Claims:WE CLAIM:
1. An antimicrobial composition comprising
a. a non-ionic surfactant in an amount in the range of 3 to 10 wt% with respect to the total weight of composition;
b. an emulsifier in an amount in the range of 0.1 to 1 wt% with respect to the total weight of composition;
c. a mixture of citric acid and lactic acid in an amount in the range of 3 to 7 wt% with respect to the total weight of composition;
d. a stabilizing agent in an amount in the range of 1 to 3 wt% with respect to the total weight of composition;
e. a perfume in an amount in the range of 0.01 wt% to 0.1 wt% with respect to the total weight of composition; and
f. q.s water in an amount in the range of 85 to 88 wt% with respect to the total weight of composition;
wherein said composition has a pH in the range of 2.3 to 2.4.
2. The antimicrobial composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein said non-ionic surfactant is selected from lauryl glucoside and decyl glucoside.
3. The antimicrobial composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lauryl glucoside is present in an amount in the range of 1 to 2 wt% with respect to the total weight of the composition and the decyl glucoside is present in an amount in the range of 2 to 8 wt% based on the total weight of the composition.
4. The antimicrobial composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein a weight ratio of the lauryl glucoside to the decyl glucoside is in the range of 1:3 to 1:5.
5. The antimicrobial composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein said emulsifier is polysorbate 80.
6. The antimicrobial composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the citric acid is present in an amount in the range of 2 to 5 wt% with respect of the total weight of the composition and the lactic acid is present in an amount in the range of 1 to 2 wt% based on the total weight of the composition.
7. The antimicrobial composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein a weight ratio of the citric acid to the lactic acid is in the range of 2:1 to 3:1.
8. The antimicrobial composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein said stabilizing agent is sodium chloride.
9. The antimicrobial composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein said perfume is citrus zest.
10. The antimicrobial composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein said composition optionally comprises antibacterial agent in an amount in the range of 0.1 to 0.5 wt% and complexing agent in an amount in the range of 0.1 to 0.5 wt% based on the total weight of the composition.
11. The antimicrobial composition as claimed in claim 10, wherein said antibacterial agent is benzalkonium chloride.
12. The antimicrobial composition as claimed in claim 10, wherein said complexing agent is sodium citrate.
13. A process for the preparation of the antimicrobial composition as claimed in claim 1, said process comprising the following steps:
a. mixing a non-ionic surfactant with 50% of total water to obtain a mixture;
b. adding emulsifier in said mixture followed by adding citric acid and lactic acid under stirring for a time period in the range of 20 to 40 minutes to obtain a solution; and
c. adding the remaining 50% of total water, to the said solution followed by adding stabilizing agent and perfume under stirring for a time period in the range of 5 to 15 minutes to obtain the antimicrobial composition.
, Description:FIELD
The present disclosure relates to an anti-microbial composition and a process for its preparation.
DEFINITION
As used in the present disclosure, the following term is generally intended to have the meaning as set forth below, except to the extent that the context in which it is used indicates otherwise.
LD50 (Lethal Dose): The lethal dose is the amount of a substance that is sufficient to kill 50% of a tested population after a specified time duration.
BACKGROUND
The background information herein below relates to the present disclosure but is not necessarily prior art.
Cleaning of fruits and vegetables to remove mud, dirt, and unwanted pathogen is a significant and universal problem. Escherichia coli and Salmonella are major causes of severe foodborne disease all over the world and continue to be of public health significance. It is generally known and recognized among consumers that fruits and vegetables should be thoroughly washed with water before eating to remove dirt, wax, and other unwanted residues. But it would desirable to provide an effective, toxicologically safe composition for cleaning of fruits and vegetables as well for reducing to acceptable levels of microbial contaminants that do not initiate changes in the foodstuffs that render them unpalatable and/or inedible. Liquid solutions are convenient for washing fruits and vegetables for users as those can be directly applied and can also be applied under dilute solution to dirty fruits and vegetables and then rinsed with tap water. Alcohol free low foaming liquid which has effective cleaning performance as well significant reduction of the microbial population on foodstuff are important attributes which guarantee quick and easy removal of the solution after rinsing with significant microbial activity.
