JP2007289001A - Polyphenol-containing food - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide food containing polyphenol having body fat-reducing effect, and alpha-lipoic acid and its derivative. <P>SOLUTION: The polyphenol-containing food comprises polyphenol having body fat-reducing effect, in particular polyphenol composed of pine bark extract or processed kuzu flower extract, and alpha-lipoic acid and its derivative, and has excellent body fat-reducing effect. More preferably, the food contains ubiquinone or its derivative. The food is excellent in body fat-reducing effect and therefore usable as a body fat-reducing agent. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a food containing polyphenols having an effect of reducing body fat, α-lipoic acid and derivatives thereof.

Recently, it is said to be an era of satiety, and the amount of calories consumed tends to increase relative to the amount of calories consumed. Excess calories consumed are accumulated as body fat, subcutaneous fat, or fat in the liver. In particular, fat accumulation in middle-aged and elderly people causes obesity and causes adult diseases such as hypertension, fatty liver, hepatitis, or cirrhosis. It has become. Against this background, various attempts have been made to suppress fat absorption, prevent accumulation in the body, and improve lipid metabolism (Patent Documents 1 and 2).
JP-A-8-259461 Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-31955

  However, even if the component which eliminates obesity is proposed, the effect which each component has is only the effect with respect to one side of the cause of obesity, and the effect is greatly received by the constitution and eating habits. For this reason, it may be possible to cope with various constitutions and eating habits by combining a plurality of components that eliminate obesity, but there is a problem that the effect cannot be sufficiently obtained by the combined components .

  In view of the above problems, the present inventor has intensively studied a combination of components having an effect of suppressing or reducing the accumulation of body fat. As a result, the present inventors have found that an excellent body fat accumulation suppressing or reducing effect can be obtained by adjusting foods with polyphenols having a body fat reducing effect, α-lipoic acid and derivatives thereof, and the present invention has been achieved.

  That is, this invention relates to the foodstuff containing polyphenol which has a body fat reduction effect, (alpha) -lipoic acid, and its derivative (s).

  A more preferred embodiment relates to a food product characterized by further containing ubiquinone or a derivative thereof.

  A more preferred embodiment relates to a food, wherein the polyphenol having a body fat reducing effect is a pine bark extract or a processed kuzu flower.

  According to the present invention, a food containing a polyphenol having a body fat reducing effect, in particular, a polyphenol of a pine bark extract or a katsuhana treated product and α-lipoic acid or a derivative thereof has an excellent body fat reducing effect. This effect was considered to have been obtained by the action of promoting the degradation of lipids or inhibiting the absorption of lipids by polyphenols having an effect of reducing body fat and the effect of improving energy metabolism of α-lipoic acid.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described. In addition, this invention should not be limited and interpreted by description of the following embodiment, A various change is possible within the range of description in a claim.

(I) Polyphenols having a body fat reducing effect Examples of the polyphenols having a body fat reducing effect, which is a constituent of the present invention, include flavonoids, tannins, chlorogenic acids, and ellagic acids. Examples of flavonoids include flavones, flavonols, flavanones, isoflavones, anthocyanidins, flavanols, catechins, and the like, and examples of tannins include condensed tannins and hydrolyzed tannins.

  Such polyphenols have different physiological activities depending on their various structures. Among polyphenols, tannins, chlorogenic acids, ellagic acids, and isoflavones are preferable, and condensed tannins and isoflavones are more preferably used. It is done.

  In particular, when condensed tannin is used as the polyphenol having a body fat reducing effect of the present invention, a condensed tannin derived from a pine bark extract or a pine bark extract containing the same is used.

The pine bark used as the raw material for the pine bark extract includes Pinus Martima, larch, black pine, Japanese red pine, Japanese pine, Japanese pine, Korean pine, high pine, Ryukyu pine, Utsukushima, Japanese pine, white pine, and Canadian Quebec The bark of a plant belonging to the order of pine such as a local aneda is preferably used. Among them, French coastal pine (Pinus
Martima) bark is preferably used.

