JP2000312568A - Hardly digestive additive for food and beverage, and auxiliary health product - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a new hardly digestive additive which is sericin derived from cocoon or raw silk or its hydrolyzate and has a diet effect and a treating effect on constipation and a promoting effect on mineral absorption. SOLUTION: Sericin is obtained by extracting cocoon or raw silk with water, (i) mixing the extract with a water-soluble organic solvent (e.g. methanol or dioxane) to deposit sericin and filtering and drying the deposited sericin or (ii) passing the extract through an ultrafiltration membrane or reverse osmosis membrane and drying the treated extract. The hydrolyzate of sericin is obtained by partially hydrolyzing cocoon or raw silk, preferably with electrolyzed water, an acid, an alkali, an enzyme, or the like, to extract the sericin and treating the extract by the method (i) or (ii). Since sericin powder or sericin hydrolyzate powder has action to activate intestinal activity and promote mineral absorption and is derived from natural products, the powder has high safety to human bodies and is used for general foods, general beverage, health foods, or the like, by adding the powder thereto.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an indigestible food and drink additive and a health aid, and more particularly to a food and drink additive and a health aid having an effect of reducing diet, constipation and promoting mineral absorption.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Dietary fiber, a component that is not digested by human digestive enzymes, has been reduced in intake year by year due to the westernization of dietary habits. However, on the other hand, its effects such as low calorie, improvement of blood sugar level and relieving constipation are being reviewed. Furthermore, due to the recent growing interest in beauty and health, foods and beverages containing various dietary fibers have been proposed and marketed.

[0003] For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-313120 proposes a beverage containing dietary fiber composed of low molecular weight konjac mannan. In addition, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-1
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 99849 proposes a large number of dietary fibers such as those obtained from mushrooms, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-169724, low-molecular-weight pectin, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-303468, such as alginic acids.

[0004] Most of the dietary fibers currently used for food and drink are water-soluble dietary fibers. This type of dietary fiber has a property of being easily gelled and has a high viscosity, so that it must be reduced in viscosity to be added to food or drink, and the production method becomes complicated. In addition, when ingested, there is a problem that a large amount of gas is generated in the abdomen.

[0005] In addition, dietary fiber adsorbs extra sugar and cholesterol, etc., and excretes them outside the body, so that vitamins and minerals necessary for the body may be excreted. In particular, it is said that the intake of calcium by Japanese is deficient. In recent years, sufficient intake of minerals is extremely important in terms of avoiding the risk of related diseases. However, easily taking large amounts of specific minerals easily is not an efficient replenishment method, and there is a risk of causing new nutritional problems such as inhibition of absorption of other minerals. Therefore, the action of promoting mineral absorption from the point of ingestion through a diet that is well-balanced in nutrition is an important problem.

[0006]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems and provides calcium,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel indigestible food / drink additive and a health supplement having an action of promoting absorption of minerals such as iron, magnesium, and zinc.

[0007]

The present inventors have reported that sericin and its hydrolyzate have low digestibility to digestive enzymes in the body, are effective in reducing diet and constipation, and promote the absorption of minerals. The present invention has been found to have an excellent effect on diet, constipation, and promoting mineral absorption by having a unique effect, by ingesting itself or by adding it to food or drink, and ingesting it. Reached.

That is, the present invention is a food and drink additive and a health supplement comprising sericin and / or a hydrolyzate thereof.
In the present invention, the health adjuvant refers to a dietary effect, a constipation relieving effect and / or a mineral absorption accelerating effect which are taken orally by itself or directly in a state of being carried on a carrier without being added to food or drink. It refers to a mode of use that allows expression.

In general, sericin derived from cocoons or raw silk is preferably used as sericin used in the present invention. Sericin as a non-hydrolyzate can be obtained from a cocoon or raw silk by an extraction method generally performed. For example, the protein can be extracted in the state of a single protein having a high purity of 90% or more as follows.

