JP2003095964A - Anti-stress medicine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a new anti-stress medicine and a new health food. SOLUTION: A pine bark extract is used as an anti-stress medicine. Preferably, the pine bark extract containing >=20 wt.% of OPC (oligomeric proanthocyanidin) and >=5 wt.% of catechins is used as the anti-stress medicine. The health food containing the pine bark extract is useful as an anti-stress food.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an anti-stress agent containing a pine bark extract and a health food containing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The modern society is a stressed society, and when stress is accumulated, the immune system is deteriorated, obesity and hair loss are caused. It is also said that the cause of stress may be one factor in atopic dermatitis, asthma, chronic hepatitis, angina, and diabetes.

[0003]

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a novel anti-stress agent and a health food containing the same.

[0004]

Means for Solving the Problems As a result of searching for a natural material for reducing stress, the present inventors have found that pine bark extract reduces stress, and have completed the present invention.

The present invention provides an anti-stress agent containing a pine bark extract. The above problem is solved by the present invention.

In a preferred embodiment, the pine bark extract is OPC (oligomeric proanthocyanidin).
20% by weight or more.

[0007] In another preferred embodiment, in the antistress agent of the present invention, the pine bark extract further comprises catechin (ca
5% by weight or more of techin).

The present invention also provides a health food containing the above antistress agent. Daily intake of this health food can reduce daily stress.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The antistress agent of the present invention will be described below. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that the configurations described below do not limit the present invention and can be variously modified within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

The anti-stress agent of the present invention is characterized by containing a pine bark extract. As pine bark extracts, bark extraction of French coastal pine (Pinus Martima), larch, black pine, red pine, Himekomatsu, Goyo pine, Korean pine, high pine, Ryukyu pine, Utsuku pine, rhubarb pine, white pine, and Anneda of Quebec region of Canada. The thing is used preferably. Of these, bark extract of French coastal pine (Pinus Martima) is preferably used.

The French coastal pine is a marine pine that grows on a part of the Atlantic coast of southern France. The bark of this French coastal pine tree is made from proanthocyanidins.
n), containing an organic acid and other physiologically active ingredients,
It is known that the main component, the flavonoid proanthocyanidin, has a strong antioxidative action of removing active oxygen.

The pine bark extract is obtained by extracting the bark of the pine tree with water or an organic solvent. When water is used, hot water or hot water is used. Organic solvents used for extraction include methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-
Propanol, 1-butanol, 2-butanol, butane, acetone, hexane, cyclohexane, propylene glycol, hydrous ethanol, hydrous propylene glycol, ethyl methyl ketone, glycerin, methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, diethyl ether, dichloromethane, edible oil and fat, 1, 1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane, 1,1,
Organic solvents that are acceptable for the production of foods or drugs such as 2-trichloroethene are preferably used. These water,
The organic solvents may be used alone or in combination. In particular, hot water, hydrous ethanol, hydrous propylene glycol and the like are preferably used.

The extraction method from pine bark is not particularly limited, but for example, a heating extraction method, a supercritical fluid extraction method, etc. are used.

The supercritical fluid extraction method is a method of performing extraction using a supercritical fluid that is a fluid in a state of exceeding the gas-liquid critical point (critical temperature, critical pressure) of a substance. Carbon dioxide, ethylene, propane, nitrous oxide (laughing gas) and the like are used as the supercritical fluid, but carbon dioxide is preferably used.

In the supercritical fluid extraction method, an extraction step of extracting the target component with the supercritical fluid and a separation step of separating the target component and the supercritical fluid are performed. In the separation process, extraction separation due to pressure change, extraction separation due to temperature change, adsorbent
Any of extraction and separation using an absorbent may be performed.

Supercritical fluid extraction may be carried out by the entrainer addition method. In this method, for example, ethanol, propanol, n-hexane, acetone, toluene and other aliphatic lower alcohols, aliphatic hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons and ketones are contained in the extraction fluid in an amount of 2 to 20.
By adding about W / V% and performing supercritical fluid extraction with this fluid, the solubility of the target extract such as OPC and catechins in the extraction solvent is dramatically increased.
Alternatively, it is a method of enhancing the selectivity of separation and a method of obtaining an efficient pine bark extract.

Since the supercritical fluid extraction method can be operated at a relatively low temperature, it has the advantage that it can be applied to substances that are altered or decomposed at high temperatures, the advantage that no extraction fluid remains, and the solvent can be recycled. The desolvation step can be omitted,
It has the advantage of simplifying the process.

The pine bark may be extracted by a liquid carbon dioxide batch method, a liquid carbon dioxide reflux method, a supercritical carbon dioxide reflux method, or the like.

The pine bark may be extracted by combining a plurality of extraction methods. By combining a plurality of extraction methods, it becomes possible to obtain pine bark extracts having various compositions.

