JP2002058451A - Food composition - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a food enabling amelioration/prevention of chapped skin, or improvement of a skin moisture barrier function. SOLUTION: This food composition is characterized by containing melibiose, raffinose or stachyose. Intake of the objective food composition makes it possible to improve a skin moisture barrier function and exhibit skin-beautifying effect.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a food composition having a function of improving skin moisture retention and a function of improving skin roughness.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Skin is an interface between a living body and the outside world, and has a skin barrier function for preventing extracorporeal loss of water and preventing invasion of living body obstacles such as microorganisms and allergens from the outside. It is said that in the stratum corneum, lipids, sebum, and the natural moisturizing factor NMF, which are mainly ceramide, are responsible for these functions. It is necessary for the stratum corneum to contain 10-20% moisture in order to function properly and stay healthy. Moisture is retained in the stratum corneum by the skin barrier function, and the flexibility and elasticity of the skin are maintained. Hereinafter, of the skin barrier functions, the function of preventing the loss of moisture is referred to as the skin moisture barrier function.

[0003] When the water content of the stratum corneum decreases, it loses its flexibility and becomes hard, causing cracks and desquamation. The major determinant of stratum corneum water content is NMF in the stratum corneum, especially amino acids, whose production is closely related to the state of keratinization. The horny layer water content is significantly reduced in the disappearance of the crest or in the unclear rough skin.

[0004] Rough skin has an even more important pathological significance in that it is not only a cosmetic problem of poor appearance, but also a preparatory stage for causing skin diseases. In addition, by improving the rough skin condition, the surface of the shaved skin becomes smooth and smooth skin, which leads to improvement of fine wrinkles.

[0005] In the stratum corneum having a reduced skin moisture barrier function,
It is known that the loss of water from the skin is more active than in healthy conditions, and the so-called transepidermal water loss (transe
pidermal water loss (TEWL) is observed. This TEWL is closely related to the barrier function of the stratum corneum and the moisturizing mechanism, and is widely used as an index of the skin moisture barrier function.

[0006] In order to reduce the skin moisture barrier function, it has been conventionally attempted to apply a moisturizing component to prevent the skin from drying out and give it moisture. Recently, xylitol, erythritol, ribulose, psicose, galactose, and mannitol, which are food components, have been reported as components that promote recovery of skin moisture barrier function when applied to the skin (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-103728).

[0007]

However, in order to prevent rough skin, what is applied to the skin is a temporary function, or the effect is reduced by sweating, reducing the effect of ultraviolet rays, bathing, washing the face, and washing the fingers. It was natural that they were reduced or disappeared. Also, from the beginning, people who care about rough skin often have allergic symptoms, so it is necessary to consider the side effects of applying to the skin, and applying it to prevent rough skin, on the contrary, The side effect has the potential to promote rough skin. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to improve or prevent rough skin from the inside and improve the skin moisture barrier function by orally ingesting, rather than applying it to the skin, and to worry about side effects like pharmaceuticals. The goal is to provide food that can be consumed without food.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems The present inventors have studied diligently to solve these problems, and express a beautiful skin effect from the inner surface by ingesting orally melibiose or a saccharide having melibiose as a partially constituting sugar. And found that the present invention was completed. That is, the present invention is a food composition containing melibiose, raffinose or stachyose. Preferably, it is a food composition containing melibiose.

[0009] Oral ingestion of melibiose improves skin moisture barrier function, improves skin water retention, prevents skin roughness, moisturizes skin, improves skin smoothness and elasticity. There has never been a report that it has an effect of causing the skin to have a beautiful skin effect, and this is the first function found in the study of the present inventors.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail. Melibiose used in the present invention has a 6- [α-d-galactopyranosyl] -d-glucopyranose structure in which glucose and galactose are linked at a ratio of 1: 6. Raffinose, which is a natural sugar,
It is known as a partial constituent sugar of stachyose. As an example of the production method, raffinose and stachyose can be hydrolyzed with invertase and deproteinized to obtain melibiose. Alternatively, it can be obtained by fermenting a raffinose solution with baker's yeast to assimilate only the fructose portion of raffinose. Melibiose has a sweetness of 35% (vs. sucrose) and has reducing properties.
Causes Maillard reaction. It is also known to have bifidobacterial growth activity. The crystals are white powder crystals,
The aqueous solution is transparent and exhibits a specific rotation of +112 to +129 degrees.

