4 - hydroxy - 3 - methoxybenzyl alcohol , the active ingredient utilised in the present invention , is capable of inhibiting fatty acid catabolism by corynebacteria a at a concentration below that which would lead to the death of said corynebacteria a . the active ingredient leads to a deodorancy benefit without significant harm to the skin &# 39 ; s natural microflora . in addition , the active ingredient is effective at particularly low concentrations , being able to reduce the fatty acid catabolism of corynebacteria a by greater than 50 % at a concentration of 0 . 5 mg / ml or less . the aforementioned inhibitory effect may be described as sub - lethal , in that the effect is obtained at a concentration below that which would lead to the death of the corynebacteria a . the effect may be further defined as a significant inhibition of fatty acid catabolism , for example greater than 50 % inhibition of pentadecanoic acid utilisation , without a concomitant reduction in cell viability (≦ 1 log 10 cfu / ml reduction ) of the corynebacteria a . the active ingredient is able to produce this effect at a concentration of 0 . 25 mg / ml or less . the active ingredient may be employed in any cosmetic composition . a particularly useful application is in deodorant compositions , particularly those used on the human body , and especially those used for treatment of underarm and / or foot malodour . compositions according to the invention comprise an effective total concentration of active ingredient ; that is to say , a concentration sufficient to inhibit the catabolism of fatty acids by corynebacteria a on normal use of the composition . typical concentrations range from 0 . 001 to 10 %, preferably from 0 . 01 to 5 %, and especially from 0 . 2 to 2 % by weight of the composition . in one aspect of the invention , it is desirable that the compositions of the invention do not comprise significant amounts of additional anti - microbial agents that cause lethal inhibition of corynebacteria a . it is desirable that the total concentration of such anti - microbial agents is less than the total concentration of active ingredients according to the invention ; indeed , it is preferred that the total concentration of such anti - microbial agents is less than half , and especially less than one tenth , of this amount . active ingredients that cause lethal inhibition of corynebacteria a may be defined as those causing ≧ 1 log 10 cfu / ml reduction in cell viability when tested by methods common in the art , for example the method described in example 1 of the present specification ( vide infra ). cosmetic compositions according to the invention may take any of a variety of forms . typical forms include aerosols , sticks , soft solids , creams , gels , roll - ons , pump sprays , squeeze sprays , and compositions for application to deodorant wipes . all of the above forms are particularly applicable forms of deodorant composition . cosmetic compositions according to the invention comprise one or more components in addition to the active ingredient . a commonly employed additional component is a carrier material . such materials serve to aid the delivery of the active ingredient to the desired target . preferred carrier materials are liquids at ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure . hydrophobic liquids suitable for use include liquid silicones , that is to say , liquid polyorganosiloxanes . such materials may be cyclic or linear , examples include dow corning silicone fluids 344 , 345 , 244 , 245 , 246 , 556 , and the 200 series ; union carbide corporation silicones 7207 and 7158 ; and general electric silicone sf1202 . alternatively , non - silicone hydrophobic liquids may be used . such materials include mineral oils , hydrogenated polyisobutene , polydecene , paraffins , isoparaffins of at least 10 carbon atoms , and aliphatic or aromatic ester oils ( e . g . isopropyl myristate , lauryl