Compositions containing a hollow glucan particle or a cell wall particle encapsulating a terpene component, methods of making and using them

Abstract

The present invention relates to compositions comprising a hollow glucan particle or cell wall particle encapsulating a terpene component, methods of their manufacture and their use. The compositions are suitable for preventing and treating infections in plants and animals, including humans.

1 . A composition comprising a hollow glucan particle or cell wall particle encapsulating a terpene component. 
     
     
         2 . A composition according to  claim 1  wherein the hollow glucan particle or cell wall particle is a fungal cell wall. 
     
     
         3 . A composition according to  claim 2  wherein the hollow glucan particle or cell wall particle is a yeast cell wall. 
     
     
         4 . A composition according to  claim 3  wherein the yeast cell wall is derived from a Baker's yeast cell. 
     
     
         5 . A composition according to any preceding claim wherein the hollow glucan particle or cell wall particle is an insoluble waste product from a yeast extract manufacturing process. 
     
     
         6 . A composition according to any one of claims any preceding claim wherein the hollow glucan particle or cell wall particle has been alkali extracted. 
     
     
         7 . A composition according to any preceding claim wherein the hollow glucan particle or cell wall particle has been acid extracted. 
     
     
         8 . A composition according to any preceding claim wherein the hollow glucan particle or cell wall particle has been organic solvent extracted. 
     
     
         9 . A composition according to any preceding claim wherein the hollow glucan particle or cell wall particle has a lipid content of 1% or greater. 
     
     
         10 . A composition according to  claim 9  wherein the lipid content of the hollow glucan particle or cell wall particle is 5% w/w or greater. 
     
     
         11 . A composition according to  claim 10  wherein the lipid content is 10% w/w or greater. 
     
     
         12 . A composition according to any preceding claim wherein the terpene component comprises one or more of the terpenes selected from the group consisting of citral, pinene, nerol, b-ionone, geraniol, carvacrol, eugenol, carvone (for example L-carvone), terpeniol, anethole, camphor, menthol, thymol, limonene, nerolidol, farnesol, phytol, carotene (vitamin A 1 ), squalene, thymol, tocotrienol, perillyl alcohol, borneol, myrcene, simene, carene, terpenene, linalool or a mixture thereof. 
     
     
         13 . A composition according to any preceding claim wherein the terpene component comprises a terpene having have the general structure C 10 H 16 . 
     
     
         14 . A composition according to any preceding claim wherein the terpene component comprises one or more terpenes selected from the group consisting of geraniol, thymol, citral, carvone (for example L-carvone), eugenol, b-ionone or a mixture thereof. 
     
     
         15 . A composition according to any preceding claim wherein the terpene component comprises a mixture of geraniol, thymol and eugenol. 
     
     
         16 . A composition according to  claim 14  wherein the terpene component comprises 100% thymol. 
     
     
         17 . A composition according to  claim 14  wherein the terpene component comprises 50% geraniol and 50% thymol w/w. 
     
     
         18 . A composition according to  claim 14  wherein the terpene component comprises 50% eugenol and 50% thymol w/w. 
     
     
         19 . A composition according to  claim 14  wherein the terpene component comprises 33% geraniol, 33% eugenol and 33% thymol w/w. 
     
     
         20 . A composition according to  claim 14  wherein the terpene component comprises 33% eugenol, 33% thymol and 33% citral w/w. 
     
     
         21 . A composition according to  claim 14  wherein the terpene component comprises 25% geraniol, 25% eugenol, 25% thymol and 25% citral w/w. 
     
     
         22 . A composition according to  claim 14  wherein the terpene component comprises 20% geraniol, 20% eugenol, 20% citral, 20% thymol and 20% L-carvone w/w. 
     
     
         23 . A composition according to any preceding claim wherein the terpene component is associated with a surfactant. 
     
     
         24 . A composition according to any preceding claim wherein the surfactant is selected from the group consisting of sodium lauryl sulphate, polysorbate 20, polysorbate 80, polysorbate 40, polysorbate 60, polyglyceryl ester, polyglyceryl monooleate, decaglyceryl monocaprylate, propylene glycol dicaprilate, triglycerol monostearate, polyoxyethylenesorbitan monooleate, Tween®, Span® 20, Span® 40, Span® 60, Span® 80, Brig 30 or a mixture of two or more thereof. 
     
