The present invention provides a flavour composition which is a mixture of
flavour materials, characterised in that the flavour composition
comprises at least 8% by weight of the total weight of the flavour
composition of ingredients selected from the following groups of flavour
materials: (a) at least 0.5% by weight of the flavour composition of one
or more of the following: a peppermint oil comprising
1-isopropylidene-4-methyl-2-cyclohexanone in an amount from 1% to 4% by
weight, 5-methyl-2-(1-methylethyl)-1-cyclohexanone in an amount from 8%
to 13% by weight and less than 0.5% by weight of eucalyptol; a spearmint
oil comprising less than 70% by weight of carvone and at least 14% by
weight of limonene; or mixtures thereof; and (b) at least 0.5% by weight
of the flavour composition of two or more of the following: decanol,
octanal, allyl hexanoate, anethole, aniseed rectified, basil oil, benzyl
butyrate, camomile oil, cinnamic aldehyde, cis-3-hexenyl acetate, citral
natural, citronella ceylon, ethyl heptanoate, eugenol, fennel sweet,
geranyl acetate, ionone alpha, lime, orange flavour, para cresyl methyl
ether, pinene alpha. These materials have been identified as capable of
inhibiting the production of odoriferous volatile sulphur compounds by
microorganisms present in the oral cavity, and so to possess hitherto
unappreciated oral malodour reducing properties.