Deodorant

A deodorant is described which contains an extract of Coffea arabinensis which optionally can be combined with an extract of Thea sinensis. These extracts have deodorizing characteristics, which can be further considerably increased by combination with extracts of Urtica and knotgrass. The inventive deodorant is in particular suitable for room air improving products and body deodorants.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
The invention relates to a deodorant, particularly suitable for use in 
conjunction with room air improving products and body deodorants. 
It has surprisingly been found that extracts of Coffea arabinensis and/or 
Thea sinensis have deodorizing characteristics and that these 
characteristics can be further considerably increased by combination with 
extracts of Urtica as well as knotgrass. 
In DE-OS No. 16 17 598 a beauty care product for skin treatment on an 
aqueous or fatty basis is disclosed which comprises an aqueous or fatty 
tea extract. However, there is no mention that the beauty care product or 
the tea extract included therein have any deodorizing characteristics. 
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION 
Therefore it is an object of this invention to provide deodorants with good 
deodorizing characteristics on the basis of conventional deodorant 
formulations comprising active ingredients obtained from natural sources. 
It is a further object of this invention to provide deodorants with further 
improved deodorizing characteristics by including a synergistic 
combination of active ingredients obtained from natural sources. 
These and further objects will become apparent as the description of the 
invention proceeds.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION 
The invention is directed to a deodorant which is characterized in that it 
contains an extract of Coffea arabinensis. Optionally the deodorant can 
also contain an extract of Thea sinensis. According to a preferred 
embodiment the inventive deodorant additionally contains an extract of 
Urtica and/or knotgrass (family of Polygonaceae). 
The production of the extracts to be used in accordance with the invention 
takes place through extraction of the plants or plant parts to be used 
according to the invention by conventional extracton processes. With 
regards to the appropriate conventional extraction processes, such as 
maceration, vortex extraction, countercurrent extraction, percolation, 
repercolation, evacolation (extraction under reduced pressure) and 
diacolation, which are known to the Expert and which can all in principle 
be used, reference is made for reasons of simplicity e.g. to Hagers 
Handbuch der Pharmazeutischen Praxis, fourth edition, vol. 7, 
Springer-Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg-New York 1971. The solvents for 
performing the extraction can be organic solvents, water (preferably hot 
water at a temperature of more than 80.degree. C. and in particular more 
than 95.degree. C.) or mixtures of organic solvents and water, 
particularly low molecular weight alcohols with more or less high water 
contents (usually extraction with these mixtures takes place at about room 
temperature). Ethanol-water mixtures (60:40) are particularly suitable for 
the inventive purposes. 
For the extraction of Coffea arabinensis, raw coffee (unroasted coffee 
beans) are comminuted and namely to a particle size roughly corresponding 
to coarse filter coffee. For the extraction of Thea sinensis, 
correspondingly dried or also undried tea leaves are comminuted with a 
mill or a chopping machine to give a coarse powder. Urtica (stinging 
nettles) and knotgrass, such as spinach and rhubarb are prepared in the 
same way for extraction. In the case of stinging nettles and rhubarb, the 
complete plant can be used for extraction purposes. 
The extraction can take place up to any desired degree of extraction 
(provided that it is economically acceptable), but is normally carried out 
up to exhaustion, which gives an extract normally having a solids content 
of approximately 3 to 5% by weight. It is usually advantageous for the 
further processing of the thus obtained extract to adjust a lower solids 
content of approximately 1.5% by weight by redilution with water. The thus 
obtained thin extract is clarified and carefully concentrated in vacuo, in 
that the ethanol contained in the preferred extraction medium 
(ethanol-watermixture) is distilled off, so that it can be used for 
further extraction processes. Subsequently sufficient propylene glycol is 
added to the concentrated extract freed from ethanol so that the solids 
content is again approximately 1.5% by weight and the solvent preferably 
comprises approximately 40% propylene glycol and 60% water. This extract 
is then used as a component for room air improving products or body 
deodorant formulations or other deodorizing agent formulations. 
The described production of the extract to be used in the deodorizing agent 
formulations can obviously be varied by the Expert in the most varied ways 
as a function of the intended use. However, this does not constitute a 
problem for the Expert, so that no explanations are needed. 
