Biodegradable Chewing Gum Comprising At Least One High Molecular Weight Biodegradable Polymer

Abstract

A chewing gum including at least one biodegradable polymer, wherein the molecular weight of the polymer is at least 105,000 g/mol (Mn). According to the invention, it has moreover been realized that various problems associated with the prior art may be effectively dealt with by increasing the molecular weight of at least one of the biodegradable polymers in the chewing gum when compared to conventional chewing gum polymers and thereby increasing the robustness of the chewing gum with respect to softeners, emulsifiers and e.g. flavor.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . Chewing gum comprising:
 at least one biodegradable polymer having a molecular weight within the range of 105,000 g/mol (Mn) to 350,000 g/mol (Mn); and   at least one softener in an amount of less than 12% by weight of the chewing gum;   wherein the chewing gum is free of non-biodegradable polymers.   
     
     
         2 . Chewing gum according to  claim 1 , wherein the molecular weight of said at least one biodegradable polymer is within the range of 150,000 g/mol (Mn) to 350,000 g/mol (Mn). 
     
     
         3 . Chewing gum according to  claim 1 , wherein the molecular weight of said at least one biodegradable polymer is within the range of 105,000 g/mol (Mn) to 250,000 g/mol (Mn). 
     
     
         4 . Chewing gum according to  claim 1 , wherein the polydispersity of said at least one biodegradable polymer is within the range of 1 to 5. 
     
     
         5 . Chewing gum according to  claim 1 , wherein the polydispersity of said at least one biodegradable polymer is within the range of 1 to 2.5. 
     
     
         6 . Chewing gum according to  claim 1 , wherein said chewing gum comprises flavoring agents. 
     
     
         7 . Chewing gum according to  claim 6 , wherein said chewing gum comprises flavoring agents in an amount of 0.2 to about 4 wt %, said percentage being based on the total weight of the chewing gum. 
     
     
         8 . Chewing gum according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one softener comprises tallow, hydrogenated tallow, hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, cocoa butter, glycerol monostearate, glycerol triacetate, lecithin, mono-, di- and triglycerides, acetylated monoglycerides, fatty acids, stearic acid, palmitic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid or mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         9 . Chewing gum according to  claim 1 , wherein said chewing gum comprises active ingredients. 
     
     
         10 . Chewing gum according to  claim 9 , wherein said active ingredients are selected from the group consisting of:
 Acetaminophen, Acetylsalicylic acid, Buprenorphine, Bromhexin, Celcoxib, Codeine, Diphenhydramin, Diclofenac, Etoricoxib, Ibuprofen, Indometacin, Ketoprofen, Lumiracoxib, Morphine, Naproxen, Oxycodon, Parecoxib, Piroxicam, Rofecoxib, Tenoxicam, Tramadol, Valdecoxib, Calciumcarbonat, Magaldrate, Disulfuram, Bupropion, Nicotine, Azithromycin, Clarithromycin, Clotrimazole, Erythromycin, Tetracycline, Granisetron, Ondansetron, Prometazin, Tropisetron, Brompheniramine, Ceterizin, leco-Ceterizin, Chlorcyclizine, Chlorpheniramin, Difenhydramine, Doxylamine, Fenofenadin, Guaifenesin, Loratidin, des-Loratidin, Phenyltoloxamine, Promethazin, Pyridamine, Terfenadin, Troxerutin, Methyldopa, Methylphenidate, Benzalcon. Chloride, Benzeth. Chloride, Cetylpyrid. Chloride, Chlorhexidine, Ecabet-sodium, Haloperidol, Allopurinol, Colchinine, Theophylline, Propanolol, Prednisolone, Prednisone, Fluoride, Urea, Miconazole, Actot, Glibenclamide, Glipizide, Metformin, Miglitol, Repaglinide, Rosiglitazone, Apomorfin, Clalis, Sildenafil, Vardenafil, Diphenoxylate, Simethicone, Cimetidine, Famotidine, Ranitidine, Ratinidine, cetrizin, Loratadine, Aspirin, Benzocaine, Dextrometorphan, Ephedrine, Phenylpropanolamine, Pseudoephedrine, Cisapride, Domperidone, Metoclopramide, Acyclovir, Dioctylsulfosucc., Phenolphtalein, Almotriptan, Eletriptan, Ergotamine, Migea, Naratriptan, Rizatriptan, Sumatriptan, Zolmitriptan, Aluminium salts, Calcium salts, Ferro salts, Silver salts, Zinc-salte, Amphotericin B, Chlorhexidine, Miconazole, Triamcinolonacetonid, Melatonine, Phenobarbital, Caffeine, Benzodiazepines, Hydroxyzine, Meprobamate, Phenothiazine, Buclizine, Brometazine, Cinnarizine, Cyclizine, Difenhydramine, Dimenhydrinate, Buflomedil, Amphetamine, Ephedrine, Orlistat, Phenylephedrine, Phenylpropanolamin, Pseudoephedrine, Sibutramin, Ketoconazole, Nitroglycerin, Nystatin, Progesterone, Testosterone, Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Pilocarpin, Aluminiumaminoacetat, Cimetidine, Esomeprazole, Famotidine, Lansoprazole, Magnesiumoxide, Nizatide and/or Ratinidine or derivates and mixtures thereof.   
     
