Wrigley issued US patent for 'chewing gum bases containing soy protein based elastomers'; inventors cite protein as already being used in such products as beverages, whipped toppings, sausages, baking products, tofu

Nevin Barich

WASHINGTON , June 14, 2013 (Life Science Weekly) – A patent application by the inventors Mo, Xiaoqun (Oak Park, IL); Liu, Jingping (Indian Head Park, IL); Greenberg, Michael J. (Northbrook, IL); Sun, Xiuzhi (Manhattan, KS); Qi, Guangyan (Manhattan, KS); Venkateshan, Karthik (Bangalore, IN); Zhang, Lu (Davis, CA), filed on March 15, 2012, was made available online on June 6, 2013, according to news reporting originating from Washington, D.C., by NewsRx correspondents (see also Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company).

Patent application serial number 420751 is assigned to Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company.

The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: "As a natural polymer, soybean protein has been used extensively as an ingredient in food products such as beverages, whipped toppings, sausages, baking products, and tofu due to its functional properties, high nutritional value, and low cost.

"It is well known that the dominant storage protein in soy bean is globulins, accounting for 50-90% of the protein. Soy globulins comprise two major components: glycinin (11S) and .beta.-conglycinin (7S). The relative proportion of 11S to 7S ranges from 1:3 to 3:1 depending on the cultivar and growing condition. 11S globulin is a hexamer with molecular weight of about 350 kDa and consists of an acidic and basic polypeptide linked by disulfide bond. 7S is a trimer with molecular weight of 150-200 kDa, composed of three subunits: .alpha., .alpha.', and .beta.. These subunits are non-covalently associated by hydrophobic interaction and hydrogen bonding without any disulfide bonds. Due to the inherent structure difference in 7S and 11S globulin, they exhibit different physicochemical functions of soy protein."

In addition to the background information obtained for this patent application, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventors' summary information for this patent application: "The present invention is directed to gum bases containing an elastomer which is a fraction of protein extracted from soy and a method of preparing the elastomer.

"The present invention is also directed to methods of preparing the elastomer

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

"FIG. 1 is a Reducing SDS-PAGE pattern of soy proteins with different subunits ratio by virtue of their extraction pH: pH 5.1 (Comparative Run 1, Lane A); pH 5.4 (Example 2, Lane B); pH 5.6 (Example 3, Lane C); pH 5.8 (Comparative Run 4, Lane D); pH 6.0 (Comparative Run 5, Lane E) and pH 6.4 (Comparative Run 6, Lane F)

"FIG. 2 is a Non-Reducing SDS-PAGE pattern of soy proteins with different subunits ratio by virtue of their extraction pH: pH 5.1 (Comparative Run 1, Lane A); pH 5.4 (Example 2, Lane B); pH 5.6 (Example 3, Lane C); pH 5.8 (Comparative Run 4, Lane D); pH 6.0 (Comparative Run 5, Lane E) and pH 6.4 (Comparative Run 6, Lane F)

"FIG. 3 is a Non-Reducing SDS-PAGE pattern of soy protein elastomer treated with different chemicals: NaCl (lane A); urea (lane B); NaHSO3 (lane C)

"FIG. 4 is a graph of elastic modulus and viscous modulus of soy protein with different subunits ratio as function of shear rate.

"FIG. 5 is a graph of complex viscosity of soy protein with different subunits ratio as function of shear rate.

"FIG. 6 is a series of DSC thermograms showing thermal denaturation of the soy protein extracts.

"FIG. 7 A-D are TEM images of the soy protein extract of Comparative Run 1, Example 2, Comparative Run 4 and Comparative Run 6 respectively.

"FIG. 8 A-D are SEM images of soy protein with different subunit ratios: pH 5.1-4.8 (A); pH 5.4-4.8 (B); pH 5.8-4.8 (C); pH 6.4-4.8 (D)."

URL and more information on this patent application, see: Mo, Xiaoqun; Liu, Jingping; Greenberg, Michael J.; Sun, Xiuzhi; Qi, Guangyan; Venkateshan, Karthik; Zhang, Lu. Chewing Gum Bases Containing Soy Protein Based Elastomers and Methods of Making Same. U.S. Patent Application Serial Number 420751, filed March 15, 2012, and posted June 6, 2013. Patent URL: http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.html&r=2465&p=50&f=G&l=50&d=PG01&S1=20130530.PD.&OS=PD/20130530&RS=PD/20130530

Keywords for this news article include: Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company.

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