That is, sericin contained in a cocoon or raw silk is extracted with water and recovered by, for example, one of the following methods (1) and (2). (1) Sericin is precipitated by mixing a water-soluble organic solvent such as methanol, ethanol and dioxane, and then separated by filtration and dried to obtain a sericin powder. (2) As proposed in JP-A-4-202435, sericin powder is obtained by drying after applying to an ultrafiltration membrane or a reverse osmosis membrane.

The sericin hydrolyzate can be obtained from a cocoon or raw silk by an extraction method generally used. That is, after sericin contained in the cocoon or raw silk is partially hydrolyzed and extracted with electrolyzed water, an acid, an alkali, or an enzyme, for example, similarly to the above (1),
Collect by any method of (2).

Cocoons are attracting attention for their high-quality proteins, and it has been proposed to add them to foods as a nutrient source by crushing or the like. Sericin, one of the cocoon proteins, inhibits digestive enzymes in the body. It is not known that it has low digestibility and is effective in reducing diet and constipation.

[0013] Sericin, which is indigestible, activates the activity in the intestine and shortens the time for stool to pass through the large intestine, and rapidly excretes harmful and toxic substances out of the body. It also acts like a dietary fiber, such as making it difficult to absorb extra sugar and lipids. Not only such a direct effect, but also an effect such as smooth defecation due to the absorbed water is provided.

Further, it was found that sericin has a binding ability with minerals and promotes mineral absorption. Sericin, which is difficult to digest in the stomach and the like, is thought to reach the intestine while being bound to the mineral, and to help the mineral to be absorbed there. Minerals used in the present invention include calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, manganese, copper, chromium, selenium, molybdenum, cobalt, nickel, arsenic, iodine, boron, bromine,
The element is not particularly limited as long as it is an element necessary for living organisms, such as fluorine, lead, lithium, silicon, vanadium, and cadmium.

Since sericin is derived from natural products, it is highly safe for the human body, and is used in general foods, general drinks, health foods, special-purpose foods such as specified insurance foods, and other suitable foods to be orally ingested. Is collectively referred to as food or beverage in the present invention) and can be taken without difficulty in daily eating habits. Further, since it is soluble in water, it can be easily added to foods and drinks and can be made into various shapes. In addition, by blending one or more of the necessary minerals exemplified above in advance in a well-balanced manner, minerals can be more efficiently ingested.

When used as a health supplement, its shape is not particularly limited, and it can be used, for example, in the form of powder, solution, gel, stick, granule, capsule, or tablet. The intake is also non-toxic and is not particularly limited.
It is about 30 g.

[0017]

The following examples illustrate the present invention. [Production Example 1] Production of sericin powder 1 kg of cocoon was treated in 50 L (liter) of water at 95 ° C for 2 hours to extract sericin. The obtained extract was filtered with a filter having an average pore diameter of 0.2 μm to remove aggregates, and then the filtrate was desalted with a reverse osmosis membrane to obtain a colorless and transparent sericin aqueous solution having a concentration of 0.2%. After concentrating this aqueous solution to a sericin concentration of about 2% using an evaporator, it was lyophilized to a purity of 95% or more and an average molecular weight of 100,
000 sericin powder (hereinafter, sericin H) was obtained in an amount of 100 g.

[Production Example 2] Production of sericin hydrolyzate powder 1 kg of cocoon was treated with 0.2% aqueous sodium carbonate (pH 11 to 1).
2) Treatment in 50 L at 95 ° C. for 2 hours to extract sericin hydrolyzate. The obtained extract was subjected to an average pore size of 0.2 μm.
After filtering through a filter of m to remove aggregates, the filtrate was desalted with a reverse osmosis membrane to obtain a colorless and transparent sericin hydrolyzate extract having a concentration of 0.2%. After concentrating this extract to a sericin concentration of about 2% using an evaporator, the extract was lyophilized to a purity of 90% or more and an average molecular weight of 20,000.
00 sericin hydrolyzate powder (hereinafter sericin L) 10
0 g was obtained.

