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EP-4736668-A1 - COMPOSITION, RAW MATERIAL LIQUOR, AND BEVERAGE

EP4736668A1EP 4736668 A1EP4736668 A1EP 4736668A1EP-4736668-A1

Abstract

The present invention aims to provide a composition that has a lemony sour aroma, an aroma balance giving an aroma similar to a fresh lemon peel aroma, good aroma release, and low bitterness, and that is suitably used for imparting a lemon peel aroma to beverages, for example. The present invention relates to a composition containing limonene, citral, and β-caryophyllene. The composition has a limonene-to-β-caryophyllene weight ratio (limonene/β-caryophyllene) of 250 to 2500, a citral-to-β-caryophyllene weight ratio (citral/β-caryophyllene) of 5 to 110, a limonene content of 2.5 to 90% by weight, and a bergamottin content of 0.01% by weight or less.

Inventors

  • TSUCHIYA, YUKO
  • IWASA, KEIKO
  • AZUMA, TOSHIAKI
  • IBUSUKI, Daigo
  • TATSU, Sotaro
  • MURAI, KEIICHI
  • NOMACHI, MAKOTO
  • FUJII, KEIZO
  • KOBAYASHI, TAITO
  • ISHII, HITOSHI
  • SHIBA, KEISUKE

Assignees

  • Suntory Holdings Limited

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20240628

Claims (17)