These fruits and vegetable cleaner developed in the prior art have drawbacks such as cleaners are prepared with relatively high toxic anionic surfactant with a non-toxic non-ionic surfactant, and also optionally using polyol. Further, cleaners are prepared with non-ionic toxicologically safe non-ionic surfactants or mixture but in presence of 10-20% of EtOH which is not safe for food. Still, further anti-microbial cleaners are prepared with toxicologically safe levulinic acid but in presence of 3-10% of anionic surfactant, SDS which has an LD50 value of 1.20 g/Kg and not acceptable by GRAS (generally recognized as safe).
The present invention seeks to solve all the problems mentioned above to provide a clear composition for cleaning fruits and vegetables which would develop high cleaning performance to remove dirt, unwanted wax as well as a significant anti-microbial activity even in dilute condition.
Therefore, there is felt a need to provide an anti-microbial composition that mitigates the aforestated drawbacks.
OBJECTS
Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfies, are as follows:
It is an object of the present disclosure to ameliorate one or more problems of the prior art or to at least provide a useful alternative.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide an anti-microbial composition for cleaning fruits and vegetables.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide an anti-microbial composition in the form of a clear solution containing naturally derived surfactants and pharmaceutically accepted materials.
Still another object of the present disclosure is to provide an anti-microbial composition that effectively eliminates 99.9% of pathogens from the surface of fruits and vegetables.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide an anti-microbial composition comprising safe ingredients, approved by FDA that is generally recognized as safe (GRAS).
Still another object of the present disclosure is to provide a process for preparing an anti-microbial composition.
Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description, which is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
SUMMARY
The present disclosure relates to an antimicrobial composition and a process for its preparation. In an aspect, the antimicrobial composition comprises a non-ionic surfactant in an amount in the range of 3 to 10 wt% with respect to the total weight of the composition; an emulsifier in an amount in the range of 0.1 to 1 wt% with respect to the total weight of the composition; a mixture of citric acid and lactic acid in an amount in the range of 3 to 7 wt% with respect to the total weight of the composition; a stabilizing agent in an amount in the range of 1 to 3 wt% with respect to the total weight of the composition; a perfume in an amount in the range of 0.01 wt% to 0.1 wt% with respect to the total weight of the composition; and q.s water in an amount in the range of 85 to 88 wt% with respect to the total weight of the composition, wherein the pH of the composition is in the range of 2.3 to 2.4.
In another aspect, the process for the preparation of antimicrobial composition comprises mixing a non-ionic surfactant with 50% of total water to obtain a mixture. Further, an emulsifier, a citric acid, and a lactic acid are added to the mixture under stirring for a time period in the range of 20 to 40 minutes to obtain a solution. To the so obtained solution, the remaining 50% of total water is added followed by adding a stabilizing agent and a perfume under stirring for a time period in the range of 5 to 15 minutes to obtain the antimicrobial composition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Embodiments, of the present disclosure, will now be described herein. Embodiments are provided so as to thoroughly and fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to the person skilled in the art. Numerous details are set forth, relating to specific components, and methods, to provide a complete understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to the person skilled in the art that the details provided in the embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, well-known processes, well-known apparatus structures, and well-known techniques are not described in detail.
The terminology used, in the present disclosure, is only for the purpose of explaining a particular embodiment and such terminology shall not be considered to limit the scope of the present disclosure. As used in the present disclosure, the forms "a,” "an," and "the" may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly suggests otherwise. The terms "comprises," "comprising," “including,” and “having,” are open ended transitional phrases and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, modules, units and/or components, but do not forbid the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The particular order of steps disclosed in the method and process of the present disclosure is not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance as described or illustrated. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed elements.
The terms first, second, third, etc., should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure as the aforementioned terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another component, region, layer or section. Terms such as first, second, third etc., when used herein do not imply a specific sequence or order unless clearly suggested by the present disclosure.
Conventional disinfectant cleaning solutions consist of a mixture of toxic anionic and non-toxic non-ionic surfactants optionally including polyol. Some of the disinfectant/cleaning solutions consist of a mixture of non-ionic toxicologically safe surfactants and ethyl alcohol (10 to 20 %), which is not recommended for the cleaning of food substances that are directly consumed. Further, the disinfectant/cleaning solutions containing 3% to 10% of anionic surfactants such as sodium lauryl sulfate have an LD50 value of 1.20 g/kg, above the recommended level for food materials.