  French coastal pine is a marine pine that grows on the Atlantic coast of southern France. This French coastal pine bark contains proanthocyanidins, organic acids, and other physiologically active ingredients.

  The pine bark extract used in the present invention is obtained by extracting the pine bark with water or an organic solvent. When water is used, warm water or hot water is used. When an organic solvent is used, a solvent that is acceptable for the production of foods or drugs can be used. Examples of such organic solvents include methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanol, 2-butanol, acetone, hexane, cyclohexane, propylene glycol, hydrous ethanol, hydrous propylene glycol, methyl ethyl ketone, glycerin, Examples include methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, diethyl ether, dichloromethane, edible fats and oils, 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane, and 1,1,2-trichloroethene. These water and organic solvent may be used independently and 2 or more types may be used together. In particular, water, ethanol, hydrous ethanol, and hydrous propylene glycol are preferably used. From the viewpoint of safety when used for foods or pharmaceuticals, water, ethanol, and water-containing ethanol are more preferable, and extraction by heating is more preferable.

  The extraction method from pine bark is not particularly limited, and for example, a warm extraction method, a supercritical fluid extraction method, or the like is used.

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

  The supercritical fluid extraction method includes an extraction step of extracting a target component with a supercritical fluid and a separation step of separating the target component and the supercritical fluid. In the separation step, any one of extraction separation by pressure change, extraction separation by temperature change, or extraction separation using an adsorbent / absorbent may be performed.

  Moreover, you may use the supercritical fluid extraction method by the entrainer addition method. This method can be applied to the fluid that can form a supercritical fluid, for example, ethanol, propanol, n-hexane, acetone, toluene, other aliphatic lower alcohols, aliphatic hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons, and In this method, ketones are added in an amount of about 2 to 20 W / V%, and the target substance is extracted with this fluid in a supercritical fluid state. According to this method, the solubility of the target extract such as proanthocyanidins and catechins in the extraction solvent can be dramatically increased, or the selectivity of the separation can be enhanced. Can be obtained.

  Since the supercritical fluid extraction method can be operated at a relatively low temperature, it can be applied to substances that are altered or decomposed at high temperatures; the advantage that the extraction fluid does not remain; and the recycling of the solvent is possible. There is an advantage that the process can be omitted and the process becomes simple.

  Extraction from pine bark may be performed by a liquid carbon dioxide batch method, a liquid carbon dioxide reflux method, a supercritical carbon dioxide reflux method, or the like, in addition to the above method.

  For extraction from pine bark, a plurality of extraction methods may be combined. By combining a plurality of extraction methods, it becomes possible to obtain pine bark extracts having various compositions.

  The pine bark extract obtained by the above extraction is safe to be purified by ultrafiltration or a column method or a batch method using an adsorbent carrier (Diaion HP-20, Sephadex-LH20, chitin, etc.). From the viewpoint of

  Specifically, the pine bark extract used in the food of the present invention is prepared by the following method, but this is illustrative and is not limited to this method.

  1 kg of French coastal pine bark is placed in 3 L of a saturated aqueous solution of sodium chloride and extracted at 100 ° C. for 30 minutes to obtain an extract (extraction process). Thereafter, the extract is filtered, and the resulting insoluble matter is washed with 500 mL of a saturated solution of sodium chloride to obtain a washing solution (washing step). The extract and washing solution are combined to obtain a crude extract of pine bark.

  Next, 250 mL of ethyl acetate is added to the crude extract and the phases are separated, and the process of recovering the ethyl acetate layer is repeated 5 times. The collected ethyl acetate solutions are combined and added directly to 200 g of anhydrous sodium sulfate for dehydration. Thereafter, the ethyl acetate solution is filtered, and the filtrate is concentrated under reduced pressure until the original volume is reduced to 1/5. The concentrated ethyl acetate solution is poured into 2 L of chloroform, and the resulting precipitate is collected by filtration. Thereafter, the precipitate is dissolved in 100 mL of ethyl acetate, and then added again to 1 L of chloroform and precipitated for washing twice. By this method, for example, about 5 g of pine bark extract containing 20% by mass or more of proanthocyanidins having a degree of polymerization of 2 to 4 and 5% by mass or more of catechins is obtained. Here, the content of the specific component in the extract is a value based on the dry mass of the extract. The same applies hereinafter.