myristate , isopropyl palmitate , diisopropyl sebecate , diisopropyl adipate , or c 8 to c 18 alkyl benzoates ). hydrophilic liquid carrier materials , for example water , may also be employed . particularly preferred liquid carrier materials comprise organic solvents . preferred organic solvents have a melting point of less than 10 ° c ., preferably less than 5 ° c . ; this can benefit both low temperature storage stability and ease of manufacture . a class of preferred organic solvents are aliphatic alcohols ( monohydric or polyhydric , preferably having 2 to 8 carbon atoms ) and polyglycol ethers , preferably oligoglycol ethers having only 2 to 5 repeat units . examples include dipropylene glycol , glycerol propylene glycol , butylene glycol , ethanol , propanol , isopropanol , and industrial methylated spirits . the most preferred organic solvents are aliphatic alcohols , in particular those having 2 to 3 carbon atoms , especially ethanol and isopropanol . mixtures of carrier materials may also be used . the total amount of carrier material employed is preferably from 1 to 99 %, more preferably from 10 % to 98 %, and most preferably from 50 % to 97 % by weight of the composition , excluding any volatile propellant that might also be present . a variety of other materials may also be employed in the compositions of the invention . in certain aspects of the invention , an additional deodorant active may be desirable . this might be a perfume , an antiperspirant active , or an anti - microbial active . perfumes , when employed , may be conventional perfumes , such as perfume oils , and / or so - called deo - perfumes , as described in ep 545 , 556 and other publications . levels of incorporation are preferably up to 4 % by weight , particularly from 0 . 1 % to 2 % by weight , and especially from 0 . 7 % to 1 . 7 % by weight of the composition . compositions according to the invention that additionally comprise an antiperspirant active are particularly preferred . typical antiperspirant actives include astringent active salts , in particular , aluminium , zirconium and mixed aluminium / zirconium salts , including both inorganic salts , salts with organic anions and complexes . preferred astringent salts include aluminium , zirconium and aluminium / zirconium halides and halohydrate salts , such as chlorohydrates . preferred levels of incorporation are from 0 . 5 % to 60 %, particularly from 5 % to 30 % or 40 % and especially from 5 % or 10 % to 30 % or 35 % by weight of the composition of which it is a part . in non - aqueous formulations , the above weight percentages exclude any water of hydration bound to the antiperspirant salt . especially preferred aluminium halohydrate salts , known as activated aluminium chlorohydrates , are described in ep 6 , 739 ( unilever plc and nv ). zirconium aluminium chlorohydrate actives are also preferred materials , as are the so - called zag ( zirconium - aluminium - glycine ) complexes , for example those disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 792 , 068 ( procter and gamble co .). typical anti - microbial actives include quaternary ammonium compounds ( like cetyltrimethylammonium salts ), chlorhexidine and salts thereof ; diglycerol monocaprate , diglycerol monolaurate , glycerol monolaurate , polyhexamethylene biguanide salts ( also known as polyaminopropyl biguanide salts — an example being cosmocil cq available from zeneca plc ), 2 , 4 , 4 ′- trichloro , 2 ′- hydroxy - diphenyl ether ( triclosan ), and 3 , 7 , 11 - trimethyldodeca - 2 , 6 , 10 - trienol ( farnesol ). typical levels of incorporation are from 0 . 01 % to 1 %, in particular from 0 . 03 % to 0 . 5 %, or especially from 0 . 05 % to 0 . 