HYALURONIC ACID/HYALURONATE BASED FRAGRANCE PRODUCTS

Abstract: Fragrance products such as perfume and the like compositions which exhibit improved persistence of the fragrance due to the incorporation of HA/NaHA as a fixative therewith.

Description: HYALURONIC ACID/HYALURONATE BASED FRAGRANCE PRODUCTS Background of the Invention This invention relates generally to the use of hyaluroniσ acid/hyaluronate as a means for achieving molecular encapsulation of various substances. The inven¬ tion specifically relates to the use of hyaluronic acid/ hyaluronate as a molecular encapsulant (fixative) for various fragrance products. A fixative in the perfume art is a substance, which, when combined with a fragrance or a cosmetic product including a fragrance, retards the rate of evaporation of the fragrance thus rendering its odor more persistent. It has been discovered that hyaluronic acid/ hyaluronate, due to its unique ability for the molecular encapsulation of other substances, functions especially well as a fragrance fixative. This invention will be described further hereinbelow with specific reference to fragrance products. However, it is applicable in its broadest sense to the molecular encapsulation of other substances as well. After a fragrance has been formulated and compounded, it is usually added to a cosmetic product, e.g., alcoholic fragrance solutions and aerosols including perfumes, toilet waters, colognes or bath oils, creams, gels, emollients, lotions, air fresheners, and deoderants . A fragrance may include various perfume oils and mixtures of a wide variety of material (animal and plant) and synthetic fragrant substances. Such fragrant substan¬ ces are typically selected from a wide variety of essential oils, absolutes, isolates, expressed oils, animal secre¬ tions, resins, gums, balsams, exudations and synthetic aliphatic and aromatic chemicals. For the purposes of description herein, all cos¬ metic products and fragrant compositions will be referred to herein generally as fragrance compositions . The inclusion of hyaluronic acid/hyaluronate in fragrance compositions will add other benefits to those preparations in addition to the entrapment of scent. First, it is known that certain fragrances cause irritation of the skin of some individuals to which those scents are applied. The natural composition of hyaluronic acid/ hyaluronate in combination with the tendency to bind fragrance will reduce the exposure of sensitive skin to direct contact with a fragrance, thus reducing the opportunity for irritation to develop. Second, there are a similar group of people whose skin chemistry combines with the chemistry of certain fragrances resulting in an undesirable odor combination. The binding of hyaluronic acid/hyaluronate to those fragrances would interfere with those undesirable chemical reactions thus reducing the likelihood for such adverse odors to develop. Hyaluronic acid (hereinafter referred to as "HA" . as well as its salts , such as sodium hyaluronate (hereinafter referred to as "NaHA" ; NaHA is also used to refer generally to any salt form of HA herein) is a known, naturally occuring high viscosity glycosaminoglycan having alternating p 1-3 glucuronidic and /3 1-4 glucosaminidic bonds. It may also be described as a polysaccharide com¬ posed of alternate A -D-glucopyranosyluronic acid and 2-acetamido-2-deoxy- ^ -D-glucopyranosyl units linked (1 - 3) and (1 - 4), respectively. The molecular weight of this material is generally within the range of 50,000 to 8,000,000 (although there are reports of HA having molecu¬ lar weights as high as 13,000,000) depending on the source, method of isolation and method of determination. Typically, it exists in either the acid or the salt form either of which may be used in this invention. It is found in animal tissue, e.g. in umbilical cord, vitreous humor, synovial fluid, rooster combs, body joints, group A and C hemolytic streptococci and in human skin . HA It is the only muccopolysaccharide, among those found in higher animals, that is also produced by microorganisms. For example, U.S. Patent 2,975,104 describes the biosynthesis of HA, as does British Patent 1,557,755. Kjems and Lebeck in Acta Path . microbiol . scand. , Section B. , 84t_: 162-164 (1976) describe the strep- tococcal biosynthesis of a relatively low molecular weight HA. The isolation and characterization of HA is described in Meyer et al, J. Biol . Chem. 107, 629 (1934); J. Biol. Chem., 114, 689 (1936); Balazs, Fed. Proc. 17, 1086 (1958); Laurent et al ; Biochim. Biophys . Acta 42,476 (1960). The structure of HA was elucidated by Weissman et al, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 76, 1753 (1954) and Meyer, Fed. Proc. 17, 1075 (1958). Although purity is not particularly critical with respect to this invention, extremely pure HA preparations are available; see, for example, U.S. Patent No. 4,141,973, which describes the preparation and uses of very pure HA. Sodium hyaluronate, the salt form of HA, is available commercially under several brand names ; one is HEALON^ produced by Pharmacia AB (Uppsala, Sweden), which is obtained from rooster combs; a second is AMVISC produced by Med-Chem Products, Inc. (236 West Cummings Park, Woburn, MA 01801) from rooster