  The pine bark extract used in the present invention contains proanthocyanidins as one of the main active ingredients. Proanthocyanidins refer to a group of compounds consisting of a condensation polymer having a degree of polymerization of 2 or more, with flavan-3-ol and / or flavan-3,4-diol as a structural unit. It is a powerful antioxidant produced by plants and is intensively contained in plant leaves, bark, fruit peel and seeds. This proanthocyanidin is a substance that cannot be produced in the human body.

  When a pine bark extract containing this proanthocyanidin is ingested, an excellent effect of improving lipid metabolism is obtained. The pine bark extract contains, as a main component, a condensed polymer having a polymerization degree of 2 or more as proanthocyanidins, and further contains catechin and the like. In particular, proanthocyanidins containing a large amount of a condensation polymer having a low degree of polymerization are preferably used. The condensation polymer having a low polymerization degree is preferably a condensation polymer having a polymerization degree of 2 to 30 (2 to 30 mer), more preferably a condensation polymer having a polymerization degree of 2 to 10 (2 to 10 mer). Further, a condensation polymer (2 to 4 mer) having a polymerization degree of 2 to 4 is more preferable. Proanthocyanidins, which are polycondensation polymers having a degree of polymerization of 2 to 4 (2 to 4 mer), are particularly easily absorbed by the body, and therefore have an effect of promoting the decomposition of neutral fat in addition to the action of promoting cholesterol excretion. It is thought that it is obtained effectively. In the present specification, the polymer having a degree of polymerization of 2 to 4 is referred to as oligomeric proanthocyanidin (hereinafter referred to as “OPC”).

  In addition, proanthocyanidins having a pentamer or more are considered to have an action of promoting cholesterol excretion and neutral fat absorption inhibition. The pine bark extract contains 15% by mass, preferably 20% by mass or more, more preferably 30% by mass of a condensation polymer having a degree of polymerization of 2 to 4 (2 to 4 mer; that is, OPC). An extract containing a pentamer or more proanthocyanidins in a proportion of 10% by mass or more, preferably 15% by mass or more is preferable. As described above, the pine bark extract contains OPC and a pentamer or more proanthocyanidins, and therefore, it is considered that the cholesterol excretion promoting action, the fat absorption inhibiting action, the body fat reducing action and the like can be obtained. . Such synergistic action improves lipid metabolism in the body.

  The pine bark extract may further contain catechins, and these catechins are preferably contained in a proportion of 5% by mass or more, more preferably 10% by mass or more. Catechin can be extracted together with proanthocyanidins (OPC) by the above extraction method. Catechin is a general term for polyhydroxyflavan-3-ol. As catechins, (+)-catechin (referred to as catechin in the narrow sense), (−)-epicatechin, (+)-gallocatechin, (−)-epigallocatechin, epigallocatechin gallate, epicatechin gallate, and afzelechin Etc. are known. In addition to the above (+)-catechin, gallocatechin, afzelekin, and (+)-catechin or 3-galloyl derivatives of gallocatechin have been isolated from the pine bark extract. Catechin has carcinogenic activity, arteriosclerosis preventive effect, blood pressure increase inhibitory effect, platelet aggregation inhibitory effect, antiallergic effect, antiviral effect, antibacterial effect, caries preventive effect, halitosis preventive effect, intestinal flora normalization It is known that it has an effect, an active oxygen and free radical scavenging action, and an antioxidant action. In addition, catechins are known to have an antidiabetic effect that suppresses an increase in blood sugar. Catechins are poor in water solubility by themselves and have low physiological activity, but in the presence of OPC, catechins have the property of being activated at the same time as water solubility increases. Therefore, catechins work effectively when ingested with OPC.