3 % by weight of the composition . particularly preferred additional deodorant actives are agents that are capable of sub - lethal inhibition of corynebacteria a , in particular , sub - lethal inhibition of fatty acid catabolism by corynebacteria a . the effect may be further defined as a significant inhibition of fatty acid catabolism , for example greater than 50 % inhibition of pentadecanoic acid utilisation , without a concomitant reduction in cell viability (≦ 1 log 10 cfu / ml reduction ) of the corynebacteria a . such agents may be used in concentrations ranging from 0 . 001 to 10 %, in particular from 0 . 05 to 5 %, and especially from 0 . 3 to 3 % by weight of the composition . examples of such agents are described in wo 00 / 01356 ( quest international bv ) and wo 00 / 01353 ( unilever ). other examples are the chelating agents described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 356 , 190 ( personal products co .) and / or our co - pending application pct / ep01 / 00118 ( unilever ), particularly those chelating agents having an iron ( iii ) binding constant of greater than 10 26 . dtpa ( diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid ) and salts thereof are especially preferred . structurants and emulsifiers are further additional components of the compositions of the invention that are highly desirable in certain product forms . structurants , when employed , are preferably present at from 1 % to 30 % by weight of the composition , whilst emulsifiers are preferably present at from 0 . 1 % to 10 % by weight of the composition . suitable structurants include cellulosic thickeners such as hydroxy propyl cellulose and hydroxy ethyl cellulose , and dibenzylidene sorbitol . emulsion pump sprays , roll - ons , creams , and gel compositions according to the invention can be formed using a range of oils , waxes , and emulsifiers . suitable emulsifiers include steareth - 2 , steareth - 20 , steareth - 21 , ceteareth - 20 , glyceryl stearate , cetyl alcohol , cetearyl alcohol , peg - 20 stearate , and dimethicone copolyol . suspension aerosols , roll - ons , sticks , and creams require structurants to slow sedimentation ( in fluid compositions ) and to give the desired product consistency to non - fluid compositions . suitable structurants include sodium stearate , stearyl alcohol , cetyl alcohol , hydrogenated castor oil , synthetic waxes , paraffin waxes , hydroxystearic acid , dibutyl lauroyl glutamide , alkyl silicone waxes , quaternium - 18 bentonite , quaternium - 18 hectorite , silica , and propylene carbonate . some of the above materials also function as suspending agents in certain compositions . further emulsifiers desirable in certain compositions of the invention are perfume solubilisers and wash - off agents . examples of the former include peg - hydrogenated castor oil , available from basp in the cremaphor rh and co ranges , preferably present at up to 1 . 5 % by weight , more preferably 0 . 3 to 0 . 7 % by weight . examples of the latter include poly ( oxyethylene ) ethers . sensory modifiers are further desirable components in certain compositions of the invention . such materials are preferably used at a level of up to 20 % by weight of the composition . emollients , humectants , volatile oils , non - volatile oils , and particulate solids which impart lubricity are all suitable classes of sensory modifiers . examples of such materials include cyclomethicone , dimethicone , dimethiconol , isopropyl myristate , isopropyl palmitate , talc , finely - divided silica ( e . g . aerosil 200 ), polyethylene ( eg . acumist b18 ), polysaccharides , corn starch , c12 - c15 alcohol benzoate , ppg - 3 myristyl ether , octyl dodecanol , c7 - c14 isoparaffins , di - isopropyl adipate , isosorbide laurate , ppg - 14 butyl ether , glycerol , hydrogenated polyisobutene , polydecene , titanium dioxide , phenyl trimethicone , dioctyl adipate , and hexamethyl disiloxane . cosmetic compositions that are aerosols generally also comprise a volatile propellant . the propellant may be selected from liquified hydrocarbons or halogenated hydrocarbon gases ( particularly fluorinated hydrocarbons such as 