JP2005145897A - Saponin absorption-promoting composition - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a composition having heightened absorptivity of saponin in a living body. <P>SOLUTION: This saponin absorption-promoting composition contains a fermented product of a ginseng. Preferably, the composition contains saponin not derived from the fermented product of the ginseng besides the fermented product. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a composition with enhanced in vivo absorbability of saponin.

  Saponins are a general term for a group of glycosides having steroids or triterpenoids as non-sugar parts, and are widely distributed in the plant kingdom. Saponins are known to have physiological activities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, analgesic and vasodilatory effects. Saponin is contained in ginseng in particular, and ginseng is used as a herbal medicine for the purposes of nutrition tonic, obesity, adult disease prevention and the like.

  This saponin is scarcely present in natural products such as ginseng, and is generally used in the form of an extract containing saponin or a processed product thereof. Since the ginseng containing the above saponins has a unique bitter taste, it has been studied to ferment to improve the flavor while maintaining the saponin content (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

Saponins have a problem that the absorption efficiency in the living body is not sufficient, and the effects are not sufficiently exhibited even when ingested in a large amount. However, increasing the in vivo absorbability of such saponins has not been studied.
JP-A-3-277247 JP-A-8-256754

  Therefore, a composition having enhanced saponin absorption in vivo is desired.

  As a result of intensive studies on a composition for increasing the in vivo absorption efficiency of saponins contained in ginseng, the present inventors have found that fermented ginseng promotes absorption of saponins from the intestines. I found it. Furthermore, the present inventors have found that the above saponin absorption promoting effect is exerted not only on the saponin derived from the fermented product but also on the saponin not derived from the fermented product.

  The saponin absorption promoting composition of the present invention contains a fermented ginseng.

  The saponin absorption promoting composition of the present invention also contains a fermented ginseng and a saponin, and the saponin is not derived from the fermented product.

  In a preferred embodiment, the fermented product is obtained using at least one of lactic acid bacteria and yeast.

  In a preferred embodiment, the fermented ginseng has a saponin absorption promoting effect of 1.5 times or more compared to the ginseng before fermentation.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the saponin absorption promotion composition which contains the fermented ginseng and the absorption efficiency of the saponin in the living body was improved is obtained. The saponin absorption promoting effect of this composition is exhibited not only for fermented product-derived saponins but also for saponins not derived from fermented products. Furthermore, the fermented ginseng has excellent palatability. Therefore, the composition of the present invention can be used as an excellent functional food, medicine, or raw material thereof.

  The saponin absorption promoting composition of the present invention contains a fermented ginseng, and preferably further contains a saponin not derived from the fermented product. The composition may contain other components as required. Hereinafter, each component contained in the composition of the present invention and the composition of the present invention will be described. The configurations described below do not limit the present invention, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made within the spirit of the present invention.

(Fermented ginseng)
The fermented ginseng used in the present invention is obtained by fermenting ginseng. Examples of the ginseng include Ginseng, Panax ginseng, Panax ginseng, Panax ginseng, Ezoukogi, and the like. Specifically, these roots are used. Among these ginseng, ginseng is particularly preferably used because it contains a large amount of saponin and can sufficiently exhibit an absorption promoting effect. These ginseng can be used alone or in combination of two or more. Or after fermentation, each fermented material can also be mixed.

  The ginseng is preferably pulverized and extracted in advance before fermentation. The pulverization process and the extraction process may be performed individually or in combination. By performing these treatments, components from medicinal carrots and the like are easily eluted, so that fermentation can be performed efficiently.

  The pulverization treatment can be performed by a pulverization method commonly used by those skilled in the art, and is performed using a slicer, a dicer, a cutter mixer, a grinding mill, or the like. For example, first, the ginseng can be crushed so that the length of one side is about 0.1 cm to 10 cm, and then pulverized so that the particle size is about 30 μm to 1 mm. Since the surface area is increased by reducing the particle size, the components of medicinal carrot can be efficiently eluted. Moreover, since such a ginseng pulverized product is commercially available, it may be purchased and used.

  An extraction process is performed by adding extraction solvents, such as water and an organic solvent, to ginseng or the said ground material, and the components contained in ginseng, such as saponin, are extracted. It is preferable to ferment an extract obtained by this extraction process or an extract obtained by removing the residue from the extract by solid-liquid separation from the viewpoint of efficient fermentation.