  The catechins are preferably contained in the pine bark extract in an amount of 5% by mass or more. More preferably, the pine bark extract containing 20% by mass or more of OPC and 10% by mass or more of a pentamer or more of proanthocyanidins preferably contains 5% by mass or more of catechins. For example, when the catechin content of the pine bark extract is less than 5% by mass, the catechins may be added so that the content is 5% by mass or more. It is most preferable to use a pine bark extract containing 5% by mass or more of catechins, 20% by mass or more of OPC, and 10% by mass or more of proanthocyanidins of 5 or more.

  Since such a pine bark extract contains an organic acid in addition to proanthocyanidins and catechins, it has an effect superior to the case where catechins and proanthocyanidins are simply used.

  Moreover, as a thing suitably used as the isoflavones of this invention, the isoflavones derived from Kuzuka or the Kuzuka processed material containing this are mentioned.

  The processed kuzu flower used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is a processed product of the flower part of the kuzu plant belonging to the leguminous plant. Kuzuka includes flowers collected from the stage to the fully opened flower. It is preferable to use soot. In the present specification, the “kuzuka processed product” refers to a product obtained by performing at least one of a drying process, a pulverizing process, and an extracting process on kuzuka. The processed kuzuka product includes a dried katsuka product, a kuzu flower crushed product, a dried katsuhana product (kuzuka powder), and a kuzu flower extract. The kuzu flower extract includes an extract obtained by performing an extraction process from kuzu flower, kuzu flower crushed material, kuzu flower dried product or kuzu flower powder. The shape of the kuzu flower extract is not limited and may be liquid, paste, or powder.

  The processed Kuzuka product used in the present invention contains saponins, tryptophan glycosides and the like in addition to flavonoids such as isoflavones, and preferably can contain isoflavones and saponins. The content of these components is not particularly limited. Preferably, the isoflavones in the processed kuzuhana product are 3% by mass or more, more preferably 5% by mass to 90% by mass in terms of dry mass. The saponin is preferably 1% by mass or more, more preferably 2% by mass to 50% by mass. As such a kuzu flower processed product containing a high content of isoflavones and saponins, a kuzu flower extract is preferably used. The kuzu flower extract has an effect of preventing and reducing the accumulation of visceral fat and subcutaneous fat, and thus has an effect of preventing and reducing the accumulation of body fat. As a result, it has an anti-obesity effect that reduces body weight. It also has an effect of improving blood lipids. These body fat accumulation preventing effect, body fat reducing effect, anti-obesity effect, and blood lipid improving effect are considered to involve components other than isoflavones contained in kuzuhana. As shown in the examples, this is superior to soy extracts containing the same amount of isoflavones or saponins.

  Hereinafter, the preparation method of the dried katsuka, kuzuka powder and kuzuka extract, which are the kuzuka processed products, will be described.

  The dried product of Kuzuka is a dried Kuzuka, preferably Kuzuka in the cocoon stage, dried by a method such as sun drying or hot air drying. Preferably, it can be carried out until the water content is 10% by mass or less.

  The kuzu flower powder is obtained by pulverizing the dried kuzu flower. The powderization is performed by a method usually used by those skilled in the art, for example, a ball mill, a hammer mill, a roller mill, or the like.

  The kuzu flower powder can also be obtained by crushing the collected kuzu flowers using a mass collider, a slicer, a comitolol, etc. to obtain a kuzu flower crushed material, and drying the kuzu flower crushed material.

  For example, the Kuzuka extract can be added as necessary by adding a solvent to the Kuzuka collection, Kuzuka crushed material, dried Katsuka or Kuzuka powder (hereinafter sometimes referred to simply as “raw material”). Extraction is performed by heating, and the extract is collected by centrifugation or filtration.

  Examples of the solvent used for the extraction include water, an organic solvent, a water-containing organic solvent, and the like similar to the pine bark extract described above, and most preferably ethanol.

  The extraction temperature is not particularly limited as long as it is a temperature below the boiling point of the solvent used. The extraction temperature varies depending on the solvent to be used, but is generally 4 ° C to 130 ° C in consideration of decomposition of active ingredients. Preferably they are 50 to 130 degreeC, More preferably, it is 70 to 100 degreeC. When extracting by heating, for example, a heating extraction method such as heating under reflux, a supercritical extraction method, or the like can be employed. When heating, pressurization may be performed.