     
         25 . A composition according to any preceding claim comprising 1 to 99% by volume terpenes, 0 to 99% by volume surfactant and 1 to 99% hollow glucan particles or cell wall particles. 
     
     
         26 . A composition according to  claim 25  comprising from about 10 to about 67% w/w terpenes, from about 0.1 to about 10% w/w surfactant and from about 40 to about 90% w/w hollow glucan particles or cell wall particles. 
     
     
         27 . A composition according to any preceding claim suitable for killing bacteria or fungi. 
     
     
         28 . A composition according to any preceding claim suitable for killing mold. 
     
     
         29 . A composition according to any preceding claim, suitable for killing  mycoplasma.    
     
     
         30 . A composition according to any preceding claim wherein the terpenes used are food grade. 
     
     
         31 . A composition according to any preceding claim comprising an additional food grade active compound. 
     
     
         32 . A composition according to  claim 31  wherein the additional food grade active compound is an antimicrobial agent or enzyme. 
     
     
         33 . A composition according to any preceding claim comprising an antimicrobial agent, an anti-fungal agent, an insecticidal agent, an anti-inflammatory agent or an anaesthetic. 
     
     
         34 . A composition according to any preceding claim further comprising an antioxidant. 
     
     
         35 . A composition according to  claim 34  wherein the antioxidant is rosemary oil, vitamin C or vitamin E. 
     
     
         36 . A composition according to any preceding claim in the form of a dry powder. 
     
     
         37 . A composition according to any one of  claims 1  to  35  in a pellet, tablet or other solid form. 
     
     
         38 . A composition according to any preceding claim comprising a dispersal agent which promotes dispersal of the composition when placed into a liquid. 
     
     
         39 . A composition according to any preceding claim in combination with an agriculturally, food or pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient in a liquid, solid or gel-like form. 
     
     
         40 . A composition according to any one of  claims 1  to  35  suspended or dissolved in a liquid. 
     
     
         41 . A composition according to  claim 40  wherein the liquid is water. 
     
     
         42 . A composition according to either  claim 40  or  41  comprising from about 500 to about 10,000 ppm hollow glucan particles or cell wall particles, where the particles contain from about 1 to about 67% terpene component. 
     
     
         43 . A composition according to  claim 42  comprising from about 1000 to about 2000 ppm hollow glucan particles or cell wall particles, where the particles contain from about 10 to about 50% terpene component w/w. 
     
     
         44 . A composition according to any one of  claims 40  to  43  comprising between about 1 ppm and about 25 ppt of the terpene component. 
     
     
         45 . A composition according to  claim 44  comprising between about 100 to 1000 ppm of the terpene component. 
     
     
         46 . A composition according to any one of  claims 1  to  39  which is dispersed in water, saline, aqueous dextrose, glycerol or ethanol to form a solution or suspension. 
     
     
         47 . A composition according to claim any preceding claim which includes a wetting agent, an emulsifying agent or a pH buffering agent. 
     
     
         48 . A composition according to any preceding claim dispersed in a liquid human or animal food or drink material. 
     
     
         49 . A composition according to any preceding claim in a form suitable for oral administration. 
     
     
         50 . A composition according to any one of  claims 1  to  46  in a form suitable for parental administration. 
     
     
         51 . A composition according to any one of  claims 1  to  46  in a form suitable for topical administration. 
     
     
         52 . A method of preparing a hollow glucan particle or cell wall particle encapsulating a terpene component, said method comprising the steps of;
 a) providing a terpene component;   b) providing a hollow glucan particle or cell wall particle;   c) incubating the terpene component with the glucan particle or cell wall particle under suitable conditions for terpene encapsulation; and   d) recovering the glucan particle or cell wall particle encapsulating the terpene component.   
     
     
         53 . A method according to  claim 52  further comprising the step of drying the glucan particle or cell wall particle encapsulating the terpene component. 
     
     
         54 . A method according to  claim 53  wherein drying is achieved by freeze drying, fluidised bed drying, drum drying or spray drying. 
     
     
         55 . A method according to any one of  claims 52  to  54  wherein in step a) the terpene component is provided as a suspension in an aqueous solvent. 
     