  Examples of the organic solvent used for extraction include methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, ether, and ethyl acetate. These water and organic solvent may be used alone or in combination. From the viewpoint of safety when used for foods, pharmaceuticals and the like, water, ethanol, and hydrous ethanol are preferable. These extraction solvents can be appropriately used depending on the ginseng used. For example, tannin ginseng has a large amount of saponin, and even saponins and active ingredients can be easily extracted into the solvent even with water alone, so when using ninnan ginseng, the water extract is used for fermentation. be able to. On the other hand, ginseng and ginseng with low saponin content perform efficient fermentation by using an extract extracted with a mixed solvent of ethanol and water, specifically, an aqueous ethanol solution of 5 to 65% by volume. It is preferable from the point.

  There is no restriction | limiting in particular in the quantity of an extraction solvent. The amount of the extraction solvent is preferably 1 to 50 parts by weight, more preferably 2 to 30 parts by weight with respect to 1 part by weight of dry weight of ginseng. If the amount of the extraction solvent is too small, the extraction efficiency of the active ingredient may be lowered. If the amount of the extraction solvent is too large, the fermentation does not proceed or the yield after fermentation is poor, and a solvent removal step is required. There may be cases.

  The extraction conditions are not particularly limited, and may be set as appropriate depending on the boiling point of the extraction solvent. In general, the extraction temperature may be 30 ° C to 120 ° C, preferably 50 ° C to 100 ° C, and the extraction time may be 0.5 hours to 48 hours, preferably 1 hour to 24 hours. If the extraction temperature is too high, saponin and other active ingredients may be decomposed. In addition, for the purpose of extracting the active ingredient from medicinal carrots as much as possible, extraction is performed once, and a new extraction solvent is added to the extraction residue obtained by solid-liquid separation such as centrifugation and filtration, and re-extraction is performed. Good.

  The ginseng or pulverized product thereof, or an extract thereof or an extract obtained by removing residues from the extract is used as a medicinal ginseng-containing liquid to which a solvent such as water is added, if necessary, for fermentation described later. . There is no restriction | limiting in particular in content of the ginseng in a ginseng containing liquid. For example, the ginseng pulverized product may be contained in the contained liquid in an amount of 0.01% to 30% by dry weight. In the case of an extract, the ginseng content in the liquid may be set based on the dry weight of ginseng used before extraction.

  Examples of the bacteria used for fermentation to obtain a medicinal carrot fermented product include lactic acid bacteria, yeast, acetic acid bacteria, and koji molds. Lactic acid bacteria and yeast are preferable, and lactic acid bacteria are more preferable.

  Examples of lactic acid bacteria include Leuconostoc mescentroides, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Streptococcus thermophilus, Streptococcus faecalis, Bifidobacterium longum, etc. , Used alone or in combination. Among these, Lactobacillus plantarum is preferably used from the viewpoint of fermentation efficiency.

  As the yeast, any yeast used as sake yeast, wine yeast, beer yeast, baker's yeast and the like can be used. For example, yeast belonging to the genus Saccharomyces, Schizosaccharomyces, and the like are preferable, and among them, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces pastorianus, Schizosaccharomyces pombe and the like are more preferable. Saccharomyces cerevisiae that produces useful substances such as amino acids and vitamins and strains derived therefrom are particularly suitable.

  Examples of acetic acid bacteria include Acetobacter aceti, Acetobacter pasteurianus, Acetobacter hanseni and the like.

  Examples of the koji mold include bacteria belonging to the genus Aspergillus, Rhizopris, Saccharomycopsis, Bacillus, Monascus and the like.

  These bacteria are preferably added to the ginseng-containing liquid in an amount of 0.001 to 5% by weight, more preferably 0.01 to 3% by weight in terms of dry weight of the cells. .

  In order to perform fermentation efficiently, it is preferable to add a nitrogen source and a carbon source and, if necessary, a fermentation promoting component. Since medicinal carrots may lack a nitrogen source and a carbon source necessary for cell growth, these components are appropriately added.