  The extraction time may be a time for sufficiently extracting soluble components from the extraction raw material, and may be set as appropriate according to the extraction temperature and the like. Preferably, it is 30 minutes to 48 hours. For example, when the extraction temperature is less than 50 ° C., it can be extracted for 6 hours to 48 hours, and when it is 50 ° C. or more, it can be extracted for 30 minutes to 24 hours.

  Moreover, the obtained extract is concentrated by a method used by those skilled in the art, such as vacuum concentration or freeze-drying, as necessary, and a kuzuhana extract is obtained by forming a liquid, a paste, or a powder. In addition, a powdery kuzu flower extract may be called an extract powder.

  Alternatively, the extract is further purified using a synthetic adsorbent (Diaion HP20, Sephabies SP825, Amberlite XAD4, MCIgelCHP20P, etc.) or a dextran resin (Sephadex LH-20, etc.), and the concentration of flavonoids, saponins, etc. is high. Kuzuhana extract can be obtained.

(Α-lipoic acid and its derivatives)
Lipoic acid, which is one of the constituent elements of the present invention, is also called thioctic acid, and is a substance widely distributed in the animal and plant kingdoms. Lipoic acid has been shown to act as a coenzyme in vivo in biochemical reactions in the Krebs cycle, especially in the decarboxylation of pyruvate and other keto acids.

  Α-Lipoic acid and its derivatives used in the present invention are α-lipoic acid and alkali metal salts such as sodium salt and potassium salt, amine salts and ammonium salts, alkyl or alkenyl esters, amides such as lipoamide and lipoyllysine. And dihydrolipoic acid which is a reduced form, alkyl or alkenyl esters and amides thereof.

(Ubiquinone and its derivatives)
Ubiquinone, which is one of the constituent elements of the present invention, is a substance that is also called coenzyme Q10 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as CoQ10) or ubidecalenone. It is known that it is a substance greatly involved in the production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate). In addition, it is known that coenzyme Q10 has an antioxidative action, and it has been found that coenzyme Q10 exhibits an antioxidant ability by being converted into ubiquinol in vivo. Such coenzyme Q10 is known to decrease in vivo concentration with aging. In recent years, it has been ingested as a food for the purpose of preventing aging, and is obtained as a food raw material or a cosmetic raw material. It is possible. For this reason, in this invention, it is possible to use such a commercial item as an external preparation.

  The derivatives of coenzyme Q10 in the present invention include those having improved water solubility of coenzyme Q10, and phosphate compounds of coenzyme Q10.

(Other ingredients)
(III) Other functional components The food of the present invention may contain functional components other than those described above. Examples of such a functional component include the above-mentioned functional components that can be contained in royal jelly, propolis, vitamins (A, C, D, E, K, folic acid, pantothenic acid, biotin, and derivatives thereof. Etc.), minerals (iron, magnesium, calcium, zinc, etc.), selenium, lecithin, carotenoids (lycopene, astaxanthin, zeaxanthin, lutein, etc.), saponins (such as gymnemic acid, soybean saponin, ginseng saponins, etc.), fatty acids, proteins (collagen, Elastin, etc.), oligosaccharides (isomalto-oligosaccharides, cyclic oligosaccharides, etc.), phospholipids and their derivatives (phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin, ceramide, etc.), sulfur-containing compounds (alliin, sepaene, taurine, glutathione, methylsulfonylmethane) Etc.), sugar alcohol, lignan (Sesamin, etc.), animal and plant extracts containing them, root vegetables (turmeric, ginger, etc.), grasses of wheat young leaves powder, and green leaves and green leaves Brassicaceae kale and the like.

  In particular, components that promote metabolism of sugar and lipids (vitamin B group and its derivatives, catechins, isomerized linoleic acid, caffeine, capsaicin, carnitine, saponin, soy peptide, amino acids, branched amino acids (valine, isoleucine, leucine, etc. ), Arginine, phosphatidylcholine, allyl sulfide compounds, forskolin, bergenin, quercetin, astilbine, hydroxycitric acid, and salts thereof, and animal and plant extracts containing these are preferably used.