[Test Example 1] Digestibility test Sericin L or casein was used as a digestion test sample, and each sample was prepared using hydrochloric acid so that the concentration of each sample was 0.5% (pH 2.0). To make 100 ml. 5 mg of pepsin (Sigma), a digestive enzyme of the stomach, was added to a sample solution, incubated at 37 ° C. for 24 hours, and timely sampled. After the incubation, 100 ml of the sample solution was prepared using sodium bicarbonate so as to be 0.1% (pH 8.5). Then, pancreatin (Sigma), a digestive enzyme of the duodenum, was added for 2 m.
g was added and the mixture was incubated at 37 ° C. for 24 hours. The peptide concentration was measured using the TNBS (2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid) method. For sampling, all 0.5 ml was collected, 0.1 ml of 30% TCA (trichloroacetic acid) was added, and after centrifugation, 3 ml of 7% sodium bicarbonate and 2 ml of 0.1% TNBS were added to 100 μl of the supernatant. The mixture was heated at 2 ° C. for 2 hours, and the absorbance at 420 nm was measured. The results are shown in FIGS. In this test, the effects on digestive enzymes pepsin and pancreatin in the body were confirmed in vitro. In the TNBS method, the more the peptide reacts with the amino terminus of the protein and is easily decomposed by digestive enzymes, the more the peptide is present, and thus the higher the reactivity with the TNBS reagent. That is, the higher the value, the more easily it is decomposed by digestive enzymes. Compared with casein, sericin was confirmed to be more resistant to digestion by both pepsin and pancreatin digestive enzymes.

Test Example 2 As a test animal for gastrointestinal transit ability test , a 5-week-old male ICR mouse was used.
With 10 animals per group, keeping room temperature at 24 ± 1 ° C., alternating light and dark every 12 hours (from 8:00 to 20:00 is light, 20:
The animals were bred in an environment of (00 to 8:00 the next day was dark). As a preliminary breeding, a commercially available solid sample (MF, Oriental Yeast Co., Ltd.) was given for one week. On the day before the test, after fasting overnight, the animals were fed for 1 hour, and the animals with almost constant food intake were selected.
Eight animals per group were used for the experiment. As a marker for gastrointestinal transit ability, BTB (dosage: 0.3% solution was used in an amount of 0.1% per animal.
35 ml) orally and at the same time sericin L (dose:
2 g / kg of body weight) or a control (casein, dose: 2 g / kg of body weight) was orally administered. Feces were collected over time up to 25 hours after administration. During this period, the animals were fed for 1 hour each after 6 hours and 23 hours. After measuring the amount of BTB excreted in feces, the feces were dried under reduced pressure for 24 hours, and the fecal dry weight was measured. In addition, Student's t-test was used for the determination of a significant difference.

As a result, the feces weight of the sericin group was significantly increased as compared with the control group (FIG. 3). The feces were slightly larger and softer than those of the control group, but no diarrheal symptoms such as watery stool and mucus stool were observed. In the control group, BTB began to be found in feces 2 to 4 hours after ingestion, 33.5% of the total BTB dose by 6 hours, 53.5% by 8 hours, and 88 by 25 hours. 0.3% were excreted. On the other hand, in the sericin group, 4
The BTB excretion rate for 〜8 hours was significantly higher than that of the control group, confirming the effect of sericin on increasing the gastrointestinal transit rate (FIG. 4).

[Test Example 3] Test for effect of improving constipation Male Sprague-Dawle, 3 weeks old, was used as an experimental animal.
A group of 13 rats was used using y strain rats (Japan LSC Co., Ltd.). Each animal was placed in a metal cage, kept at room temperature of 24 ± 1 ° C., and bred in a light-and-dark change environment every 12 hours. As a preliminary breeding, a commercially available solid sample (MF, Oriental Yeast Co., Ltd.) was given for 2 weeks, then divided into two groups, a sericin group and a control group, and bred on an experimental diet (Table 1) for 7 days. One group consists of 14 animals, all meals are 1
It was limited to 4:00 to 17:00. At 17:00 on the 7th day from the start of the experimental diet, each group was divided into two groups so that the average body weight was equal, and atropine hydrochloride (0.5 mg / kg body weight) or saline was injected by intraperitoneal injection. Was administered. 6 hours after injection (17:00 to 23:
00) was collected, dried under reduced pressure, and determined as dry weight. The significant difference was determined using Duncan's multiple comparison test. Most human constipation is functional constipation. This is constipation resulting from the suppression of gastrointestinal motility and anal function by the intestinal smooth muscle releasing acetylcholine from the accessory sympathetic nerve. Atropine used in the experiment is derived from an alkaloid obtained from Belladonna of the Solanaceae family, and is used as a parasympathetic blocker. Therefore, it induces functional constipation as a reversible antagonist of acetylcholine and acetylcholine-like drugs. From the results in Table 2, sericin was found to have improved gastrointestinal function, which was reduced by atropine administration.
The effect of sericin on improving constipation was confirmed.