  As the nitrogen source, a raw material usually used by those skilled in the art may be used. Examples include soy protein, corn extract, wheat extract, cotton extract, whey protein, casein, yeast extract and the like. Among these, corn extract, whey protein, and yeast extract are preferably used because they contain abundant nutrients other than nitrogen sources. The nitrogen source can be added so that it is contained in the ginseng-containing liquid at 0.05 wt% to 10 wt%, preferably 0.1 wt% to 5 wt%. This nitrogen source and the carbon source described later can be added as appropriate according to the growth of the cells even during the fermentation process.

  Examples of the carbon source include sucrose, glucose, fructose, and maltose. The carbon source is contained in the ginseng-containing liquid in an amount of 0.1 to 20% by weight, preferably 1 to 10% by weight. In the fermentation process described later, it is preferable to add while confirming the Brix value so that the content is as necessary. In the case of lactic acid fermentation, too much carbon source may inhibit the growth of lactic acid bacteria, so it is preferable to add so that the Brix value does not become 40 or more.

  The fermentation promoting component can be added particularly for the purpose of promoting the growth of lactic acid bacteria. Examples thereof include glutamic acid and vitamin B group.

  Fermentation is performed, for example, by putting the ginseng-containing liquid and bacteria in a fermenter and holding them under predetermined conditions.

  Fermentation conditions are not particularly limited, and either anaerobic fermentation or aerobic fermentation may be performed depending on the intended use of the resulting composition. For example, when alcohol production is required, anaerobic fermentation is performed, and when production of amino acids, proteins, etc. is required, aerobic fermentation is performed. Furthermore, in the case of lactic acid fermentation, it is preferable to lower the pH as necessary so that lactic acid bacteria can preferentially grow. For example, by adjusting the pH to about 4.0 to 5.5, lactic acid bacteria can be preferentially grown and fermentation can be performed in a short period of time.

  Fermentation temperature and fermentation time can be appropriately set according to the degree of target fermentation. For example, in the case of 10 ° C to 50 ° C, the reaction is performed for 3 hours to 96 hours, preferably 6 hours to 72 hours. Furthermore, when reducing the bitterness and smell of a fermented product, it is preferable to ferment (ripen) for 5 days-3 months at 4 to 10 degreeC.

  Fermentation is generally stopped by means such as adding non-metabolizable sugar to the cells, heat treatment, or removing the cells by solid-liquid separation such as filter filtration. obtain.

The heat treatment can be performed for the purpose of sterilization, and is generally performed at 60 ° C. to 130 ° C. for 1 minute to 6 hours, preferably 5 minutes to 2 hours. When leaving the saponin in the fermented product, it is preferable to perform heat treatment at less than 75 ° C. for 1 to 6 hours. Note that saponins such as ginsenoside Rb ₁ may be hydrolyzed when the temperature is 75 ° C. or higher or the pH after fermentation is 4.0 or lower.

  The fermented ginseng obtained in this way may be used as it is, or may be used in various embodiments depending on the treatment methods usually used by those skilled in the art, if necessary. Examples of such an embodiment include a fermented extract obtained by solid-liquid separation of a fermented product as described above and collecting the supernatant, a fermented paste obtained by concentrating the fermented product or the fermented extract, and the fermentation Or a fermented powder or fermented extract powder obtained by drying / pulverizing the product or the fermented extract. These are all aspects of fermented ginseng.

  Specifically, the fermented extract powder that is one embodiment of the fermented ginseng is obtained by filtering, drying and powdering the fermented product. As the drying method, various methods generally used by those skilled in the art are used, and lyophilization and spray drying are preferably used. When spray drying is performed, an excipient such as dextrin, cyclodextrin, starch or maltose is added as necessary. Preferably, dextrin is used. When the fermented product is dried, the ratio of the fermented product to the dextrin is preferably 1: 5 to 10: 1 by weight, and when the processing solution is dried, the ratio of the processing solution to the dextrin is The weight ratio is preferably 1:10 to 5: 1.