     
         11 . Chewing gum according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one biodegradable polymer is obtained by the polymerization of one or more cyclic esters by ring-opening and where at least one of the cyclic esters is selected from the group consisting of glycolides, lactides, lactones, cyclic carbonates and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         12 . Chewing gum according to  claim 11 , wherein cyclicester polymers and their copolymers resulting from the polymerization of cyclic ester monomers are selected from the group consisting of:
 poly(L-lactide); poly(D-lactide); poly(D,L-lactide); poly(mesolactide); poly(glycolide); poly(trimethylenecarbonate); poly(epsilon-caprolactone); poly(L lactide-co-D,L-lactide); poly(L-lactide-co-meso-lactide); poly(L-lactide co-glycolide); poly(L-lactide-co-trimethylenecarbonate); poly(L-lactide co-epsilon-caprolactone); poly(D,L-lactide-co-meso-lactide); poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide); poly(D,L-lactide-co-trimethylenecarbonate); poly(D, L-lactide-co-epsilon-caprolactone); poly(mesolactide-co-glycolide); poly(meso-lactide-co-trimethylenecarbonate); poly(meso-lactide-co-epsilon-caprolactone); poly(glycolide-co-trimethylenecarbonate); poly(glycolide-co-epsilon-caprolactone); and mixtures thereof.   
     
     
         13 . Chewing gum according to  claim 1 , where the chewing gum is coated with an outer coating. 
     
     
         14 . Chewing gum according to  claim 13 , wherein the outer coating is a hard coating. 
     
     
         15 . Chewing gum according  claim 14 , wherein the hard coating comprises 50 to 100% by weight of a polyol selected from the group consisting of sorbitol, maltitol, mannitol, xylitol, erythritol, lactitol and isomalt. 
     
     
         16 . Chewing gum according to  claim 1 , wherein said chewing gum comprises
 at least one biodegradable elastomer in the amount of about 0.5 to about 70% wt. of the chewing gum,   at least one biodegradable plasticizer in the amount of about 0.5 to about 70% wt. of the chewing gum and   at least one chewing gum ingredient chosen from the group consisting of softeners, sweeteners, flavoring agents, active ingredients and fillers in the amount of about 2 to about 80% wt. of the chewing gum.   
     
     
         17 . Method of creating a chewing gum with increased robustness comprising the steps of:
 providing at least one biodegradable polymer;   adjusting the molecular weight of the at least one biodegradable polymer to be within the range of 105,000 g/mol (Mn) to 350,000 g/mol (Mn); and   mixing the at least one biodegradable polymer with at least one softener in an amount of less than 12% by weight of the chewing gum.   
     
     
         18 . Method of creating a chewing gum with increased robustness according to  claim 17 , wherein the molecular weight of said biodegradable polymer is adjusted to be within the range of 150,000 g/mol (Mn) to 350,000 g/mol (Mn). 
     
     
         19 . Method of creating a chewing gum with increased robustness according to  claim 17 , whereby the molecular weight of said biodegradable polymer is adjusted to be within the range of 250,000 g/mol (Mn) to 350,000 g/mol (Mn). 
     
     
         20 . Method of creating a chewing gum with increased robustness to  claim 17 , wherein the molecular weight of said at least one biodegradable polymer is adjusted to be within the range of 105,000 g/mol (Mn) to 250,000 g/mol (Mn).