Creation of oral care flavours to deliver breath-freshening benefits.
OBJECTIVE
Oral care products deliver breath freshening primarily via mechano-chemical cleaning or by antimicrobial active systems. Dental flavours provide taste benefits, and freshen breath mainly by sensorial masking. We aimed to determine whether flavours could deliver breath freshening in products by inhibiting bacterial volatile sulphide compound (VSC) production.


METHODS
Flavour materials were screened for inhibition of hydrogen sulphide formation by Klebsiella pneumoniae in vitro, grouped by efficacy, and data provided to flavourists. Flavours were formulated to maximize the content of VSC-effective ingredients and re-screened to confirm performance. Extensive, iterative testing of flavours identified reliable creative rules to deliver efficient inhibition of H2S generation. Breath-freshening flavours in whole products were then tested in-house in a 'breath freshness panel'.


METHODS
Malodour of panellists (not preselected for malodour score) was scored before and after product use, on the 'Rosenberg' 0-5 scale, together with residual flavour score, by extensively trained judges. Products were tested in double-blind, crossover studies, and results analysed using ANOVA.


CONCLUSIONS
Products flavoured using these rules delivered significantly greater breath freshening at 2 h than control products, and equivalent benefits to products containing 0.1% (w/w) triclosan or 0.2% (w/w) zinc sulphate.
Bradshaw
D J
DJ
Quest International, Ashford, Kent, UK.
Perring
K D
KD
Cawkill
P M
PM
Provan
A F
AF
McNulty
D A
DA
Saint
E J
EJ
Richards
J
J
Munroe
M J
MJ
Behan
J M
JM
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001944:Breath Tests; D002638:Chewing Gum; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D003802:Dentifrices / Q000737:chemistry; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005421:Flavoring Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006209:Halitosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007711:Klebsiella pneumoniae / Q000378:metabolism; D009067:Mouthwashes / Q000737:chemistry; D013440:Sulfides / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D014260:Triclosan / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019287:Zinc Sulfate / Q000627:therapeutic use
D002638:Chewing Gum; D003802:Dentifrices; D005421:Flavoring Agents; D009067:Mouthwashes; D013440:Sulfides; D014260:Triclosan; D019287:Zinc Sulfate