1 , 1 - difluoroethane and / or 1 - trifluoro - 2 - fluoroethane ) that have a boiling point of below 10 ° c . and especially those with a boiling point below 0 ° c . it is especially preferred to employ liquified hydrocarbon gases , and especially c 3 to c 6 hydrocarbons , including propane , isopropane , butane , isobutane , pentane and isopentane and mixtures of two or more thereof . preferred propellants are isobutane , isobutane / isopropane , isobutane / propane and mixtures of isopropane , isobutane and butane . other propellants that can be contemplated include alkyl ethers , such as dimethyl ether or compressed non - reactive gasses such air , nitrogen or carbon dioxide . other additional components that may also be included are colourants and preservatives , for example c 1 - c 3 alkyl parabens . this experiment uses the methods of wo 00 / 01353 to illustrate the much greater efficacy of 4 - hydroxy - 3 - methoxybenzyl alcohol at inhibiting fatty acid catabolism by corynebacteria a , when compared with analogous materials previously disclosed in the aforementioned publication . data illustrating the sub - lethal aspect of the inhibition are also presented . an in vitro model system , reproducing fatty acid catabolism by axillary bacteria , was used . to each of several 250 ml baffled shake flasks was added 30 ml semi - synthetic medium ( see below ), supplemented with fatty acid substrate ( 2 . 0 mg / ml pentadecanoic acid ) and non - fatty acid substrate ( 0 . 5 mg / ml glucose ). to each flask ( other than the control ) was also added one of the indicated test materials , as a 10 % ( w / v ) emulsion in semi - synthetic medium , supplemented with gum arabic ( 5 . 0 mg / ml ). ( emulsions were formed by ultra - homogenisation at 24 , 000 rpm for about 1 min .) each of the flasks was inoculated with fresh bacterial biomass ( corynebacterium a sp . ncimb 40928 ), pre - grown for 24 h in tsbt ( see below ), to give starting optical densities ( a 590 ) of 1 . 0 - 2 . 0 . following inoculation , the flasks were incubated aerobically at 35 ° c ., with agitation ( 130 rpm ), for 24 hours . after this time , culture viability and remaining fatty acid were determined by methodology as described in wo 99 / 01359 . composition of semi - synthetic medium in g / l : kh 2 po 4 ( 1 . 6 ), ( nh 4 ) 2 hpo 4 ( 5 . 0 ), na 2 so 4 ( 0 . 38 ), yeast nitrogen base ( 3 . 35 ) ( difco ), yeast extract ( 0 . 5 ) ( beta lab ), tween 80 ™ ( 0 . 2 ), triton x - 100 ™ ( 0 . 2 ), and mgcl 2 . 6h 2 o ( 0 - 5 ). composition of tsbt ( tween - supplemented tryptone soya broth ) in g / l : tryptone soya broth ( 30 . 0 ) ( merck ), yeast extract ( 10 . 0 ) ( beta lab ), and tween 80 ™ ( 1 . 0 ). table 1 illustrates the effects of the indicated actives upon corynebacterium a sp . ncimb 40928 in terms of culture viability and fatty acid utilisation . various concentrations of active were investigated . it will be noted that for each of the examples , culture viability was not substantially affected . these data illustrate that the active of the invention is an effective inhibitor of fatty acid catabolism by corynebacteria a at a considerably lower concentration than analogous materials disclosed in the prior art . the following are typical compositions according to the invention and were prepared by methods common in the art . examples 3 to 8 are aerosol compositions , example 9 is a pump spray composition , example 10 is an antiperspirant stick composition , and example 11 is a roll - on composition . example 4 was found to have a significantly better deodorancy performance than a control composition having the 4 - hydroxy - 3 - methoxybenzyl alcohol replaced by dc 245 . a similar benefit was obtained with an analogous composition comprising only 1 % ( w / w ) 4 - hydroxy - 3 - methoxybenzyl alcohol . example 10 was found to have a significantly better deodorancy performance than a control composition having the 4 - hydroxy - 3 - methoxybenzyl alcohol replaced by dc 245 . a similar benefit was obtained with an analogous composition comprising 2 % ( w / w ) 4 - hydroxy - 3 - methoxybenzyl alcohol and 49 . 