JP2006129757A - Green tea extract reduced in bitter taste and harsh taste, and drink and food containing the extract - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide green tea extract reduced in bitter taste and harsh taste containing ≥30 wt.% of epigallocatechin gallate and gallocatechin gallate as green tea catechin in total, and to provide drink and food containing the green tea extract. <P>SOLUTION: The green tea extract is obtained through treatment using an adsorbent, and contains (A) the epigallocatechin gallate, (B) the gallocatechin gallate, (C) myricetin, (D) quercetin, and (E) kaempferol at a content weight ratio ((C)+(D)+(E))/((A)+(B)) of ≤0.0025. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a green tea extract with reduced bitterness, and further relates to a food or drink containing the green tea extract.

  Green tea catechins contained in green tea are a kind of plant polyphenols and are a general term for eight types of catechins, mainly epigallocatechin gallate, gallocatechin gallate, epicatechin gallate, catechin gallate, epicatechin, gallocatechin, and (+) catechin.

  It is clear that green tea catechin has many physiological effects such as antioxidant and antibacterial effects, cholesterol and lipid rise inhibitory action, body fat burning action, blood pressure rise inhibitory action, blood glucose rise inhibitory action, and antitumor action Has been.

  However, it is difficult to ingest green tea catechins so that a sufficiently satisfactory bioactive effect can be expected from several cups of green tea that are drunk daily. Therefore, if a separately extracted green tea extract is added to foods and drinks and the concentration of green tea catechin is increased, a greater effect can be expected.

  For example, Patent Document 1 below describes a body fat burning accelerator composed of a green tea extract.

  Moreover, the following patent documents 2 and 3 are reported about the drink which mix | blended the green tea extract.

  However, foods and drinks to which green tea extract on the market has been added in such an amount that the physiological effect of green tea catechins can be expected have a strong bitter taste and a bitter taste and are difficult to eat.

Most of the constituents of the green tea extract are green tea catechins. However, according to the study by the inventors, the taste of epigallocatechin gallate purified to 99% or more is as bitter as the green tea extract. Because the taste was not seen, the essence of the bitter taste was considered to be different from the green tea catechin. However, the essence of the bitter taste is unknown and has not been studied so far.
JP 2002-326932 A Japanese Patent No. 3338705 Japanese Patent No. 3378777

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to clarify a component factor related to bitterness in components other than green tea catechin in the green tea extract, to provide a green tea extract with reduced bitterness, and a food and drink containing the green tea extract. There is.

  As a result of intensive studies to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present inventors have found that there is a correlation between the bitterness of the green tea extract and the flavonoid content, and a process for reducing the flavonoid content, Catechin gallate, gallocatechin gallate) and flavonoid (myricetin, quercetin, kaempferol) by adjusting the weight ratio within a certain range, found that the bitter taste of green tea extract can be reduced, and complete the present invention It reached.

  That is, one of the present invention includes the following non-polymer components (A) and (B): (A) epigallocatechin gallate, (B) gallocatechin gallate, and the following flavonoid (C): myricetin, (D) Quercetin, (E) Green tea extract having a weight ratio ((C) + (D) + (E)) / ((A) + (B)) = 0.005 or less with respect to kaempferol Is to provide.

  According to the said invention, the green tea extract which does not impair the flavor of food / beverage products even if it mix | blends with various food / beverage products with comparatively high density | concentration can be obtained.

  In the green tea extract of the present invention, the above component weight ((A) + (B)) is 30 to 98% by weight, ((C) + (D) + (E)) is 0.12% by weight or less, cafe The in is preferably 10% by weight or less.

  Moreover, another of this invention provides the food / beverage products characterized by including the said green tea extract.

  Even if the food / beverage products of this invention contain the quantity of green tea catechin of the grade which can expect a physiological effect, the flavor of food / beverage products is not impaired.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a green tea extract with reduced bitterness. Moreover, the food / beverage products which can fully anticipate the physiological effect of green tea catechin can be provided by mix | blending this green tea extract with food / beverage products, without impairing the flavor of food / beverage products.

  The green tea catechin referred to in the present invention is a general term for one kind of polyphenols contained in green tea. Among them, epigallocatechin gallate, gallocatechin gallate, epicatechin gallate, catechin gallate, epigallocatechin, gallocatechin, epicatechin, (+ ) At least one selected from catechins is preferable, and epigallocatechin gallate is particularly preferable.

  Among the flavonoids referred to in the present invention, myricetin, quercetin and kaempferol are called flavonols and are contained in a large amount in vegetables and fruits. Each structural formula is shown in FIGS.

  The concentration of green tea catechin and flavonoid in the green tea extract as referred to in the present invention can be quantified by a method such as HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography).

  In the weight ratio of flavonoids shown in claims 1 and 2 of the present invention, it refers to the weight of aglycone and does not include glycosides or polymers.

  The green tea extract used as the raw material of the present invention is extracted from green tea by a known method described in JP-A-59-219384, JP-A-60-13780, JP-A-613030285 and the like. can do.

