirred by hand with 200 g
of the creatine powder. Other dry powders could also be mixed into the syrup. 200 g of
barley flakes were added to the creatine-syrup mixture and mixed further by hand stirring.
The creatine-syrup-barley mixture was kept under an infrared heat lamp. Small bits were torn
from the mixture and dropped into a bowl containing crisped rice. The bits of creatine-syrup-
barley mixture and crisped rice were left in the bowl for about 20 minutes under infrared heat
lamp to soften and adhere more crisped rice to bits. After 20 minutes, the crisped rice coated
bits were sorted to remove crisped rice which have not adhered to the creatine-syrup-barley
bits. The sorted bits were dried without heat in a vacuum oven for I hour at 30 in Hg. The
dried bits were sealed in plastic bags.
A 30 g serving of clusters provides 4 g creatine.
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EXAMPLE 10 Bagels with Creatine
Ingredients
Unbleached All-purpose Flour 51/2 cups
Water ( 1 1 0~F) 2 cups
Yeast I tablespoon
Salt 1 tablespoon
Sugar 3 tablespoons
Creatine 80 gms
The sugar, yeast, water and one cup of flour are combined in a large mixing bowl and
mixed thoroughly. The mixture is allowed to stand for 10 min. Salt is stirred into the
mixture. Four cups of flour are added slowly with stirring to form a dough. The creatine and
remaining 1/2 CUp of flour is added to the dough while kneading and folding for about 3
minutes. The dough is formed into a ball and placed in a greased bowl. The dough is
covered and allowed to raise for 2 hours at about 85~F. The risen dough is punched down,
divided into about 16 equal portions and each portion is rolled into a strip about 7 inches long
and about 1/2 inch thick. Each strip is forrned into a bagel shape by pinching the ends
together.
The bagel-shaped dough is allowed to raise for 25 minutes at about 85~F and then the
risen bagel-shaped dough is cooked in boiling water for about 3-4 minutes. The boiled dough
is then baked for 10 minutes at about 450~F. The baked bagels are cooled. The baked bagels
contain about 5 grams of creatine per bagel.
.. ~ . .. .. ..