Table 1 Composition of feed (per 100 g) Control group Sericin group Casein 25.0 20.0 Sericin L-5.0 L-cystine 0.1 0.1 Corn oil 10.0 10.0 Mixed with minerals 5 3.5 Vitamin mix 1.0 1.0 Choline tartrate 0.2 0.2 Cellulose 5.0 5.0 Sucrose 20.0 20.0 Corn starch 35.2 35.2

Table 2 Saline Atropine control group Sericin group Control group Sericin group Food consumption (g / 1d) 15.O ± 0.6 16.1 ± 0.8 16.2 ± 0.7 15.5 ± 0.3 Fecal weight (g) 0.59 ± 0.06 ^ab 0.78 ± 0.11 ^a 0.32 ± 0.08 ^b 0.71 ± 0.12 ^a Dry feces weight (g) 0.46 ± 0.05 ^ab 0.51 ± 0.05 ^a 0.21 ± 0.06 ^b 0.42 ± 0.06 ^ab Moisture content (%) 23.3 ± 2.1 ^b 39.4 ± 3.2 ^a 24.5 ± 3.4 ^b 36.3 ± 2.8 ^a Average ± SE , A, b have significant difference (P <0.05) ab has no significant difference

[Test Example 4] Fat accumulation suppressing effect test As a test animal, a 5-week-old male ICR mouse (Japanese LSC)
Was used. Each group consisted of 12 animals, which were allowed to freely ingest the feed and water shown in Table 3, kept at room temperature of 24 ± 1 ° C., and reared for 8 weeks in a light-dark alternating environment every 12 hours. After completion of the test, the mice were sacrificed and dissected, and the body weight and the weight of renal adhering fat were measured. For fat, the weight ratio of renal adhering fat per body weight was calculated, and this was defined as the renal adhering fat percentage. Further, serum was obtained from the blood by a conventional method, and the triglyceride concentration in the serum was measured using a triglyceride measurement kit (Triglyceride G-Test Wako Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.). The significant difference was determined using Duncan's multiple comparison test. The results are shown in Table 4. Although there was no significant difference in the dietary intake of each group, the body weight of the sericin group was suppressed as the amount of sericin was added as compared with the control group. Furthermore, in the sericin group, the rate of renal adhering fat was also suppressed, and the serum triglyceride concentration was also reduced. Thus, it was confirmed that sericin suppressed fat accumulation.

Table 3 Composition of feed (per 100 g) Control group Sericin 1% Sericin 3% Sericin 5% Casein 25.0 20.0 20.0 20.0 Sericin L -1.0 3.0 5.0 L-cystine 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 Corn oil 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 Mineral mixture 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 Vitamin mix 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 Choline tartrate 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 Cellulose 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 Sucrose 20.0 20.0 20.0 20.0 Corn starch 35.2 35.2 35.2 35.2

Table 4 Control group Sericin 1% Sericin 3% Sericin 5% Food consumption (g / 1d) 4.93 ± 0.13 5.03 ± 0.21 5.11 ± 0.17 4.98 ± 0.14 Final body weight (g) 44.3 ± 0.6 ^a 43.1 ± 0.4 ^ab 42.5 ± 0.6 ^b 41.5 ± 0.3 ^b Kidney adhesion fat percentage (%) 3.77 ± 0.26 ^a 3.67 ± 0.27 ^ab 3.21 ± 0.31 ^b 3.02 ± 0.20 ^b Serum triglyceride (mmol / L) 1.01 ± 0.03 ^a 0.96 ± 0.04 ^ab 0.91 ± 0.05 ^b 0.90 ± 0.04 ^b average ± SE, a, b have significant difference (P <0.05) ab has no significant difference