The present disclosure provides an antimicrobial composition prepared by using the ingredients that are generally recognized as safe ingredients (GRAS) which provide high cleaning performance to remove dirt, unwanted wax, as well as significant anti-microbial activity.
In an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an antimicrobial composition.
The antimicrobial composition comprises a non-ionic surfactant in an amount in the range of 3 to 10 wt% with respect to the total weight of the composition; an emulsifier in an amount in the range of 0.1 to 1 wt% with respect to the total weight of the composition; a mixture of citric acid and lactic acid in an amount in the range of 3 to 7 wt% with respect to the total weight of the composition; a stabilizing agent in an amount in the range of 1 to 3 wt% with respect to the total weight of the composition; a perfume in an amount in the range of 0.01 wt% to 0.1 wt% with respect to the total weight of the composition; and q.s water in an amount in the range of 85 to 88 wt% with respect to the total weight of the composition.
In an embodiment, the pH of the composition of the present disclosure is in the range of 2.3 to 2.4.
In an embodiment, the non-ionic surfactant is selected from lauryl glucoside and decyl glucoside.
In an embodiment, the lauryl glucoside is present in an amount in the range of 1 to 2 wt% with respect to the total weight of the composition.
In an embodiment, the decyl glucoside is present in an amount in the range of 2 to 8 wt% with respect to the total weight of the composition.
In an embodiment, the weight ratio of the lauryl glucoside to the decyl glucoside is present in the range of 1:3 to 1:5. In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the weight ratio of the lauryl glucoside to the decyl glucoside is 1:4.
In an embodiment, the emulsifier is polysorbate 80.
In an embodiment, the mixture comprises citric acid in an amount in the range of 2 to 5 wt% with respect to the total weight of the composition, and the lactic acid is present in an amount in the range of 1 to 2 wt% based on the total weight of the composition.
In an embodiment, the weight ratio of the citric acid to the lactic acid is in the range of 2:1 to 3:1. In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the weight ratio of the citric acid to the lactic acid is 2.3:1.
In an embodiment, the stabilizing agent is sodium chloride and perfume is citrus zest.
In an embodiment, the antimicrobial composition optionally comprises antibacterial agent in an amount in the range of 0.1 to 0.5 wt% and complexing agent in an amount in the range of 0.1 to 0.5 wt% based on the total weight of the composition.
In an embodiment, the antibacterial agent is benzalkonium chloride.
In an embodiment, the complexing agent is sodium citrate.
In an embodiment, if the pH of the antimicrobial composition is more than 5, the complexing agent and antibacterial agent are added to the composition to maintain the antimicrobial efficacy of the composition. The antimicrobial composition with lower doses of citric acid and lactic acid increases the pH of the composition which reduces the antimicrobial activity and cleaning performance.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a process for the preparation of the antimicrobial composition.
In the first step, the non-ionic surfactant is mixed with 50% of the total water to obtain a mixture.
In an embodiment, the non-ionic surfactant is selected from lauryl glucoside and decyl glucoside. In an embodiment, the non-ionic surfactant is a mixture of lauryl glucoside and decyl glucoside.
In a second step, an emulsifier is added to the mixture, followed by adding citric acid and lactic acid under stirring for a time period in the range of 20 to 40 minutes to obtain a solution. In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the stirring is carried out for 30 minutes.
In an embodiment, the emulsifier is polysorbate 80.
In the final step, to the so obtained solution, the remaining 50% of the total water is added, followed by adding a stabilizing agent and a perfume under stirring for a time period in the range of 5 minutes to 15 minutes to obtain the antimicrobial composition. In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the stirring is carried out for 5 minutes.
In an embodiment, the stabilizing agent is sodium chloride and the perfume is citrus zest.
In an embodiment, the anti-microbial composition of the present disclosure is diluted with water before use in a weight ratio that is in the range of 1:100 to 1:150. In an embodiment, the pH of anti-microbial composition diluted with water in the ratio of 1:100 is in the range of 3 to 5 which is the recommended range for food contact anti-microbial composition.
In an embodiment, the anti-microbial composition of the present disclosure eliminates 99.99% of pathogens from the surface of fruits and vegetables. The composition is effective to eliminate a broad spectrum of microbes from the surface of fruits and vegetables.