The fermented ginseng has an excellent effect of promoting absorption of saponin into the living body, and can obtain its physiological activity with a smaller amount of saponin. The fermented ginseng is preferably 1.5 times or more, more preferably 1.5 to 4.5 times more effective in promoting saponin absorption than the ginseng before fermentation. This absorption promotion effect of saponins is exhibited not only for saponins contained in the fermented product but also for other saponins. For example, when a medicinal carrot fermented product is heated for a long time in order to eliminate the bitter taste, saponin (ginsenoside Rb ₁ ) contained in the fermented product may be hydrolyzed and lost. However, in the case of adding ginsenosides Rb ₁ new fermentation product this saponin is lost, high absorption promoting effect of ginsenoside Rb ₁ is obtained.

(Saponins other than fermented saponins)
The composition of the present invention may contain saponins that are not derived from fermented ginseng. The saponin is not particularly limited as long as it is a saponin other than a saponin derived from a fermented ginseng as described above. Saponins are widely distributed in the plant kingdom, and are contained in plants such as liliaceae, yamaceae, palmaceae, and legumes. The saponins used in the present invention are not limited to such plant species and structures.

Examples of triterpenoid saponins include ginsenosides such as ginsenosides Rb _{1 to} Rb ₃ , Rg ₁ , Rg ₂ , soyasaponins, platicodins, saikosaponins, glycyrrhizin, and estine. Ginsenosides are preferably used in that the absorption efficiency in the living body is increased.

  Examples of the steroid saponin include diostin, digitonin, yononin, sarsapariloside, protodiostin and the like.

  A food material rich in the above saponins, for example, ginseng, soybeans, horse chestnuts, licorice, purple hu and hamchalu, may be included as saponins not derived from fermented products. Ginseng is preferred in that it contains ginsenosides.

(Other ingredients)
The composition of this invention may contain a various component as needed. The various components include, for example, components that can be added as normal foods and pharmaceuticals (excipients, extenders, binders, thickeners (eg, agar), emulsifiers, lubricants, wetting agents, suspending agents. Colorants (pigments), food additives, seasonings and the like. The above components may be contained alone or in combination.

  Examples of food additives among the various components include, for example, royal jelly, vitamins, minerals, chitin / chitosan, lecithin, and other food materials; soy extract; and licorice, rahan fruit, horse chestnut, senega, bellflower, Examples include extracts of medicinal plants such as ginger, turmeric, garlic, yam, and big yellow. Furthermore, beverages containing the above-mentioned nutritional components, for example, plant fermented juice, vegetable juice, plant extract, fruit juice, etc., can be used, and beverages with high functionality or nutritional value can be obtained by containing them. The content ratio is arbitrary.

  Examples of the seasoning among the above various components include sweeteners such as granulated sugar, honey and sorbit, acidulants such as alcohol, citric acid, malic acid and tartaric acid, and flavors.

(Saponin absorption promoting composition)
The saponin absorption promoting composition of the present invention contains a fermented ginseng as described above, and may contain a saponin not derived from the fermented product and other components as necessary.

  There is no restriction | limiting in particular in content of the fermented ginseng in the composition of this invention. What is necessary is just to acquire the saponin absorption promotion effect, and the quantity of this fermented material is arbitrary. Although there is no restriction | limiting in particular also about content of saponin, From the point from which the saponin absorption promotion effect is obtained efficiently, 0.1 weight part-as saponin with respect to 100 weight part in conversion of the dry weight of fermented ginseng- It is preferably contained in a proportion of 30 parts by weight.

  The composition of the present invention can be prepared in various forms according to the purpose, for example, as a food or a pharmaceutical product. For example, capsules such as hard capsules and soft capsules, tablets, pills, powders (powder), granules, tea bags, bowl-like viscous liquids, liquids, pastes and the like are used in a form commonly used by those skilled in the art. Furthermore, the liquid etc. can be processed into jelly, sorbet, frozen yogurt or ice cream. Depending on the shape or preference, these may be taken as they are, or may be taken by dissolving in water, hot water, milk or the like, or may be taken after leaching the ingredients.

  EXAMPLES Hereinafter, although this invention is demonstrated based on an Example, this invention is not limited to this Example.