(Food of the present invention)
The food of the present invention contains polyphenols having a body fat reducing action such as the above-mentioned pine bark extract and kuzuka, α-lipoic acid and derivatives thereof, and other functional ingredients, nutritional ingredients, and additives as necessary. Contains agents. Specifically, using these components, they are usually processed by those skilled in the art and prepared into various shapes. Such a food of the present invention has an effect of reducing body fat or suppressing the accumulation of body fat accompanying caloric intake. Moreover, since the food of the present invention has an excellent body fat reduction effect and body fat accumulation suppression effect, it can also be used as a body fat reduction agent or accumulation inhibitor.

  In the food processing method of the present invention, for example, an excipient or the like may be added to polyphenol having a body fat reducing action and α-lipoic acid and a derivative thereof, and the resultant may be formed into a tablet or pill shape, or Instead of molding, it may be in the form of powder or other forms. Other dosage forms include capsules such as hard capsules and soft capsules, powders, granules, liquids, and pastes. It can also be processed into a tea bag shape or a bowl shape.

  The method for ingesting the food of the present invention is not particularly limited. For example, the food of the present invention may be eaten or consumed as it is according to its shape or preference, or may be drunk in water, hot water, milk or the like, or may be drunk from a component leached.

  The food of the present invention contains a polyphenol having a body fat reducing action and a component having a lipid absorption inhibiting effect in an arbitrary ratio. Generally, it varies depending on the amount and dosage form of the polyphenol used or the polyphenol contained in the extract, but is generally 0.0001% by mass to 50% by mass.

  The content of the pine bark extract is generally 0.0001% to 50% by mass, preferably 0.001% to 40% by mass in the food. Is preferable, and in the case of a processed kuzuhana product, it is preferably 0.0001% by mass to 80% by mass, and more preferably 0.005% by mass to 50% by mass.

  In order to obtain the effect of the intake of the food of the present invention, polyphenols whose daily intake is effective for reducing body fat or processed plant products containing this polyphenol (pine bark extract, processed kuzuhana, etc.) ) Is 0.0005 g or more, preferably 0.001 g or more, more preferably 0.005 g or more, and most preferably 0.01 g or more. The daily intake is 2.0 g or less, preferably 1 or less, as the upper limit of polyphenols having a body fat reducing effect or plant processed products (pine bark extract or kuzuhana processed products) containing this polyphenol. 0.0 g or less, more preferably 0.6 g or less.

  Furthermore, the content of α-lipoic acid and its derivatives and ubiquinone and its derivatives is not particularly limited, but for α-lipoic acid, a polyphenol having a body fat reducing effect or a plant-treated product containing this polyphenol (pine Bark extract, processed kuzuhana etc.) 100 parts by mass of dry mass is 5 parts by mass to 1500 parts by mass, preferably 5 parts by mass to 1000 parts by mass. Moreover, ubiquinone and its derivative are 5 mass parts-2000 mass parts, Preferably they are 10 mass parts-1000 mass parts.

  Examples of the present invention will be described below. It should be noted that the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the following examples, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims.

(Reference Example 1: Evaluation of lipid absorption inhibitory effect)
Using a pine bark extract (OPC content 30% by mass; Toyo Shinyaku Co., Ltd.) obtained by extraction with ethanol and water, the lipid absorption inhibitory action was evaluated as follows.

  Ten 5-week-old male SD rats (Nihon Charles River Co., Ltd.) were acclimated for 1 week with a basic feed (MF feed, Oriental Yeast Co., Ltd.). Next, the animals were fasted for 16 hours, and divided into two groups so that the average body weights of the groups were almost equal. Next, blood was collected from the orbit and serum was obtained, and one group of rats was forcibly orally administered with a sonde so that the above-mentioned pine bark extract was 100 mg / kg body weight together with 0.5 mL of cottonseed oil (referred to as test group). ). For the remaining group, only 0.5 mL of cottonseed oil was administered (control group).

