Menthol-containing preparation

Abstract

It is known that L-menthol controls smooth muscle contraction. In order to use L-menthol in practice as a digestive tract contraction inhibiting agent in digestive tract endoscopy, it is required to devise means of giving a formulation in which an L-menthol-containing formulation remains stable and transparent or little cloudy over a long time after the production and which shows little foaming at the administration. In the present invention, an antifoaming agent is further added to a formulation for inhibiting smooth muscle contraction or a peristaltic contraction in a digestive tract containing a L-menthol emulsion having an average particle size of less than 100 nm. Thus, it is possible to obtain a formulation that remains stable over a long time, has a high light transmittance, and produces little foam when filled into a container and sprayed at a target area to inhibit contraction to facilitate observation of the area in endoscopic examination of the digestive tract etc.

1 . An L-menthol-containing formulation for inhibiting smooth muscle contraction, which comprises L-menthol, a surfactant, and an antifoaming agent and which is an emulsion with an average particle size of less than 100 nm.  
   
   
       2 . The L-menthol-containing formulation according to  claim 1 , which further comprises a fat or oil.  
   
   
       3 . The L-menthol-containing formulation according to  claim 1 , which has a light transmittance of 50% or more.  
   
   
       4 . The L-menthol-containing formulation according to  claim 1 , which comprises 0.01 to 5.0% by weight of L-menthol, 0.1 to 10% by weight of a surfactant, and 0.0001 to 0.01% by weight of an antifoaming agent based on the weight of the whole formulation.  
   
   
       5 . The L-menthol-containing formulation according to  claim 4 , wherein a content of the fat or oil is far from 0.1 to 10% by weight.  
   
   
       6 . The L-menthol-containing formulation according to  claim 1 , wherein the antifoaming agent is at least one agent selected from silicone antifoaming agents.  
   
   
       7 . The L-menthol-containing formulation according to  claim 1 , wherein the surfactant is at least one member selected from polyoxyethylene hydrogenated caster oils and sucrose fatty acid esters.  
   
   
       8 . The L-menthol-containing formulation according to  claim 2 , which has a light transmittance of 50% or more.  
   
   
       9 . The L-menthol-containing formulation according to  claim 2 , which comprises 0.01 to 5.0% by weight of L-menthol, 0.1 to 10% by weight of a surfactant, and 0.0001 to 0.01% by weight of an antifoaming agent based on the weight of the whole formulation.  
   
   
       10 . The L-menthol-containing formulation according to  claim 3 , which comprises 0.01 to 5.0% by weight of L-menthol, 0.1 to 10% by weight of a surfactant, and 0.0001 to 0.01% by weight of an antifoaming agent based on the weight of the whole formulation.  
   
   
       11 . The L-menthol-containing formulation according to  claim 2 , wherein the antifoaming agent is at least one agent selected from silicone antifoaming agents.  
   
   
       12 . The L-menthol-containing formulation according to  claim 3 , wherein the antifoaming agent is at least one agent selected from silicone antifoaming agents.  
   
   
       13 . The L-menthol-containing formulation according to  claim 4 , wherein the antifoaming agent is at least one agent selected from silicone antifoaming agents.  
   
   
       14 . The L-menthol-containing formulation according to  claim 5 , wherein the antifoaming agent is at least one agent selected from silicone antifoaming agents.  
   
   
       15 . The L-menthol-containing formulation according to  claim 2 , wherein the surfactant is at least one member selected from polyoxyethylene hydrogenated caster oils and sucrose fatty acid esters.  
   
   
       16 . The L-menthol-containing formulation according to  claim 3 , wherein the surfactant is at least one member selected from polyoxyethylene hydrogenated caster oils and sucrose fatty acid esters.  
   
   
       17 . The L-menthol-containing formulation according to  claim 4 , wherein the surfactant is at least one member selected from polyoxyethylene hydrogenated caster oils and sucrose fatty acid esters.  
   
   
       18 . The L-menthol-containing formulation according to  claim 5 , wherein the surfactant is at least one member selected from polyoxyethylene hydrogenated caster oils and sucrose fatty acid esters.  
   
   
       19 . The L-menthol-containing formulation according to  claim 6 , wherein the surfactant is at least one member selected from polyoxyethylene hydrogenated caster oils and sucrose fatty acid esters.