The pine bark extract used in the present invention includes a proanthocyanidin polycondensate, that is, flavan-
A polycondensate containing 3-ol and / or flavan-3,4-diol as a constituent unit and having a degree of polymerization of 2 or more is contained, but a polycondensate having a low degree of polymerization is preferably used.
A condensation polymer having a degree of polymerization of 2 to 30 (2 to 30 mer) is preferable, and a condensation polymer having a degree of polymerization of 2 to 10 (2 to 10 mer)
Is more preferable, and a condensation polymer having a degree of polymerization of 2 to 4 (2 to 4
A monomer) is more preferably used.

In the present specification, of the polyanthocyanidin condensation polymers, the degree of polymerization of flavan-3-ol and / or flavan-3,4-diol as a constituent unit is 2
The polymers of 4 to 4 are called OPC (oligomeric proanthocyanidin).

OPC is a kind of polyphenol, which is a powerful antioxidant produced by plants, and it can be used in plant leaves, bark,
It is concentrated in the peels and seeds of fruits. Specifically, it is contained in grape seed, pine bark, peanut skin, ginkgo, black locust fruit, cowberry and the like. It is also known that cola nuts in West Africa, roots of Latania in Peru, and green tea in Japan also contain OPC. OPC is a substance that cannot be produced in the human body.

Since such OPC is an antioxidant, it has the effect of lowering the risk rate of adult diseases such as cancer, heart disease and cerebral thrombosis, and the effect of improving allergic constitution such as arthritis, atopic dermatitis and hay fever. And so on.

Further, OPC has an antioxidant effect, an effect of suppressing bacterial growth in the oral cavity to reduce plaque (dental plaque), an effect of restoring elasticity of blood vessels, and lipoprotein in blood is a reactive oxygen species. As a potentiator of vitamin E, the effect of preventing damaged fat from aggregating on the inner wall of blood vessels and preventing cholesterol from adhering, regenerating vitamin E decomposed by active oxygen, Is known to have the effect of.

In the present invention, a pine bark extract containing 20% by weight or more of OPC is preferably used. It is preferably 30% by weight or more.

When OPC is used as the pine bark extract,
A high anti-stress effect can be obtained as compared with the case where a high degree of polymerization is used.

The antistress agent of the present invention preferably contains catechins in an amount of 5% by weight or more. Catechins are also extracted from pine bark and are included in the pine bark extract. That is, catechins can be extracted together with OPC.

The catechins are a general term for polyhydroxyflavan-3-ols, and in addition to (+)-catechin, which is said to be catechin in a narrow sense, gallocatechin, afzelekin, (+)-catechin or 3-galloyl of gallocatechin. Derivatives have been isolated from natural products. As catechins, (+)-catechin, (-)-epicatechin,
(+)-Gallocatechin, (-)-epigallocatechin, epigallocatechin gallate, epicatechin gallate, etc. are known. For catechins, carcinogenesis suppression, arteriosclerosis prevention, fat metabolism abnormality suppression, blood pressure increase suppression, thrombosis prevention,
It is known to have antiallergic, antiviral, antibacterial, tooth decay prevention, halitosis prevention, intestinal flora normalization effect, active oxygen and free radical scavenging effect, antioxidant effect and the like.
Further, catechins are known to have an antidiabetic effect of suppressing an increase in blood sugar.

Catechins have the property of becoming more water-soluble and being activated at the same time in the presence of OPC.

The anti-stress agent of the present invention comprises a pine bark extract containing 20% by weight or more of OPC and 5% by weight of catechins.
It is preferable to add so as to contain the above. That is, when the catechins content of the pine bark extract is less than 5% by weight, the catechins content may be 5% by weight or more. Containing 5% by weight or more of catechins and OP
Most preferably, a pine bark extract containing 20% by weight or more of C is used.

The pine bark extract used for the anti-stress agent of the present invention is specifically prepared by the following method, but this is an example and not limited to this method.

1 kg of bark of French coastal pine is extracted with 3 L of a saturated sodium chloride solution at 100 ° C. for 30 minutes to obtain an extract (extraction step). Then, the extract is filtered and the resulting insoluble matter is saturated with sodium chloride solution 500.
Wash with ml to obtain a washing solution (washing step). A crude pine bark extract is obtained by combining the extract and the washing solution.

