Delivery system for active components as part of an edible composition having preselected tensile strength

Abstract

A delivery system for inclusion in an edible composition is formulated to have at least one active component encapsulated within an encapsulating material, whereby the delivery system has a tensile strength suitable for delivering the active component at a desired release rate.

1 - 61 . (canceled)  
     
     
         62 . A chewing gum composition, comprising a gum base, at least one sweetener, and at least one additional active component, wherein the at least one sweetener is provided in at least one delivery system, which further comprises at least one encapsulating material, wherein the at least one delivery system comprising the at least one sweetener and the at least one encapsulating material is present in an amount sufficient to suppress bitterness of the at least one additional active for at least 10 minutes from the start of chewing the chewing gum composition relative to a composition not comprising the delivery system.  
     
     
         63 . The chewing gum composition of  claim 62 , wherein the at least one delivery system comprising the at least one sweetener and the at least one encapsulating material is present in an amount sufficient to suppress bitterness of the at least on additional active for at least 20 minutes from the start of chewing the chewing gum composition.  
     
     
         64 . The chewing gum composition of  claim 62 , wherein the at least one delivery system comprising the at least one sweetener and the at least one encapsulating material is present in an amount sufficient to suppress bitterness of the at least on additional active for at least 30 minutes from the start of chewing the chewing gum composition.  
     
     
         65 . The chewing gum composition of  claim 62 , wherein the tensile strength of the delivery system is at least about 6,500 psi.  
     
     
         66 . The chewing gum composition of  claim 62 , wherein the tensile strength of the delivery system is at least about 10,000 psi.  
     
     
         67 . The chewing gum composition of  claim 62 , wherein the encapsulating material is selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl acetate, polyethylene, crosslinked polyvinyl pyrrolidone, polymethylmethacrylate, polylactidacid, polyhydroxyalkanoates, ethylcellulose, polyvinyl acetatephthalate, polyethylene glycol esters, methacrylicacid-co-methylmethacrylate and combinations thereof.  
     
     
         68 . The chewing gum composition of  claim 62 , wherein the encapsulating material is present in an amount of from about 30% to 99% by weight based on the total weight of the delivery system.  
     
     
         69 . The chewing gum composition of  claim 62 , wherein the at least one additional active component is selected from the group consisting of an acid, a flavorant, a pharmaceutical, a therapeutic agent, a vitamin, a breath freshener, a cooling agent and combinations thereof.  
     
     
         70 . The chewing gum composition of  claim 69 , wherein the at least one additional active component is a flavor.  
     
     
         71 . The chewing gum composition of  claim 70 , wherein the delivery system is present in an amount sufficient to enhance perceived flavor compared to a composition not comprising the delivery system.  
     
     
         72 . The chewing gum composition of  claim 62 , wherein the at least one sweetener is a high intensity sweetener.  
     
     
         73 . The chewing gum composition of  claim 62 , wherein the at least one sweetener is selected from the group consisting of an amino acid based sweetener, a dipeptide sweetener, glycyrrhizin, saccharin, a saccharin salt, an acesulfame salt, a cyclamate, a stevioside, talin, a dihydrochalone compound, a chlorinated sucrose, and combinations thereof.  
     
     
         74 . The chewing gum composition of  claim 62 , wherein the at least one sweetener is selected from the group consisting of neotame, aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, and a mixture thereof.  
     
     
         75 . The chewing gum composition of  claim 62 , which comprises at least two delivery systems.  
     
     
         76 . The chewing gum composition of  claim 75 , wherein the at least two delivery systems comprise the same sweetener and have different tensile strengths.  
     
     
         77 . The chewing gum composition of  claim 75 , wherein the at least two delivery systems comprise different sweeteners and have different tensile strengths.  
     
     
         78 . The chewing gum composition of  claim 75 , wherein the at least two delivery systems comprise different sweeteners and have the same tensile strength.  
     
     
         79 . A method of manufacturing the chewing gum composition of  claim 62 , comprising mixing the gum base with the at least one delivery system and the at least one delivery system comprising a sweetener.  
     
     
         80 . A method of reducing the bitterness associated with one or more active components in a chewing gum composition, comprising mixing at least one sweetener provided in at least one delivery system, which further comprises at least one encapsulating material, with the one or more active components and other chewing gum ingredients, wherein the at least one delivery system comprising the at least one sweetener and the at least one encapsulating material is added in an amount sufficient to suppress bitterness of the at least one active for at least 10 minutes from the start of chewing the chewing gum composition relative to a composition not comprising the delivery system.  
     
     
         81 . A method of selecting at least one delivery system suitable for incorporation into an edible composition, comprising selecting a desired release profile of at least one sweetener sufficient to suppress bitterness of at least one additional active present in the edible composition, wherein the delivery system comprises at least one encapsulating material with at least one sweetener, and selecting the at least one encapsulating material to deliver the at least one active component at the desired release profile when incorporated into the edible composition.