Search

EP-3919050-B1 - NUTRACEUTIC COMPOSITION CONTAINING LIMONENE AND A DRY EXTRACT OF COCOA FIBRE AND ITS USE FOR THE TREATMENT OF OBESITY

EP3919050B1EP 3919050 B1EP3919050 B1EP 3919050B1EP-3919050-B1

Inventors

  • VALERII, Maria Chiara

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20200605

Claims (8)

  1. A nutraceutical composition comprising natural or synthetic limonene or an essential oil having a content of limonene of at least 30% by weight, as active ingredient, and cocoa fibre in a quantity comprised between 50% and 95% by weight.
  2. Composition according to claim 1 wherein the essential oil is orange essential oil.
  3. Composition according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the cocoa fibre is cocoa fibre powder or dry cocoa extract or cocoa bean powder or powder obtained from cocoa bean pericarp.
  4. Composition according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the limonene or the essential oil are present in a quantity comprised between 5% and 50% by weight, preferably in a quantity comprised between 10% and 25% by weight.
  5. Composition according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the cocoa fibre is present in a quantity comprised between 75% and 90% by weight.
  6. Composition according to claim 5 wherein the fibre has a grain size comprised in a range of from -1 to +8 of the Krumbein phi scale.
  7. Process for the preparation of the composition according to any one of the preceding claims comprising mixing limonene or essential oil with cocoa fibre under continuous stirring in order to form solid spherical lumps of variable dimensions, followed by a breaking step by mechanical action, followed preferably by a mixing step until complete dissolution of the lumps.
  8. Composition according to any one of claims 1-6 for human or veterinary therapeutic use in the treatment of obesity.

Description

The present invention relates to a nutraceutical composition comprising essential oils and cocoa fibre, more in particular to a nutraceutical composition comprising natural or synthetic limonene or an essential oil having a content of limonene of at least 30% by weight and cocoa fibre for human or veterinary therapeutic use in the treatment of obesity. Essential oils and their active ingredients have particularly attractive biological activities especially in the case of oral consumption. Conveniently dosed, they can be used for their slimming, germicidal, fungicidal, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-parasite and antibiotic activities (Li et al, 2013, EJP, 715; 46-55; US 2005/277657; Thapa et al., 2012, Microbiology, 158 (11); 2870-2877). However, these substances present enormous problems in therapeutic applications due both to their aggressiveness with regard to the oral, oesophagus, gastric and intestinal mucus and their toxic nature. Even using correct therapeutic doses, extracts of vegetable origin that contain essential oils and/or their components (including synthetic analogues) may cause inflammations, irritations, erosions or other damages to the mucus with which they come into contact, such as for example in the mouth. Moreover, if for example, a therapeutic action of essential oils is sought, it is very difficult to carry the corresponding active ingredients to the streches of interest without damaging, even in a significant manner, the intestinal tracts passed through before reaching the area of interest. Even the fast absorption of essential oils, especially in the upper intestinal tract (called small intestine), can prevent them from effectively reaching the lower tracts, such as colon for example, where they would exert their therapeutic action topically. Moreover, in some diseases, it would be recommended to have both a topical and systemic effect of the active components that should act in the digestive tract and in the bloodstream on circulating molecules. The combination of the topical and systemic effect is essential in the treatment of obesity with natural or synthetic limonene or with essential oils containing limonene, in particular with orange essential oil. Orange essential oils and their components, in particular limonene, are known to have an anti-obesity effect (Dhu Li et al., Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry, vol. 83(5), 2019, 923-932). The patent application EP 3 097 921 filed in the name of the Applicant discloses a composition comprising essential oils and a dry plant extract, root, sprout or fruit extract that allows to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks and to administer essential oils or components thereof so that they exert their topical action in the intestine without damaging the mucosa and organs of the digestive tract. Although particularly advantageous and innovative for administering essential oils or components thereof, the composition disclosed in EP 3 097 921 comprising dry extract, in particular dry extract of glucomannan, ginger root, turmeric root, boswellia, cabbage and fabaceae seeds, does not guarantee also an effective systemic effect in case of administration of essential oils or components thereof for treating obesity. The Application has now found that the dual local and systemic effect is obtained by using cocoa fibre instead of dry plant extracts, root, sprout or fruit extracts disclosed in EP 3 097 921. The object of the present invention is therefore a nutraceutical composition comprising natural or synthetic limonene or an essential oil having a content of limonene of at least 30% by weight and cocoa fibre. in a quantity comprised between 50% and 95% by weight. The composition according to this invention allows to cancel or significantly reduce the negative effects of the essential oil or components thereof on mucus, to partially release the active ingredient in the first part of the digestive tract so that it is absorbed and that another part of the active ingredient can reach the other parts of the digestive tract and locally exert its action. The composition according to this invention, thanks to its peculiar dual local and systemic effect due to the use of cocoa fibre, is particularly suitable for the treatment of obesity. In the composition according to this invention, a preferred essential oil is a citrus essential oil, in particular orange essential oil. Non-limiting esamples of essential oils having a content of limonene of at least 30% by weight that can be used according to the present invention are the products marketed as "O.E. Arancio Sicilia", O.E. Arancio Brasile" and Natural Terpenes 100% from Industrie Chimiche Muller & Koster SpA. According to a particularly preferred embodiment, the composition of the present invention comprises natural or synthetic limonene. In the present description, the essential oil and the limonene are generically indicated as active ingredient. Preferably, the active ingredient is pres