Zein as a moisture barrier for sugarless edible compositions and method for preparing same

Claim 2

An edible coated tablet composition which comprises: (a) a core material comprising sorbitol, (b) a primary coating layer consisting essentially of zein over the core material, and (c) a secondary coating layer over the primary layer, said secondary layer obtained by applying at least one aqueous solution comprising a saturated sorbitol solution, a crystalline sorbitol powder, one or more film-forming agents, and one or more crystallization retarding agents.

Claim 3

The composition according to claim 1, wherein the core material comprises the following ingredients: ______________________________________ Ingredient Percentage by Weight ______________________________________ Sorbitol 84.00-98.00 Acidulant 0.50-3.00 Breath freshening agent 0.50-0.80 Intense sweetening agent 0.00-0.10 Flavoring agent 0.50-2.00 Lubricating agent 0.10-0.50 Vegetable oil 0.00-0.50 Emulsifying agent 0.00-0.20 Coloring agent 0.00-0.03 Fillers 0.00-15.00 ______________________________________

Claim 4

The composition according to claim 1, wherein the secondary coating layer comprises sorbitol.

Claim 5

The composition according to claim 3, wherein the secondary coating layer comprises in percentages by weight: (a) from about 77% to about 83% of sorbitol solution comprising from about 65% to about 75% sorbitol, (b) from about 9.5% to about 12.5% crystalline sorbitol powder, (c) from about 0.25% to about 1.5% of at least one film-forming agent, and (d) from about 0.1% to about 5.0% of at least one crystallization retarding agent.

Claim 6

The composition according to claim 4, wherein the secondary coating layer comprises two coating layers wherein the first coating layer comprises in percentages by weight: (a) from about 77% to about 83% of sorbitol solution comprising from about 65% to about 75% sorbitol, (b) from about 9.5% to about 12.5% crystalline sorbitol powder, (c) from about 0.25% to about 1.5% of at least one film-forming agent, and (d) from about 0.1% to about 5.0% of at least one crystallization retarding agent, and the second coating layer comprises in percentages by weight: (a) about 82% to about 94% sorbitol solution comprising about 65% to about 75% sorbitol, (b) about 1.0% to about 3.5% crystalline sorbitol powder, (c) about 0.05% to about 2.0% of at least one film-forming agent, and (d) about 0.1% to about 0.3% of at least one crystallization retarding agent.

Claim 7

The composition according to claim 1, wherein the core material is present in an amount from about 40% to about 60%, by weight of the edible coated composition.

Claim 8

The composition according to claim 1, wherein the primary coating layer is present in an amount from about 0.1% to about 1.5%, by weight of the edible coated composition.

Claim 9

The composition according to claim 1, wherein the secondary coating layer is present in an amount from about 40% to about 60%, by weight of the edible coated composition.

Claim 12

The method according to claim 9, wherein the core material comprises the following ingredients: ______________________________________ Ingredient Percentage by Weight ______________________________________ Sorbitol 84.00-98.00 Acidulant 0.50-3.00 Breath freshening agent 0.50-0.80 Intense sweetening agent 0.00-0.10 Flavoring agent 0.50-2.00 Lubricating agent 0.10-0.50 Vegetable oil 0.00-0.50 Emulsifying agent 0.00-0.20 Coloring agent 0.00-0.03 Fillers 0.00-15.00 ______________________________________

Claim 13

The method according to claim 9, wherein the solution of primary coating layer composition comprises a solution from about 10% to about 20% of zein in aqueous propylene glycol.

Claim 14

The method according to claim 9, wherein the solution of secondary coating layer composition comprises sorbitol.

Claim 15

The method according to claim 12, wherein the solution of secondary coating layer composition comprises in percentages by weight: (a) from about 77% to about 83% of sorbitol solution comprising from about 65% to about 75% sorbitol, (b) from about 9.5% to about 12.5% crystalline sorbitol powder, (c) from about 0.25% to about 1.5% of at least one film-forming agent, and (d) from about 0.1% to about 5.0% of at least one crystallization retarding agent.

Claim 16

The method according to claim 13, wherein the solution of secondary coating layer comprises two coating layers wherein the first coating layer comprises in percentages by weight: (a) from about 77% to about 83% of sorbitol solution comprising from about 65% to about 75% sorbitol, (b) from about 9.5% to about 12.5% crystalline sorbitol powder, (c) from about 0.25% to about 1.5% of at least one film-forming agent, and (d) from about 0.1% to about 5.0% of at least one crystallization retarding agent, and the second coating layer comprises in percentages by weight: (a) about 82% to about 94% by weight sorbitol solution comprising about 65% to about 75% by weight sorbitol, (b) about 1.0% to about 3.5% by weight crystalline sorbitol powder, (c) about 0.05% to about 2.0% by weight of at least one film-forming agent, and (d) about 0.1% to about 0.3% by weight of at least one crystallization retarding agent.

Claim 17

The method according to claim 9, wherein the core material is present in an amount from about 40% to about 60%, by weight of the edible coated composition.

Claim 18

The method according to claim 9, wherein the primary coating layer is present in an amount from about 0.1% to about 1.5%, by weight of the edible coated composition.

Claim 19

The method according to claim 9, wherein the secondary coating layer is present in an amount from about 40% to about 60%, by weight of the edible coated composition.