[Test Example 5] Male Sprague-Dawle at 8 weeks of age as an experimental animal for testing the effect of promoting mineral absorption
A y-type rat (Japan LSC) was used. Each group consisted of 8 animals, and had free access to the feed and water shown in Table 5, and the room temperature was 24 hours.
They were kept at ± 1 ° C. and were bred in a light-dark change environment every 12 hours. Ten days after the start of breeding, each rat was placed in a metabolic gauge, and the food intake and fecal excretion for three days were measured. In addition, the amount of minerals excreted in feces was measured using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Z-
8000 Hitachi, Ltd.) to determine the mineral content in feces. The apparent absorptivity was determined by the following equation. Mineral absorption (%) = [(mineral intake-fecal minerals) / mineral intake] × 100 The results are shown in Table 6. The addition of sericin significantly promoted the apparent absorption of minerals, confirming the action of sericin to promote mineral absorption.

Table 5 Composition of feed (per 100 g) Control group Sericin group Casein 23.0 20.0 Sericin L-3.0 L-cystine 0.1 0.1 Corn oil 10.0 10.0 Mixed with minerals 3. 5 3.5 Mixed vitamins 1.0 1.0 Choline tartrate 0.2 0.2 Cellulose 5.0 5.0 Sucrose 20.0 20.0 Corn starch 37.2 37.2

Table 6 Control group Sericin group food consumption (3days / g) 45.5 ± 1.3 46.2 ± 1.1 Dry fecal weight (3days / g) 3.86 ± 0.65 3.95 ± 0.83 Apparent absorption rate (%) Calcium 57.0 ± 0.8 65.2 ± 2.5 ^** Magnesium 52.3 ± 1.5 67.3 ± 0.4 ^** Iron 37.0 ± 0.2 46.2 ± 1.3 ^** Zinc 33.5 ± 1.3 45.0 ± 0.6 ^** Average ± SE, ( ^** p <0.01)

[0031]

EFFECT OF THE INVENTION Sericin is indigestible, activates the stomach and intestine, makes it difficult to absorb excess water, cholesterol, harmful substances, neutral fats, etc. in the stomach and intestine, diet and constipation It is very useful for resolution. It is also useful as a mineral absorption enhancer for calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc and the like in the intestine. In addition, it has properties as a protein derived from natural products and has high safety in vivo, so it is harmless even if ingested in large quantities. Furthermore, when the product of the present invention is added to food because it is tasteless and odorless,
Does not affect sensory characteristics. Therefore, it can be taken without difficulty in daily eating habits, and the effect can be more remarkable.

Furthermore, sericin, which is an active ingredient of the present invention, can be easily extracted from a solvent extract of cocoons or raw silk with high purity as a single protein, so that it can be obtained at low cost and the color of the aqueous solution is colorless. Since it is transparent, there is a great advantage that there is no need to erase the color and no complicated processing steps are required.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a graph showing the results of a digestion test (versus pepsin).

FIG. 2 is a graph showing the results of a digestion test (vs. pancreatin).

FIG. 3 is a graph showing the results of measuring gastrointestinal transit ability based on the amount of feces.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the results of measuring the gastrointestinal transit ability by the BTB excretion rate.

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Masakazu Nomura 1-10-1 Kiya, Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture F-term (reference) in Salen Co., Ltd. 4B018 LB08 MD01 MD69 ME01 ME11 MF01 MF06 MF11

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An indigestible food / drink additive comprising sericin or / and a hydrolyzate thereof. 2. The additive as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sericin is natural sericin extracted from cocoons or raw silk. 3. A health supplement comprising sericin and / or a hydrolyzate thereof. 4. The health supplement according to claim 3, wherein the sericin is natural sericin extracted from cocoons or raw silk. 5. The indigestible food or drink additive and the health supplement according to claim 1, which are useful as a mineral absorption promoter. 6. The indigestible food or drink additive and the health supplement according to claim 5, comprising a mineral.