(Example 1: Preparation of fermentation broth)
1.9 kg of water was added to 0.1 kg of Nana ginseng powder (Nippon Powder Co., Ltd.) and extracted at 80 ° C. for 1 hour. Thereafter, the supernatant was collected by filtration to obtain an extract. The extract is allowed to cool to room temperature, 10 g of yeast extract (Oriental Yeast Co., Ltd.) and 100 g of glucose are added and stirred well, and lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus plantarum) are added. And fermented at 35 ° C. for 24 hours. The acidity before fermentation was 0.1 in terms of lactic acid, and 0.7 after fermentation. The obtained fermented product was centrifuged at 3500 rpm for 10 minutes, and the supernatant was collected. The supernatant was sterilized by heating at 80 ° C. for 4 hours. The obtained supernatant was 1.6 L, and this was used as a fermentation broth. Next, ginsenoside Rg ₁ was measured by the following method using the fermentation broth as a liquid to be measured. As a result, ginsenoside Rg ₁ contained in the fermentation broth was 0.6 mg / mL.

(Measurement of ginsenoside Rg ₁ )
The ginsenoside Rg ₁ was measured as follows. First, 100 μL of diethyl ether was added to 100 μL of the measurement target solution and well stirred. This solution was centrifuged at 1000 rpm for 1 minute to separate into an aqueous layer and an ether layer, and the upper ether layer was removed. This ether was added and removed twice in total. Next, 100 μL of butanol was added to the obtained aqueous layer and stirred well. This solution was centrifuged at 1000 rpm for 1 minute to separate into an aqueous layer and a butanol layer, and an upper butanol layer was recovered. Further, 100 μL of butanol was added to the aqueous layer, and then the butanol layer recovered by the same operation as above was combined. The resulting butanol solution was measured as a sample by HPLC under the following conditions:
Mobile phase: acetonitrile / water mixture (volume ratio 19:81)
Column: UNISON US-C18 (manufactured by Intact)
Flow rate: 1.0 mL / min
Column temperature: 40 ° C
Sample volume used: 10 μL
Detection wavelength: 205nm
Reference material: Purified ginsenoside Rg ₁ (Matsuura Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.)

(Comparative Example 1)
A 1.6 L non-fermented liquid was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that lactic acid bacteria were not added. The ginsenoside Rg ₁ contained in the non-fermented liquid was 0.5 mg / mL.

(Example 2: Saponin absorption promoting effect)
Basic rats (MF feed, Oriental Yeast Co., Ltd.) were given to 10 10-week-old SD male rats (Kudo Co., Ltd.) and acclimated for 1 week. Subsequently, the rats were fasted for 16 hours or more, and these rats were divided into two groups of 5 animals per group so that the average body weight was equivalent. The fermented liquid obtained in Example 1 was forcibly orally administered to a group of rats as a saponin (ginsenoside Rg ₁ ) at 4 mg / kg body weight using a sonde. Ninety minutes after administration, 300 μL of blood was collected from the tail vein of each rat. Each blood was centrifuged at 5000 rpm for 10 minutes to collect 100 μL of serum. Ginsenoside Rg ₁ was measured in the same manner as in Example 1 using this serum as a measurement target solution. The non-fermented liquid obtained in Comparative Example 1 was also administered to the remaining group of rats in the same manner as described above, and ginsenoside Rg ₁ in the serum was measured. The results are shown in Table 1. In addition, the numerical value of Table 1 shows an average value.

From the results of Table 1, the group administered with the ginseng fermented liquid of Example 1 contained more ginsenoside Rg _{1 in the} blood than the group administered the non-fermented liquid of ginseng of Comparative Example 1. I understand that. This indicates that the fermented ginseng has a superior saponin absorption promoting effect than the non-fermented ginseng.

  Since the saponin absorption promoting composition of the present invention contains a fermented ginseng, the absorption efficiency of saponin into the living body can be increased by ingesting the composition. This saponin absorption promoting effect is exhibited not only for fermented saponins but also for saponins not derived from fermented products. Furthermore, the fermented ginseng has excellent palatability. Therefore, the composition of the present invention can be used as an excellent functional food, medicine, or raw material thereof.

Claims (4)

  A saponin absorption promoting composition containing a fermented ginseng. A saponin absorption promoting composition containing a fermented ginseng and saponin,
A composition wherein the saponin is not derived from the fermented product.   The composition according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fermented product is obtained using at least one of lactic acid bacteria and yeast.   The composition according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the fermented ginseng has a saponin absorption promoting effect of 1.5 times or more compared to the ginseng before fermentation.