  One hour, 2 hours, 4 hours, and 8 hours after the administration, blood was collected from the eye socket again, and the neutral fat level in the blood was measured with a neutral fat measurement kit (Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.). . The measurement results were calculated with the measured value before administration as 1, and the measured values at each time after administration as relative values. Table 1 shows the average values and standard deviations.

  From the results of Table 1, it can be seen that the test group to which the pine bark extract was added can suppress the increase in blood neutral fat accompanying cottonseed oil administration compared to the control group to which pine bark extract was not added. That is, it can be seen that the pine bark extract used in the food of the present invention has a lipid absorption inhibitory action and suppresses an increase in neutral fat in the blood.

  In addition, when a two-way analysis of variance was performed on the test results 1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours, and 8 hours after the administration, the significance level was 1% between the test group and the control group. A significant difference was observed. Furthermore, when multiple comparison was performed by Tukey's method, a significant difference was observed between the test group and the control group at a significance level of 1%.

(Reference Example 2: Evaluation of body fat reducing effect of pine bark extract)
Using a pine bark extract (OPC content 30% by mass; Toyo Shinyaku Co., Ltd.), body fat reduction action was evaluated as follows.

  21 4-week-old SD rats (Nippon Charles River Co., Ltd.) were acclimated for 1 week with a basic feed (MF feed, Oriental Yeast Co., Ltd.). Subsequently, it divided into 3 groups so that the average body weight of each group might become substantially equivalent. Next, 1% by mass of cholesterol, 0.25% by mass of sodium cholate, and 10% by mass of corn oil were added to the basic feed, and 0.02% by mass of pine bark extract was further added thereto. Alternatively, two test feeds were added in addition to 2.0% by mass. One of these test feeds was freely ingested by one group of rats, and another group of rats was freely ingested by another group of rats (referred to as test group). Using the remaining 1 group as a control, a control feed similar to the above test feed but containing only the pine bark extract was freely ingested (referred to as a control group).

  On the 28th day from the start of ingestion, the weight of each rat was measured and then dissected, and the fat tissue around the kidney was removed to measure the fat mass. The fat mass (%) per body weight was calculated by the following formula (I). The results are shown in Table 2.

  From the results in Table 2, it can be seen that the test group to which the pine bark extract was added had a reduced fat mass per body weight compared to the control group to which the pine bark extract was not added. That is, it can be seen that the pine bark extract used in the food of the present invention has a fat reducing action or a body fat accumulation inhibiting action.

(Reference Example 3: Verification of body fat reduction effect of processed kuzu flower)
About the body fat reduction effect, the effect was verified as follows. First, 21 4-week-old male SD rats (Nippon Charles River Co., Ltd.) were acclimated for 1 week with a basic feed (MF feed, manufactured by Oriental Yeast Co., Ltd.). Subsequently, it divided into 3 groups so that an average body weight might become substantially the same.

  A hot water extract obtained from dry powder of Katsuhana (1% by mass of cholesterol, 0.25% by mass of sodium cholate, 10% by mass of corn oil, and 10% by mass of isoflavone manufactured by Ota Gonsan) Was added to the basic feed at a ratio of 5% by mass to prepare a test feed. This feed is designated as test feed A.

  In addition, it replaced with the hot-water extract obtained from the dry powder of Kuzuhana, and added the soybean extract (isoflavone containing 10 mass%: Fuji Oil Co., Ltd.) so that it might become 5 mass%. A feed was prepared in the same manner as test feed A. This feed is designated as test feed B.

  Moreover, the feed was prepared by the same method as the said test feed A except not adding the hot-water extract obtained from the dry powder of Kuzuka. This feed is used as a control feed.

  For the rats divided into the above three groups, one group received test feed A, the other group received test feed B, and the remaining groups received control feed.

  Next, fasting was performed for 1 day on the 28th day from the start of ingestion. After fasting, the body weight of each rat was measured and then dissected, and the fat tissue around the kidney was excised to measure the fat weight. After the measurement, the fat weight (%) per body weight was calculated by the formula (I) in Reference Example 1. The results are shown in Table 3.