combs; and a third is HYALURE ™ produced in various grades including a cosmetic grade, by Diagnostic, Inc., 1955 West County Road B2, St., Paul, Minnesota 55113 using microbial fermentation. It is known that the softness and flexibility of the stratum corneum, which is the upper layer of the skin, depends on the moisture content of the intercellular chan¬ nels in this layer. Thus, cosmetic chemists have adopted formulations of HA for this purpose. See, for example, U.S. Patent No. 4,303,676. Other uses for HA are described in U.S. Patent No. 4,141,973 and U.S. Patent No. 4,328,803. Summary of the Invention This invention provides the fixation of various substances by means of HA/NaHA and its ability for molecu¬ lar encapsulation. It especially provides improved fra¬ grance compositions which exhibit prolonged persistence of the fragrance. This is believed due to the entrapment of the fragrant components of the composition by the HA or NaHA, which is included in the compositions according to this invention. The same persistent fragrance effect is obtained when either HA or NaHA is included in the fragrant compositio . Description of the Preferred Embodiment The HA or NaHA used for the purposes of this invention may be obtained or prepared in any variety of ways, as referred to hereinabove. Preferably, the HA is used in an aqueous solution form. Such a solution can be prepared in any relative amounts, .005% - 1% NaHA, balance water, being most typi¬ cal, the 1% solution being quite viscous (like a rich cream) . Perfume, as an example of a fragrance com¬ position, is usually composed of a solvent such as alcohol plus a concentrated fragrant essence. The NaHA solution may be mixed with the perfume or any other fragrant com¬ position in any relative amount which is not particularly critical. The amount will be determined by the particular objective intended. For example, small amounts may be used to enable one to provide a persistent perfume which main¬ tains its normal appearance. Larger amounts may be used to increase persistence and to increase the viscosity of the perfume. OMPI ^SN ATI O TEST FORMULATIONS Test Solutions : A. One ml. of CHANEL #5 (Chanel, Paris, France) perfume was mixed with 99 ml. of 0.005% NaHA in water. A control of the same solution without NaHA was also prepared. B. One ml. of KEORA (Jean Couturier) perfume was mixed with 99 ml. of 0.005% NaHA in water. A control of the same solution without NaHA was also prepared. Test Methods: A fresh cotton swab was dipped into the selected test perfume solution (A or B above), wiped on the side of the container neck four times, and a two inch streak placed on the inside of the test subjects' wrist at the beginning of the work day. The opposite wrist received the control solution of that subjects' scent choice (A or B above). The subjects were asked to monitor their wrists to deter¬ mine if any difference could be detected during the course of the work day. The subjects did not know the nature of the solutions placed on each wrist. Test Results: Sixteen test subjects were used. Ten chose solution A; six chose solution B. Initially, eight (50%) of the test subjects could distinguish no difference between either the control or the test arm and after the test couldn't determine scent or odor endpoints of either arm. Seven (44%) determined that fragrance on the arm containing perfume plus NaHA persisted longer than the fragrance on the control arm, i.e., the control solu¬ tion. One { 6% ) determined that the fragrance of the control arm, the control solution, persisted longer than that of the test arm. If the first eight are disqualified as non-dis¬ criminatory and the resulting eight are considered, the seven subjects choosing the NaHA plus perfume over the control (one subject) becomes an 88 to 13% preference rate for the fragrance persistence effects of NaHA. Variations and modifications can, of course, be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

Claims: Having thus described the invention what is claimed is: 1. The use of hyaluronic acid or its salt form in combination with another substance for the purpose of providing a composition in which the other substance is molecularly encapsulated by the hyaluronic acid or its salt form. 2. The use of claim 1 in which the other substance is a fragrance. 3. A fragrance composition consisting essen¬ tially of a quantity of hyaluronic acid or its salt form combined with a fragrance. 4. A perfume or a like composition exhibiting improved persistence of its fragrance on the skin, the com¬ position consisting essentially of a quantity of perfume or the like mixed with a quantity of hyaluronic acid or its salt form. 5. The composition of claim 4 wherein NaHA, the salt form is sodium hyaluronate. 6. The composition of claim 5 including water and only a minor relative amount of the sodium hyaluronate. 7. The composition of claim 4 including only minor relative amounts of hyaluronic acid or its salt form. 8. A fragrance composition including a fragrant component mixed with a quantity of hyaluronic acid and/or its salt form.

Inventors: BRACKE JAMES W, BRACKE, JAMES, W.
Applicants: DIAGNOSTIC INC, DIAGNOSTIC, INC.
Application year: 1984
Main classification: A61K7
IPC codes: A61K8, A61Q13