The inventively used extracts contain mucilages, tannic acids and vegetable 
acids, as well as the in each case type-typical constituents of the plant 
types used. Without wishing to be bound by a theory, it is assumed that 
the binding of the olfactory components initially takes place as 
absorption in the usually highly hygroscopic medium of the conventional 
basic preparation of the deodorant. There is subsequently probably a 
clathrate-like and also chemical binding to the constituents, such as 
starch and tannic acid. When used as a body deodorant, the additional 
effects of the other plant constituents come into action. It is probably 
essentially the action of phytosterins, which are both 
secretion-inhibiting and antioxidative. This considerably reduces the 
quantity of malodorous substances given off (action on the apocrine 
glands) and their oxidative decomposition is reduced. Particular 
significance can probably also be attached to the chlorogenic acid 
extracted from the raw coffee, which acts bacteriostatically and therefore 
prevents the bacterial decomposition of the olfactory component as the 
main cause of body odour. The high substantivity, i.e. the high absorptive 
power of this naturally antibacterial substance ensures a long lasting 
deodorizing effect, which admittedly can also be revealed with the pure 
substance, but in the overall preparation according to the invention in 
the presence of the other constituents has a much better action. 
It has inventively surprisingly been found that deodorants containing two 
or more of the inventively usable extracts reveal a marked synergism of 
the deodorizing action, i.e. the action far exceeds the action of each of 
the individual components. Thus, according to a highly preferred 
embodiment of the invention, an extract of Coffea arabinensis is combinded 
with an extract of Urtica (Urtica mayor, Urtica dioica) and/or 
knotgrasses, such as spinach and rhubarb. In addition an extract of Thea 
sinensis can also be added (see above). 
The extracts and extract combinations to be used according to the invention 
serve as constituents in conventional deodorant formulations, the quantity 
used being a function of the intended use and the desired effectiveness. 
Usually 0.5 to 20% by weight and preferably 1 to 10% by weight of the 
inventive extracts are included in the conventional deodorant 
formulations. Conventional deodorant formulations are known to the Expert. 
Reference is e.g. made to Karlheinz Schrader, Grundlagen und Rezepturen 
der Kosmetika, 1979, Dr. A. Huethig Verlag, Heidelberg and G. A. Nowak, 
Die kosmetischen Praparate, second edition, 1975, Verlag fur chem. 
Industrie H. Ziolkowsky, Augsburg. 
EXAMPLE 1 
5000 g of drug (comminuted raw coffee) were exhaustively extracted with an 
alcohol-water mixture. The thin extract was clarified and carefully 
concentrated in vacuo. This was followed by filling with propylene glycol, 
so that the thin extract had a solids content of approximately 1.5% by 
weight and a propylene glycol content of approximately 40% by weight. The 
extract was a green-blue, clear liquid, which was almost clear-soluble in 
propylene glycol. 
Various tests were carried out with the thus obtained extract after 
producing a 5% extract solution by filling with water. The following tests 
were carried out: 
1. The hands and other body parts were smeared with 
a) Romadours and Limburger cheese, 
b) onions, 
c) garlic and 
d) burnt tobacco residues from a pipe. 
The odours disappeared immediately after spraying with the inventive active 
substance solution. 
2. Sports shoes and socks smelling of decomposed perspiration were sprayed 
with the active substance solution and the odour was immediately 
eliminated. 
3. The active substance solution was sprayed into WC's against fecal odour 
and the odours were again immediately eliminated. 
4. Unpacked pieces of cheese (Appenzell, Limburger and Gorgonzola) were 
placed in a refrigerator and alongside them a non-woven piece of fabric 
impregnated with the active substance solution. The refrigerator remained 
odourless. 
The following examples give a few typical preparations (in % by weight) 
containing the extracts proposed by the invention. 
EXAMPLE 2 
Formulation for a room air improving product: 
5% extract 
3% triethylene glycol 
3% 1,2-propylene glycol 
5% isopropanol 
4% water 
80% propellant gas 
The extract has a solids content of approximately 1.5% by weight and the 
solvent mixture consists of 40% by weight propylene glycol and 60% by 
weight water. The propellant gas can be constituted by conventional 
propellant gases, such as chlorofluorohydrocarbons (Frigens), carbon 
dioxide, etc. 
EXAMPLE 3 
Formulation for a room air improving product for spraying: 
2 to 10% extract 
3% triethylene glycol 
3% dipropylene glycol 
remainder ad 100% water. 
EXAMPLE 4 
Formulation for a roll-on deodorant: 
3% polyglycol 400 
2% extract 
30% ethanol 
15% water 
50% methyl cellulose-based thickener. 
EXAMPLE 5 
Formulation for a deodorant spray: 
1% extract 
4% water 
25% ethanol 
70% propellant gas 
With regards to the extracts and propellant gases used in examples 3 to 5, 
reference should be made to the explanations in example 2.