concrete examples of the monoterpene hydroperoxide used in the present invention are bicyclic compounds such as pinane hydroperoxide , thujane hydroperoxide , carane hydroperoxide , bornane hydroperoxide , etc . monocyclic compounds such as paramenthane hydroperoxide , metamenthane hydroperoxide , etc . and optional mixtures of the foregoing . any of these hydroperoxides are obtained according to a process disclosed in japanese patent application laid - open no . sho 61 - 196 , 961 / 1986 which describes a process for the preparation of the hydroperoxides , in which generally , air or oxygen is directly passed through pinane , thujane , carane , bornane , paramenthane , metamenthane , mixtures of the foregoing or solutions of the foregoing in the presence of a metal such as ni , fe , cu , etc . the reaction rate may be followed according to iodometry . it is unnecessary to complete the reaction , but it is practical in the aspect of energy conservation , to hold the conversion to the peroxides at about 60 % or lower , preferably 10 to 50 %. if necessary , it is possible to separate the hydroperoxides with a high purity , but even a mixture thereof with the starting material may be fully satisfactory for use as antimicrobial agents . the saturated terpenes are also useful as diluents and stabilizers for the hydroperoxides . the antimicrobial properties of pinane hydroperoxide , thujane hydroperoxide and paramenthane hydroperoxide as the hydroperoxides upon wet rubbish and organic sludge were observed . the results are shown in the following table 1 . table 1__________________________________________________________________________antimicrobial tests of pinane hydroperoxide ( qualitative ) wet rubbish ( used tea leaves ) organic sludgepinane pinaneelapsedhydroperoxide hydroperoxidedays ( 0 . 5 %) control ( 0 . 5 %) control__________________________________________________________________________ 0 d fragrant ; used tea leaves fragrant ; sludge smell ; brownunchanged pale yellowappearance10 d fragrant ; putrid smell ; fragrant ; putrid smell ; unchanged black - brown yellow black - brownappearance20 d fragrant ; brown strong putrid smell ; fragrant ; strong putrid smell ; original form col - yellow green algae appeared lapsed30 d fragrant ; brown strong putrid smell ; fragrant ; strong putrid smell ; no original form yellow - brown green and black algae appeared__________________________________________________________________________ ( note ) used tea leaves were used as wet rubbish and a sludge at the flowin part of facilities for treating waste water from a chemical factory was used a organic sludge . the water contents therein were both adjusted to 100 %. pinane hydroperoxide was made up into a 0 . 5 % dispersion with a nonionic surfactant . next , with pinane hydroperoxide , the respective minimum growth concentrations of various microorganisms were measured . an inoculating microbial liquor was subjected to smear culture on a plate medium having pinane hydroperoxide added in varying amounts and thereafter the minimum concentration inhibiting the growth was measured . a mixed liquor of 55 % by weight of pinane hydroperoxide with 45 % by weight of pinane was used . the results are shown in table 2 . table 2______________________________________measurement results of the minimumgrowth - inhibiting concentration ( concentration unit : ppm ) measurementtested fungi results______________________________________bacillus subtilis atcc 6633 156escherichia coli ifo 3301 625pseudomonas aeruginosa iidp - i 5 , 000staphylococcus aureus ifo 13276 313streptococcus faecalis ifo 12964 1 , 250aspergillus niger ifo 4407 313pecicillium citrium ifo 7784 313cladosporium cladosporioides ifo 6348 156hansenula anomala var . anomala 156ifo 10213______________________________________ after the minimum growth - inhibiting concentration was measured , organic substances in the system were examined according to high - speed liquid chromatography . as a result , pinane hydroperoxide was almost absent and the presence of 2 - pinanol in its place was confirmed . in the present invention , it is not intended to discuss the mechanism of the antimicrobial function of the hydroperoxides , but it is presumed that the hydroperoxides release active oxygen when contacted with microbial bodies of microorganisms to be oxidized and thereby exhibit an antimicrobial function . in the process the hydroperoxides themselves are converted into fragrant alcohols corresponding thereto . as to substances to be blended in the composition , any substances may be used in principle unless they are substances which damage the antimicrobial properties of the hydroperoxides or those which damage the stability of the hydroperoxides . the present invention will be described in more detail by way of examples . percentages and parts described in the examples are by weight . ethanol was added to a mixture of pinane hydroperoxide ( 53 %) with pinane ( 47 %) ( hereinafter referred to as 53 : 47 stock solution ) to prepare a 1 % solution , followed by placing 64 . 