     
         56 . A method according to  claim 55  wherein the terpene component is provided in association with a surfactant. 
     
     
         57 . A method according to  claim 56  wherein the surfactant is polyoxyethylenesorbitan monooleate at a concentration of about 0.1 to 10% by volume of the total reaction mixture. 
     
     
         58 . A method according to any one of  claims 52  to  54  wherein in step a) the terpene component is provided as a true solution in the aqueous solvent. 
     
     
         59 . A method according to any one of  claims 52  to  58  wherein in step b) the hollow glucan particle or cell wall particle is provided as a suspension in water or other suitable liquid. 
     
     
         60 . A method according to  claim 59  wherein the suspension comprises approximately 1 to 1000 mg glucan particle or cell wall particles per ml. 
     
     
         61 . A method according to  claim 59  wherein the particles are dispersed in a volume of from the hydrodynamic volume (HV) to 1.5 HV of liquid. 
     
     
         62 . A method according to any one of  claims 52  to  58  wherein in step b) the hollow glucan particle or cell wall particle is provided as a dry powder. 
     
     
         63 . A method according to any one of  claims 52  to  62  wherein in step c) the reaction is carried out at atmospheric pressure at a temperature of about 20 to 37° C. 
     
     
         64 . A method of killing a microorganism, said method comprising the step of;
 contacting said microorganism with a composition comprising a hollow glucan particle or cell wall particle encapsulating a terpene component.   
     
     
         65 . A method of treating or preventing infection of a plant, said method comprising the step of;
 administering, in a therapeutically effective dose, a composition comprising a hollow glucan particle or cell wall particle encapsulating a terpene component to the plant or to soil in proximity to the plant.   
     
     
         66 . A method according to  claim 65  wherein the infection of the plant is caused by a nematode. 
     
     
         67 . A method according to  claim 65  wherein the infection of a plant is caused by a fungus. 
     
     
         68 . A method according to  claim 67  wherein the fungus is downy mildew, powdery mildew or  botrytis  bunch rot. 
     
     
         69 . A method according to any one of  claims 65  to  68  wherein the plant is a grape vine. 
     
     
         70 . A method according to any one of  claims 65  to  69  wherein the composition is administered 21 days or less prior to harvest of a crop from the plant. 
     
     
         71 . A method according to  claim 70  wherein the composition is administered 14 days or less prior to harvest. 
     
     
         72 . A method according to  claim 71  wherein the composition is administered 7 days or less prior to harvest. 
     
     
         73 . A method according to  claim 72  wherein the composition is administered 3 days or less prior to harvest. 
     
     
         74 . A method according any one of  claims 65  to  73  wherein the composition is administered by spraying. 
     
     
         75 . A method according to  claim 74  wherein the composition is sprayed at a rate of 500 L/Ha or greater. 
     
     
         76 . A method according to  claim 75  wherein the composition is sprayed at a rate of 900 L/Ha or greater. 
     
     
         77 . A method according to  claim 76  wherein the composition is sprayed at a rate of 1200 L/Ha or greater. 
     
     
         78 . A method according to any one of  claims 65  to  73  wherein the composition is administered via irrigation. 
     
     
         79 . The present invention further provides a method of preventing or treating an infection in a patient, said method comprising the step of;
 administering to said patient in a therapeutically effective dose, a composition comprising a hollow glucan particle or cell wall particle encapsulating a terpene component.   
     
     
         80 . A method according to  claim 79  wherein the infection of the patient is caused by  Staphylococcus aureus, Aspergillius fumigatus, Mycoplasma iowae, Penicillium  sp. or  Mycoplasma pneumoniae.    
     
     
         81 . A method according to  claim 80  wherein the composition is administered orally, vaginally, rectally, by inhalation, topically or by parenteral routes. 
     
     
         82 . A composition comprising a hollow glucan particle encapsulating a terpene component for use in the prevention or treatment of an infection in a patient or a plant. 
     
     
         83 . Use of a hollow glucan particle encapsulating a terpene component in the manufacture of a medicament for the treatment of an infection in patient. 
     
     
         84 . The use of  claim 83  wherein the infection is caused by  Aspergillius fumigatus, Scierotinta homeocarpa, Rhizoctonia solani, Colletotrichum graminicola  or  Penicillium  sp.