  From the results in Table 3, it can be seen that the Kuzuka extract or the soybean extract has a body fat reduction effect. In addition, according to Table 3, the group which ingested the test feed (test feed A) containing the kuzu flower extract is compared with the group which ingested the test feed (test feed B) containing the control feed and the soybean extract. The value of fat weight per body weight is small. Therefore, it can be seen that the test feed A has an excellent fat reduction effect than the test feed B and the control feed.

(Example 1: Evaluation of body fat reduction effect or body fat accumulation suppression effect)
Pine bark extract containing 30% by mass of proanthocyanidins (OPC content 30% by mass; Toyo Shinyaku Co., Ltd.) and Kuzuhana extract (containing 10% by mass of isoflavone; manufactured by Ota Sakusan Co., Ltd.), α-lipo Acid (Oryza Oil Co., Ltd.) and CoQ10 (Nisshin Pharma Co., Ltd.) were used to evaluate the effect of reducing subcutaneous fat or inhibiting the accumulation of fat and the effect of inhibiting weight gain as described below.

  Twenty-five 7-week-old female ICR mice (CLEA Japan, Inc.) were acclimatized for 1 week with a basic feed (MF feed, Oriental Yeast Co., Ltd.). Subsequently, it divided into 5 groups so that the average body weight of each group might become substantially equal. Next, a group of mice was free of test feed 1 containing 40% by weight of beef tallow, 9% by weight of granulated sugar, 3% by weight of the above pine bark extract and 0.1% by weight of α-lipoic acid. Ingested (referred to as test group 1). The other group was allowed to freely take the test feed 2 prepared in the same manner except that it contained the kuzu flower extract instead of the pine bark extract of the test feed 1 (referred to as test group 2). The other group was allowed to freely ingest test feed 3 containing CoQ10 at 1% by mass into test feed 1 (referred to as test group 3). Further, another group was allowed to freely take the comparative feed 4 prepared in the same manner except that it did not contain the pine bark extract of the test feed 1 (referred to as a comparative group). The remaining group prepared the same comparative feed except that it did not contain the pine bark extract of test feed 1 and α-lipoic acid, and allowed them to freely take it (control group). On the 25th day after the start of ingestion, the body weight of each mouse was measured, and after the measurement, the rate of weight gain (%) was calculated from the following formula (II). The results are shown in Table 4.

  Furthermore, the subcutaneous fat of each mouse was measured by X-ray CT for experimental animals (trade name: LATHETA, manufactured by Aloka). The results are shown in Table 4.

  From the results of Table 4, the test groups 1 to 3 ingesting the test feed containing the pine bark extract or the kuzu flower extract of the present invention and α-lipoic acid have a lower subcutaneous fat mass than the comparison group and the control group. From the fact that it is small, it can be seen that it has an excellent body fat reduction effect. Moreover, the test group 3 which ingested the test feed containing a pine bark extract, (alpha) -lipoic acid, and CoQ10 showed the tendency which showed the especially outstanding effect. That is, it turns out that the foodstuff containing the polyphenol and alpha lipoic acid which have the body fat reduction effect of this invention has the outstanding body fat reduction effect.

The food containing the polyphenol having a body fat reducing effect of the present invention, in particular, the pine bark extract or the kana flower-treated polyphenol and α-lipoic acid and its derivatives has an excellent body fat reducing effect, so that it is particularly healthy. Useful as food. This effect is considered to be obtained by the lipolysis promoting action or lipid absorption promoting action of polyphenol having a body fat reducing effect and the energy metabolism improving effect of α-lipoic acid. Moreover, since the foodstuff of this invention has the outstanding body fat reduction effect, it can be utilized also as a body fat reducing agent.

Claims (3)

  A food containing polyphenols having an effect of reducing body fat, α-lipoic acid and derivatives thereof.   The food according to claim 1, further comprising ubiquinone or a derivative thereof. The food according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the polyphenol having a body fat reducing effect is a pine bark extract or a kuzu flower.