  1. A composition comprising limonene, citral, and β-caryophyllene, wherein the composition has a limonene-to-β-caryophyllene weight ratio (limonene/β-caryophyllene) of 250 to 2500, a citral-to-β-caryophyllene weight ratio (citral/β-caryophyllene) of 5 to 110, a limonene content of 2.5 to 90% by weight, and a bergamottin content of 0.01% by weight or less.
  2. The composition according to claim 1, wherein the composition has a β-caryophyllene content of 0.01 to 0.2% by weight.
  3. The composition according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising at least one selected from the group consisting of linalool, citronellal, α-terpineol, geranyl acetate, decanal, nerol, and geraniol.
  4. The composition according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the composition is obtainable by use of lemon as one of raw materials or as a single raw material.
  5. The composition according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the composition is an aroma agent.
  6. The composition according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the composition is to be added to a beverage for use.
  7. A packaged beverage comprising the composition according to claim 1 or 2 and a beverage.
  8. A raw liquor comprising limonene, citral, β-caryophyllene, and ethanol, wherein the raw liquor has a limonene-to-β-caryophyllene weight ratio (limonene/β-caryophyllene) of 250 to 2500, a citral-to-β-caryophyllene weight ratio (citral/β-caryophyllene) of 5 to 110, a limonene content of 0.05 to 2.5% by weight, and an ethanol content of 10% by volume or more.
  9. The raw liquor according to claim 8, wherein the raw liquor has a bergamottin content of 0.00005% by weight or less.
  10. The raw liquor according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the raw liquor has a β-caryophyllene content of 0.0001 to 0.01% by weight.
  11. The raw liquor according to claim 8 or 9, further comprising at least one selected from the group consisting of linalool, citronellal, α-terpineol, geranyl acetate, decanal, nerol, and geraniol.
  12. A method for producing an alcoholic beverage, the method comprising adding the raw liquor according to claim 8 or 9.
  13. A beverage comprising limonene, citral, and β-caryophyllene, wherein the beverage has a limonene-to-β-caryophyllene weight ratio (limonene/β-caryophyllene) of 250 to 2500, a citral-to-β-caryophyllene weight ratio (citral/β-caryophyllene) of 5 to 110, and a limonene content of 0.01 to 2.5% by weight.
  14. The beverage according to claim 13, further comprising at least one selected from the group consisting of linalool, citronellal, α-terpineol, geranyl acetate, decanal, nerol, and geraniol.
  15. The beverage according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the beverage is an alcoholic beverage.
  16. The beverage according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the beverage is a non-alcoholic beverage.
  17. The beverage according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the beverage is a packaged beverage.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to compositions, raw liquors, and beverages, for example. BACKGROUND ART Various techniques are used for imparting a lemon aroma to beverages such as lemon sour. For example, in some cases where lemon sour served in a glass is consumed, lemon juice is squeezed into the glass or a slice of lemon is added to the glass to impart a lemon aroma. However, squeezing lemon juice or preparing a slice of lemon for every serving consumes a lot of time and effort; particularly for packaged beverages such as canned beverages and plastic bottle beverages, these techniques are not practical measures to impart a lemon aroma. From this point of view, compositions are awaited that can more conveniently impart a lemon aroma. The aroma component of lemon is especially rich in the outermost layer (oil glands) of the skin of lemon; squeezing the skin of lemon provides essential oil (essence) that gives a fresh and vivid peel aroma (fresh lemon peel aroma). Terpene-free oil, in which terpene hydrocarbons are removed or reduced, has been used as a lemon flavored aroma agent or its material (as disclosed for example in Patent Literature 1). CITATION LIST - Patent Literature Patent Literature 1: JP H06-108088 A SUMMARY OF INVENTION - Technical Problem Unfortunately, limonene, which is rich in lemon essential oil, is prone to degradation and lemon essential oil contains bitter components such as bergamottin. This means that adding lemon essential oil directly to a beverage may impair the taste of the beverage. Terpene-free oil is an oil with a reduced amount of limonene, which is prone to degradation, so that it has a reduced lemon aroma and does not give a fresh lemon aroma. Thus, no composition has ever been provided that has a lemony sour aroma, an aroma balance giving an aroma similar to a fresh lemon peel aroma, good aroma release, and low bitterness, and that is suitably used for imparting a lemon peel aroma to beverages, for example. The present invention aims to provide a composition that has a lemony sour aroma, an aroma balance giving an aroma similar to a fresh lemon peel aroma, good aroma release, and low bitterness, and that is suitably used for imparting a lemon peel aroma to beverages, for example. - Solution to Problem The skin of lemon is known to contain limonene, citral, and β-caryophyllene. These are aroma components belonging to the class of terpene hydrocarbons. Among these aroma components, limonene is less beneficial to the lemon peel aroma and is unstable and prone to degradation; thus, in many previous research and development activities to reproduce the lemon peel aroma, reducing the limonene content has been common technical knowledge. Similar to limonene, β-caryophyllene is also less beneficial to the lemon peel aroma, is difficult to fractionate, and is expensive; thus, reducing the β-caryophyllene content has been common technical knowledge. Citral is an important aroma component to reproduce the lemon peel aroma, but causes a strong degradation-derived odor due to p-cresol; thus, reducing the citral content by substituting citral with another aroma component has been common technical knowledge. The present inventors have performed extensive studies on a composition containing limonene, citral, and β-caryophyllene to find that, contrary to the traditional common technical knowledge, adjusting the limonene content to fall within a specific range, adjusting the limonene-to-β-caryophyllene weight ratio (limonene/β-caryophyllene) and the citral-to-β-caryophyllene weight ratio (citral/β-caryophyllene) to fall within respective specific ranges, and adjusting the bergamottin content to be equal to or smaller than a specific amount can provide a composition that has a lemony sour aroma, an aroma balance giving an aroma similar to a fresh lemon peel aroma, good aroma release, and low bitterness, and that is suitably used for imparting a lemon peel aroma to beverages, for example. Thereby, the present inventors completed the present invention. The present invention encompasses, for example, the following composition. (1) A composition containing limonene, citral, and β-caryophyllene, wherein the composition has a limonene-to-β-caryophyllene weight ratio (limonene/β-caryophyllene) of 250 to 2500, a citral-to-β-caryophyllene weight ratio (citral/β-caryophyllene) of 5 to 110, a limonene content of 2.5 to 90% by weight, and a bergamottin content of 0.01% by weight or less.(2) The composition according to the clause (1), wherein the composition has a β-caryophyllene content of 0.01 to 0.2% by weight.(3) The composition according to the clause (1) or (2), further containing at least one selected from the group consisting of linalool, citronellal, α-terpineol, geranyl acetate, decanal, nerol, and geraniol.(4) The composition according to any one of the clauses (1) to (3), wherein the composition is obtainable by use of lemon as one of raw materials or as a single raw materia