Then, ethyl acetate 250 was added to the crude extract.
ml is added and liquid-separated, and the ethyl acetate layer recovery step of recovering the ethyl acetate layer is performed 5 times. In this ethyl acetate layer recovery step, the ethyl acetate layer was replaced with anhydrous sodium sulfate 20%.
Collect directly to 0 g. After that, the ethyl acetate layer is filtered, and the filtrate is concentrated under reduced pressure until it becomes 1/5 of the original volume. The concentrated ethyl acetate layer is poured into 2 L of chloroform, and the precipitate obtained by stirring is collected by filtration. afterwards,
The precipitate is dissolved in 100 ml of ethyl acetate and then added again to 1 L of chloroform for precipitation to repeat the washing step twice. By this method, about 5 g of a pine bark extract containing 20% by weight of a 2- to 4-meric OPC and 5% by weight or more of catechins can be obtained.

In order to obtain the effect of the present invention as an anti-stress agent, pine bark extract is used in an amount of 50 mg to 2000 m per day.
g, preferably 100 mg to 1000 mg, may be administered to humans.

The health food of the present invention can be obtained by blending the pine bark extract with food. For example, the health food of the present invention is obtained by adding an excipient or the like to a pine bark extract and molding it into a shape such as a tablet or a pill, or without molding, in the form of a powder or other forms. Of course it is good. Further, it may be mixed with a filler, a binder, a thickener, an emulsifier, a colorant, a fragrance, a food additive, a seasoning and the like.

Capsules such as hard capsules and soft capsules, powders, granules, teas, tea bags, candy, liquids, pastes and the like may be used.

Further, for example, royal jelly,
It is also possible to add vitamins, proteins, calcium such as egg shell calcium, nutritional components such as chitosan, lecithin, chlorella powder, ashitaba powder, and moloheiya powder. Stevia powder, matcha powder, lemon powder, honey,
The taste may be adjusted by adding reduced maltose, lactose, sugar solution, seasoning and the like.

The anti-stress agent according to the present embodiment and the health food containing it may be eaten or drink as they are, or may be dissolved in water, hot water, milk or the like and drunk. Good, or you can drink the brewed ingredients.

[0039]

The present invention will be described below with reference to examples.
It goes without saying that the invention is not limited by this example.

(Example 1) OPC obtained by the above method
The effect of the antistress agent of the present invention was evaluated as follows using a pine bark extract containing 20% by weight of pine and 5% by weight of catechin.

Six-week-old SD rats (male) (Nihon Charles River Co., Ltd.) were acclimated for 1 week, and then the control group, test group 1, so that the average values of the body weights of the respective groups were almost uniform. And 7 animals were assigned to each of the 3 groups of test section 2. Dissolve the pine bark extract in water and force it once a day for 14 days so that it will be 0.1 g / kg-body weight (test group 1) and 0.5 g / kg-body weight (test group 2). It was orally administered. In addition, only water was administered to the control group. In addition, the pine bark extract is 0.005 g in the test area 1 against water.
/ Ml, in the test group 2, it was dissolved and administered at a concentration of 0.025 mg / ml.

After administration of the test substance on the final day, the rats were fasted for 24 hours, and then stressed by water immersion restraint was applied to each rat. The water immersion restraint was carried out by placing the rat in a stress cage and immersing the rat in the water tank set at 23 ± 2 ° C. to the level of the xiphoid process for 7 hours. After completion of the stress load, the animal was removed from the cage, the stomach was removed, fixed with 2% phosphate buffered formalin solution, and the length of hemorrhagic mucosal damage occurring in the glandular stomach was measured to determine the length of one animal. The sum of the lengths (mm) was taken as the ulcer index. In addition, from Equation 1, the stress suppression rate (%) of each sample
Was calculated.

[0043]

[Formula 1]

The results are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The result shows that the pine bark extract was 0.1 g / k.
g / body weight (test group 1) and 0.5 g / kg / body weight (test group 2) were administered in 38% and 4 groups, respectively.
It shows that the stress is suppressed by 5%. It is shown that the pine bark extract prevents gastric ulcer due to stress due to water immersion constraint and is effective as an anti-stress agent.

[0046]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, it was found that ingestion of the pine bark extract reduces stress.
Particularly, by using a pine bark extract containing 20% by weight or more of OPC and 5% by weight or more of catechins as an antistress agent, an excellent antistress effect can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an ulcer index (mean value of each group). Note that FIG. 1 also shows the standard error.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the stress suppression rates of test plots 1 and 2.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F term (reference) 4B018 LB10 MD48 MD60 ME14 MF01                 4C086 AA01 AA02 BA08 FA02 ZA18                 4C088 AB03 AC06 BA09 BA10 BA31                       BA32 CA05 CA06 CA07 MA52                       ZA18

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An anti-stress agent comprising a pine bark extract. 2. The pine bark extract is an OPC (oligomer).
20% by weight or more of ic proanthocyanidin) is contained, The anti-stress agent of Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. 3. The anti-stress agent according to claim 1, wherein the pine bark extract further contains 5% by weight or more of catechins. 4. A health food containing the antistress agent according to any one of claims 1 to 3.