8 % ( w / w ) dc 245 . tables 4 to 9 illustrate other compositions according to the invention that may be prepared by methods common in the art . [ 0048 ] table 6 composition of examples 14 . 1 to 14 . 5 ( cream and soft solid compositions ) example : 14 . 1 14 . 2 14 . 3 14 . 4 14 . 5 c18 - c36 acid glycol ester 2 . 5 3 . 75 castor wax 7 . 5 1 . 25 triacontenyl vinyl pyrrolidone 5 copolymer paraffin wax 5 silica 1 0 . 2 cyclopentasiloxane and 64 . 05 cetearyl - dimethicone / vinyl dimethicone co - polymer c12 - 15 alkyl benzoate 64 . 3 63 . 1 62 . 9 63 . 7 4 dextrin palmitate 10 5 neopentyl glycol diheptanoate 5 peg - 8 distearate 2 stearyl dimethicone 0 . 75 aach 25 25 . 5 milled aach 25 . 5 26 aazg 22 4 - hydroxy - 3 - methoxybenzyl 0 . 2 0 . 4 0 . 6 0 . 8 1 . 5 alcohol perfume 0 . 5 0 . 5 0 . 5 [ 0049 ] table 7 composition of examples 15 . 1 to 15 . 8 ( further cream and soft solid compositions ) examples : 15 . 1 15 . 2 15 . 3 15 . 4 15 . 5 15 . 6 15 . 7 15 . 8 silicone wax 2 . 5 3 n - lauroyl glutamic acid 1 dibutylamide c18 - c36 acid glycol 5 ester c18 - c36 acid 1 . 25 triglyceride castor wax 4 stearyl alcohol 6 paraffin wax 7 . 5 candelilla wax 7 c24 / 28 alkyl dimethicone wax 3 . 5 silica 1 . 5 1 . 5 talc 1 . 75 6 5 bentone 38 3 0 . 5 anhydrous aluminium 6 silicate microthene powder 6 propylene carbonate 1 . 5 cyclomethicone 64 . 4 61 62 . 5 36 . 3 56 43 47 . 8 tetraphenyl 52 . 7 tetramethylsiloxane c12 - 15 alkyl benzoate 10 11 . 7 dextrin palmitate 5 9 octyldodecanol 15 ppg14 butyl ether 4 . 5 dimethicone ( 10 mpa . s ) 5 10 dimethicone ( 350 mpa . s ) 24 poe - 100 stearyl ether 2 poe - 100 stearate 1 aach 25 . 5 22 milled aach 25 . 5 aluminium chlorohydrate 18 aazg 25 25 . 7 20 26 . 5 4 - hydroxy - 3 - 0 . 1 0 . 3 0 . 5 1 2 3 4 5 methoxybenzyl alcohol perfume 0 . 5 0 . 5 0 . 5 [ 0050 ] table 8 composition of examples 16 . 1 to 16 . 6 ( solid stick compositions ) examples : 16 . 1 16 . 2 16 . 3 16 . 4 16 . 5 16 . 6 cyclomethicone ( dc245 ) 40 . 7 37 . 3 40 . 1 39 . 75 45 . 5 permethyl 103a 16 12 ppg - 14 butyl ether 4 10 propylene glycol 47 . 8 ethanol 13 isostearyl alcohol 12 stearyl alcohol 14 14 17 11 . 5 castor wax 2 5 2 . 5 5 12 - hydroxystearic acid 6 n - lauroyl glutamic acid 2 dibutylamide dibenzyilidene sorbitol 3 eicosanol 0 . 2 0 . 2 octyldodecanol 14 14 c20 - 40 alcohols 0 . 5 c20 - 40 pareth - 3 / c20 - 40 1 . 75 pareth - 20 peg - 8 distearate 0 . 6 5 amino - 2 - methyl - 1 - propanol 0 . 2 zag 23 25 24 26 26 22 . 5 glycerol 2 edta 1 talc 3 fumed silica 1 2 perfume 1 1 1 4 - hydroxy - 3 - methoxybenzyl 0 . 1 0 . 5 0 . 8 1 1 1 . 5 alcohol [ 0051 ] table 9 composition of examples 17 . 1 to 17 . 6 ( further solid stick compositions ) examples : 17 . 1 17 . 2 17 . 3 17 . 4 17 . 5 17 . 6 cyclomethicone 36 . 3 49 . 25 10 37 ( dc245 ) mineral oil 11 . 5 polydecene 12 . 7 ppg - 14 butyl ether 2 . 5 c12 - 15 alkyl benzoate 15 dimethicone ( 50 mpa · s ) 1 . 5 propylene glycol 31 53 . 5 ethanol 50 water 8 . 7 20 stearyl alcohol 14 1 castor wax 4 . 5 dextrin palmitate 10 cellobiose 3 . 8 octanonanoate beta sitosterol 2 . 5 oryzanol 2 . 5 sodium stearate 5 . 8 7 . 7 eicosanol 0 . 2 isopropyl myristate 10 cetyl dimethicone 1 1 copolyol amino - 2 - methyl - 1 - 0 . 5 propanol poloxamer 407 6 cocamide dea 7 aluminium 26 30 chlorohydrate zirkonal 50 51 . 7 40 triclosan 0 . 3 glycerol 2 17 . 3 talc 1 . 5 fumed silica 1 perfume 1 4 - hydroxy - 3 - 0 . 5 0 . 75 1 2 3 . 5 5 methoxybenzyl alcohol
this invention concerns cosmetic compositions and methods involving 4 - hydroxy - 3 - methoxybenzyl alcohol as an active ingredient . this material is shown to be an extremely effective sub - lethal inhibitor of the metabolism of selected corynebacteria and to give significant deodorancy benefits .