When melibiose is ingested, the increase in TEWL is improved, the water retention of the skin is improved, and the rough skin is improved. This is a completely new finding discovered by the present inventors.
In addition, raffinose and stachyose, which have melibiose as a partially constituting sugar, have the same effect, though weaker than melibiose. These findings have not been reported in the past and are new findings.

Although the effect of the present invention is unknown, melibiose has the activity of inhibiting the binding of elastin to the elastin receptor and consequently having the activity of suppressing the action of elastase.
Although it has been found that aging of the skin is prevented, it is unlikely that this effect has appeared in the case of drinking. In addition, because it has the growth activity of Bifidobacterium, as a result of preparing the intestinal environment and enhancing immunity by Bifidobacterium,
Although the skin roughening prevention function may be exerted, other oligosaccharides do not have the effect of the present invention. Therefore, the effect of melibiose or melibiose-constituting sugar according to the present invention is considered to be unique.

The food composition of the present invention can be any food such as beverages, confections, jellies, etc., and there is no particular limitation on the type thereof. Further, for example, the form of processing such as granules, hard capsules, and soft capsules does not matter. Furthermore, components generally considered to be good for the skin, such as collagen, mucopolysaccharide, hyaluronic acid, glucosamine, and ceramide, may be mixed at the same time.

The amount of intake is not particularly limited since it is a food, but in order to expect a beautiful skin effect, the amount of melibiose, raffinose or stachyose should be 0.1% per serving.
The recipe of the food may be designed so as to be in the range of g to 20 g. If it is less than this, it is difficult to expect a beautiful skin effect,
Above this level, the effect remains the same even when taken.

[0015]

EXAMPLES Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples, but the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to these examples. Example 1 According to a conventional method, a beverage was prepared with the following composition.

Formulation 1 Melibiose 2 g Glucose 8 g Citric acid 1 g Flavor 0.1 g The total amount was made up to 50 g with purified water, filled in a brown bottle, and then sterilized by heating.

Formulation 2 Melibiose 1 g Raffinose 0.5 g Stachyose 0.5 g Glucose 8 g Citric acid 1 g Flavor 0.1 g The total amount was made up to 50 g with purified water.

Comparative Formulation 1 Glucose 10 g Citric acid 1 g Flavor 0.1 g The total amount was made up to 50 g with purified water, filled in a brown bottle, and then sterilized by heating.

Example 2 Fifteen women who had chronic dry skin and tended to have rough skin were randomly divided into three groups, Formulation 1, Formulation 2 and Comparative Formulation of Example 1, and were taken for 6 weeks. The following three items were evaluated before and after the ingestion period. After washing the face, it was rested in a constant temperature room at a room temperature of 21 ° C./humidity of 36% for one hour, and then the measurement was performed.

Measurement of Skin Moisture Barrier Function The higher the value of transepidermal water loss (TEWL), the lower the water barrier function of the stratum corneum, indicating that the skin is rough. Therefore, by measuring the value of TEWL, the skin moisture barrier function of the skin water retention agent of the present invention can be examined. The TEWA meter (C
+ K Company).

Measurement of Skin Roughness Improving Effect The skin roughness was observed and visually judged according to the evaluation criteria shown in Table 1 below.

[0022]

[Table 1]

Measurement of Skin Water Retention Improving Effect The amount of water in the cheek was measured using SKICON-200 (IBS). The measured value is represented by electric conductivity (μS), and the larger the value, the higher the moisture content. The above results are shown in Table 2 before ingestion and in Table 3 after ingestion. In addition, the result was shown by the average value +/- standard deviation.

Foods containing melibiose or foods containing raffinose and stachyose have been found to have reduced water transpiration, increased keratin water content, and reduced skin roughness scores, and have enhanced skin effect. It was recognized that.

[0025]

[Table 2]

[0026]

[Table 3]

[0027]

The food composition containing melibiose, raffinose and stachyose according to the present invention, like steam, has the effect of improving skin roughness and skin moisture retention.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI theme coat ゛ (Reference) A61P 17/16 A61K ⁷ / 00F // A61K 7/00 7/48 7/48 A23L 2 / 00F ( 72) Inventor Nobuyuki Matsushima 12-13 Kaminoshinano, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa F-term in FANCL Central Research Laboratories Co., Ltd. AA02 EA01 MA01 MA04 MA52 NA10 ZA89

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A food composition comprising melibiose. 2. A food composition for improving skin water retention, comprising melibiose, raffinose or stachyose. 3. A food composition for improving rough skin, comprising melibiose, raffinose or stachyose.