3 g of the solution and commercially available freon gas f - 12 ( 85 %)- commercially available lpg ( 15 %) in a 180 ml capacity vessel equipped with a spraying valve under cooling . there was obtained a composition having physical properties of slight combustibility and an initial spraying pressure of about 4 . 5 kg / cm 2 . this composition was sprayed into a closed vessel having a volume of about 4 m 3 . the sprayed quantity was about 0 . 65 g in terms of the 53 : 47 stock solution . the numbers of the floating bacteria at the respective times in the vessel were measured 24 hours and 48 hours after the spraying . to measure the numbers of floating bacteria , a petri dish of 90 mm in diameter containing an agar medium ( 20 ml ) as a plate was exposed inside the vessel for 30 minutes , followed by closing the petri dish and culturing at 370 ° c . for 48 hours to measure the number of colonies formed . the numbers of colonies in a control and prior to the spraying were both 16 . the numbers of colonies 24 hours and 48 hours after the spraying were 8 and 0 , respectively . thus , a superior space - purifying effect was exhibited . ethanol was added to a mixture ( one part ) of thujane with thujane hydroperoxide in a ratio of 90 : 10 , obtained by oxidizing thujane and the 53 : 47 stock solution mentioned in example 1 ( one part ) to prepare a 1 . 5 % solution . this solution was made up into a composition in the same manner as in example 1 . the numbers of floating bacteria inside the vessel were measured in the same manner as in example 1 . the numbers of colonies in a control and prior to the spraying were 17 and 15 , respectively , but those 24 hours , 48 hours and 72 hours after the spraying were 10 , 2 and 0 , respectively . water was added to powdery agar ( 1 . 2 part ), xanthane gum ( 0 . 2 part ), glycerin ( 3 . 0 parts ) and green note perfume ( small quantity ), to make the whole 100 parts , followed by dissolving it together on heating , cooling down to about 50 ° c ., adding poe ( 60 ) sorbitol tetraoleate ( 0 . 3 part ) to make the whole uniform and cooling to obtain a gel - form antimicrobial agent composition . water was added to carboxymethyl cellulose ( 3 parts ), a nonionic surfactant ( 2 parts ) and 53 : 47 stock solution ( 4 parts ) to make the whole 100 parts , followed by adding a trivalent metal curing agent ( 0 . 3 part ), vigorously agitating the mixture to make it uniform and allowing it to stand to obtain a gel - form antimicrobial agent composition . a pine perfume ( a small quantity ) was added to 53 : 47 stock solution ( 20 parts ), hexylene glycol ( 5 parts ) and sodium stearate ( 4 parts ), followed by heating the mixture to 80 ° c . and allowing to cool down to obtain a stable gel - form antimicrobial agent composition . water was added to 96 % ethyl alcohol ( 40 parts ), 3 - methyl - 3 - methoxybutanol ( 30 parts ), a citron or lemon perfume ( 5 parts ) and 53 : 47 stock solution ( 5 parts ) to make the whole 100 parts , followed by uniformly agitating to obtain an antimicrobial agent composition in the form of solution , and impregnating it with a suitable quantity of zeolite or porous glass to obtain the respective granular antimicrobial agent composition . a fat - oil mixture of beef tallow ( 70 parts ) with coconut oil ( 30 parts ) was saponified with sodium hydroxide to prepare a soap material , followed by adding 53 : 47 stock solution ( 2 . 5 parts ) and sodium hyaluronate having a molecular weight of about 800 , 000 ( 2 parts ), adding , if necessary , a perfume , kneading the mixture , casting it into a frame , cooling and solidifying an antimicrobial soap . in the above examples , too , the number of floating bacteria in the vessel was measured in the same manner as in example 1 and similar effects to those of examples 1 and 2 were exhibited .
a novel antimicrobial , aromatic and deodorizing agent composition and a method of reducing microbial concentration or inhibiting microbial growth using the composition are provided , which composition comprises a zeolote or porous glass carrier and a saturated monoterpene hydroperoxide as an active ingredient , the monoterpene hydroperoxide preferably selected from pinane hydroperoxide , thujane hydroperoxide , carane hydroperoxide , bornane hydroperoxide , paramenthane hydroperoxide , metamenthane hydroperoxide , and mixtures of the foregoing , etc .