In an embodiment, the antimicrobial composition effectively eliminates Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enterica, and Vibrio cholera from the surface of fruits and vegetables.
The antimicrobial composition of the present disclosure provides an effective solution containing ingredients which are approved by the FDA that are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for cleaning of fruits and vegetables for removing contaminants like bacteria, virus, waxes, and chemicals.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Individual components of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, are interchangeable. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the present disclosure, and all such modifications are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure.
EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS
EXPERIMENT 1: Process for the preparation of antimicrobial composition in accordance with the present disclosure
1 gm of lauryl glucoside (Glucopon 600CS, BASF) and 4 gm of decyl glucoside (Glucopon 215UP, BASF) was mixed with 44 gm of water to obtain a mixture. To the mixture, 0.5 gm of polysorbate 80, 3.5 gm of citric acid, and 1.5 gm of lactic acid was added under stirring for 30 minutes till complete dissolution to obtain a solution. 44 gm of water was added to the solution, followed by 1.5 gm of sodium chloride and 0.01 gm of citrus zest under stirring for 5 minutes to obtain the antimicrobial composition.
COMPARATIVE EXPERIMENT:
EXPERIMENT 2:
The antimicrobial composition was prepared similar to Experiment 1 with varying the amount of organic acid mixtures.
The bactericidal efficacy of the antimicrobial compositions is provided below in Table – 1.
Table-1
Composition Citric acid
(wt% to the total weight of composition) Lactic acid
(wt% to the total weight of composition) Bactericidal efficacy (%)
A 3.5 1 95
B 0 1.5 65
C 3.5 0 88
D 2 1.5 91
E (Expt 1) 3.5 1.5 99.99

It was observed that the composition E with a concentration of 3.5 wt% citric acid and 1.5 wt% lactic acid has shown high bactericidal efficacy. The bactericidal efficacy was low in compositions B and C with only one organic acid in the composition. However, it was observed that composition A with a concentration of 3.5 wt% citric acid and 1 wt% lactic acid, and composition D with a concentration of 2 wt% citric acid and 1.5 wt% lactic acid doesn’t provide enhanced bactericidal efficacy. It was observed that the specific mixture of organic acids in the composition E (Expt 1) showed enhanced bactericidal efficacy.
EXPERIMENT 3:
The bactericidal efficacy of the antimicrobial composition of the present disclosure (Experiment 1, composition E), antimicrobial composition F (composition disclosed in US6867233), and negative control (sterile water) was evaluated according to the standard BS EN1040:2005.
The results are provided in Table-2 below
Table-2
Composition Description Bactericidal efficacy (%)
E (Expt 1) Composition of the present disclosure 99.999
F Composition disclosed in US6867233 20
Negative control Sterile water Nil

It was observed that the bactericidal efficacy of the composition E (Expt 1) is 99.99% compared to the composition F with a bactericidal efficacy of 20%.
TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENT
The present disclosure described herein above has a several technical advantages including, but not limited to, the realization of, an antimicrobial composition has
• low foaming
• effectively eliminates 99.99% of pathogens from the surface of fruits and vegetables;
• broad-spectrum anti-microbial activity against a wide variety of food pathogens;
• consists of only FDA approved ingredients categorized under generally recognized as safe (GRAS); and
• avoids the use of alcohol/glycols and anionic surfactants.
The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained with reference to the non-limiting embodiments in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.
The use of the expression “at least” or “at least one” suggests the use of one or more elements or ingredients or quantities, as the use may be in the embodiment of the invention to achieve one or more of the desired objects or results. While certain embodiments of the inventions have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Variations or modifications to the formulation of this invention, within the scope of the invention, may occur to those skilled in the art upon reviewing the disclosure herein. Such variations or modifications are well within the spirit of this invention.
Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like that has been included in this specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the disclosure. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form a part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the disclosure as it existed anywhere before the priority date of this application.
The numerical values given for various physical parameters, dimensions, and quantities are only approximate values and it is envisaged that the values higher than the numerical value assigned to the physical parameters, dimensions and quantities fall within the scope of the invention unless there is a statement in the specification to the contrary.
While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the specific features of the preferred embodiment, it will be appreciated that many additional features can be added and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiment without departing from the principles of the disclosure. These and other changes in the preferred embodiment of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the disclosure and not as a limitation.