  For example, by extracting an extract obtained by extracting green tea with hot water with an organic solvent such as ethyl acetate, epigallocatechin gallate, gallocatechin gallate, epicatechin gallate, catechin gallate, epigallocatechin, A mixture of gallocatechin, epicatechin, (+) catechin and the like can be obtained. In the present invention, this mixture may be used as a raw material as it is, or may be used after further fractional purification as required. In addition, for example, a commercially available green tea extract such as a trade name “PF-TP80G” (manufactured by Pharma Foods Laboratories Inc.) and a trade name “Polyphenone” (manufactured by Tokyo Food Techno Co., Ltd.) can be used as a raw material.

  The green tea extract with reduced bitterness of the present invention can be obtained as follows.

  Green tea extract (for example, trade name “PF-TP80G” (manufactured by Pharma Foods Laboratories, Inc.) as a raw material is dissolved in water to prepare an aqueous solution preferably having a concentration of 10 to 40% by weight. Preferably at least one adsorbent selected from the group consisting of silicon, perlite, activated clay, activated carbon, and powdered cellulose is preferably 1 to 35 parts by weight, more preferably 5 to 35 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the green tea extract. After adding part and stirring and mixing at 40 to 60 ° C. for 20 to 100 minutes, the adsorbent is removed by filtration or centrifugation to obtain a filtrate, which is generally used in preparations for food additives. Can be used.

  The filtrate obtained as described above can be used as a green tea extract aqueous solution as it is, but can also be used as a green tea extract powder by methods such as vacuum concentration, spray drying, and freeze drying as appropriate.

  Since the green tea extract obtained as described above has reduced bitterness, for example, kneaded products, processed soybean products, mousse, jelly, yogurt, frozen dessert, strawberries, chocolate, gum, crackers, biscuits, cookies, cakes , Solid foods such as bread, supplements, etc., teas such as green tea, oolong tea, black tea, herbal tea, carbonated drinks, sports drinks, soft drinks, jelly drinks, concentrated juice, concentrated reduced juice, straight juice, fruit mix juice, It can be blended in liquid foods such as fruit juice containing fruit juice, fruit juice drink, fruit / vegetable mixed juice, vegetable juice, mineral water, milk, milk drink and the like.

  The concentrations of (A) epigallocatechin gallate, (B) gallocatechin gallate, (C): myricetin, (D) quercetin, and (E) kaempferol in the green tea extract with reduced bitterness of the present invention are ((C ) + (D) + (E)) / ((A) + (B)) = 0.0025 or less, preferably 0.0020 or less.

  In the green tea extract with reduced bitterness of the present invention, the total concentration of (C): myricetin, (D) quercetin, and (E) kaempferol ((C) + (D) + (E)) is 0.12. It is preferably no more than wt%, more preferably no more than 0.10 wt%.

  In the green tea extract with reduced bitterness of the present invention, caffeine is preferably 10% by weight or less, more preferably 5% by weight or less, and further preferably 3% by weight or less.

  0.03-2.0 weight% is preferable and the compounding quantity of the green tea extract in the food / beverage products of this invention has more preferable 0.05-1.0 weight%. If it is lower than this concentration, it cannot be expected that the physiological effect of green tea catechin is sufficiently satisfied, and if it is higher than this concentration, it is not preferable because it feels astringency.

Green tea has been ingested daily since long ago, and the safety of catechin, which is a component of green tea, is very high. In an acute toxicity test in which green tea catechin was orally administered to DDY mice, LD50 was 5 g in males. / Kg body weight and females are reported to be 3.1 g / kg ("Green tea polyphenol" Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Food Distribution Bureau consignment business functional material effective use series No. 10, pp19, 1991).

  Hereinafter, the content of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the following examples, but the present invention is not particularly limited thereto.

  The trade name “PF-TP80G” (manufactured by Pharma Foods Laboratories, Inc.) was used as the green tea extract used as a raw material. The polyphenol content by the iron tartrate method was 89.9%. When analyzed by HPLC under the following conditions, the total catechin concentration was 72.5%, (A) epigallocatechin gallate 37.7%, (B) gallocatechin gallate 4.84%, flavonoid (C) : Myricetin 0.213%, (D) Quercetin 0.147%, (E) Kaempferol 0.061%, Weight ratio ((C) + (D) + (E)) / ((A) + (B)) = 0.0099.

(HPLC analysis conditions)
Analyzer: Shimadzu SCL-10A high performance liquid chromatograph (manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation)
Column: Shimpach VP ODS (150 × 4.6 mm ID)
Mobile phase: methanol / 0.05% phosphoric acid aqueous solution = 20/80
Column temperature: 40 ° C
Detection wavelength: 280 nm

  400L of water is put in a stainless steel tank (2000L) and heated to 50 ° C. The product name "PF-TP80G" (manufactured by Pharma Foods Laboratories) 200 kg and activated clay (product name "Galeon Earth", Mizusawa Chemical Industries) 5 kg was added and mixed with stirring for 30 minutes.

  Further, 4 kg of diatomaceous earth (trade name “Radiolite”, manufactured by Showa Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.) was added and filtered with a press filter to remove diatomaceous earth, activated white clay, and insoluble matter.

  Next, 30 kg of activated carbon (trade name “Carborafyn”, manufactured by Nippon Enviro Chemicals) was added and mixed with stirring at 50 ° C. for 30 minutes. Then, 9.0 kg of powdered cellulose (trade name “KC Flock”, manufactured by Nippon Paper Chemicals Co., Ltd.) was added and filtered with a press filter to remove activated carbon and powdered cellulose.

  The obtained aqueous solution was concentrated to Brix 40 while circulating at 45 ° C. using a vacuum concentrator, and the concentrate was pulverized by spray drying to obtain 145 kg of green tea catechin powder. The resulting powder has a polyphenol content of 87.7% (iron tartrate method), a total catechin concentration by HPLC method of 78.0%, (A) epigallocatechin gallate 41.2%, (B) gallocatechin gallate 5. 39%, flavonoid (C): 0.051% myricetin, (D) 0.013% quercetin, (E) 0.012% kaempferol content ratio ((C) + (D) + (E )) / ((A) + (B)) = 0.016.

  Next, in order to compare the flavonoid content of the green tea extract of the present invention and the conventional green tea extract, the powder obtained above and the trade name “PF-TP80G” used as a raw material (Pharma Foods Laboratory Co., Ltd.) HPLC analysis was conducted under the following conditions. The results are shown in FIGS.

(HPLC analysis conditions)
Analyzer: Shimadzu SCL-10A high performance liquid chromatograph (manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation)
Column: Shimpach VP ODS (150 × 4.6 mm ID)
Mobile phase: methanol / 0.05% phosphoric acid aqueous solution = 20/80
Column temperature: 40 ° C
Detection wavelength: 280 and 375 nm

  4 and 5, it can be seen that peaks C (myricetin), D (quercetin), and E (kaempferol) are smaller in FIG. 5 than in FIG. From this, it is presumed that these peaks exhibit the same behavior as the bitter component removed by the adsorbent treatment.

  0.25 g of commercially available green tea powder (manufactured by Sato Foods) was placed in 1 L of 90 ° C. hot water, and 1.0 g of green tea extract powder obtained in Example 1 was added and mixed well to dissolve (Sample A).

  As a control, a green tea beverage 1L prepared in the same manner as described above was prepared by adding 1.0 g of green tea extract “PF-TP80G” (manufactured by Pharma Foods Co., Ltd.) used as a raw material (sample B).

  Then, using each of the obtained green tea beverage samples A and B, a sensory test (30 adult male and female panelists aged 23 to 45 years old) was performed on “bitterness strength” and “deliciousness”. The evaluation is very strong (very delicious) (5 points), strong (4 points), normal (3 points), not very strong (2 points), weak (poor) (1 point) and scored in 5 levels The average score was obtained. The results are shown in Table 1.

  As can be seen from Table 1, sample A was preferred in both items of bitterness intensity and deliciousness.

(Green tea catechin-containing cookie) A cookie containing green tea catechin was prepared in the usual manner using the following ingredients.
(Cookie ingredients)
160g flour (soft flour)
60g sugar
100g butter
30g almond powder for 2 yolks
Vanilla extract slightly green tea extract (obtained in Example 1) 2g
Hand flour (soft flour)

  The obtained cookie had a bit of astringency peculiar to tea compared to a normal cookie, but had no particularly unpleasant bitterness and could be eaten deliciously.

  Since the green tea extract obtained by the present invention has reduced bitterness, it can be blended as a functional material in various foods and drinks at a relatively high concentration, and the food and drink that can sufficiently expect the physiological effects of green tea catechins. Goods can be provided.

The chemical structural formula of myricetin is shown. The chemical structural formula of quercetin is shown. The chemical structural formula of kaempferol is shown. It is a figure which shows the HPLC chart of the conventional green tea extract used as a raw material. C, D, and E represent peaks of (C) myricetin, (D) quercetin, and (E) kaempferol, respectively. It is a figure which shows the HPLC chart of the green tea extract of this invention which reduced the bitterness by carrying out adsorption agent processing. C, D, and E represent peaks of (C) myricetin, (D) quercetin, and (E) kaempferol, respectively.

Claims (3)

The following non-polymer components (A) and (B): (A) epigallocatechin gallate, (B) gallocatechin gallate, and the following flavonoids (C): myricetin, (D) quercetin, (E) ken Green tea extract whose content weight ratio ((C) + (D) + (E)) / ((A) + (B)) = 0.0025 or less with respect to ferrol. The component weight ratio ((A) + (B)) is 30 to 98% by weight, ((C) + (D) + (E)) is 0.12% by weight or less, and caffeine is 10% by weight or less. Item 5. Green tea extract according to item 1. A food or drink comprising the green tea extract according to claim 1 or 2.

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