JP2010163460A - Composition containing yunnan kudingcha component - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a brain function-improving composition useful for the improvement of learning function, apoplexy, dementia, Alzheimer's dementia, brain infarct, cerebrovascular accident or disorder of memory for living bodies. <P>SOLUTION: This brain function-improving composition is an extract mainly composed of a polyphenol component obtained by extraction of leaves of Ligustrum purpurascens (Y. C. Yang) with water or an organic solvent alone or with their mixture, and its active ingredient is a component having antioxidant activity and/or aldose reductase inhibiting activity. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a composition comprising, as an active ingredient, an extract containing Yunnan bitter tea component, the main component of which is a polyphenol component obtained from Yunnan bitter tea. More specifically, it has antioxidant activity and aldose reductase inhibitory activity, lipid peroxide suppression for the living body, cholesterol lowering, neutral lipid lowering, hyperlipidemia improvement, diabetes improvement, learning function improvement, brain function improvement, The present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition and a health food composition useful for the treatment and prevention of various lifestyle-related diseases such as prevention of dementia.

  Today, patients with hyperlipidemia and hypercholesterolemia are increasing due to excessive fat intake due to changes in dietary habits. These cause organ damage such as brain, heart, liver, etc. It is also the cause of diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and cancer. In addition, allergic patients and patients with brain diseases such as dementia are increasing, and there is a concern that the number of patients with these diseases, particularly dementia and Alzheimer's syndrome, will increase especially in the future. The cause of this is the involvement of reactive oxygen species generated in vivo, but no complete generation suppression or control technology for reactive oxygen species has been fully developed. Certain prevention and treatment techniques have not been established.

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in natural substances that exist in plants and exhibit physiological activity.
In China, tea has been drunk for a long time. Biting tea is generally produced in the southern region of China's Yangtze River, Yunnan Province, etc., and originates from plants of Aquifoliaceae and Oleaceae, and its leaves are dried and steamed to make tea. As with regular tea, hot water is poured into the leaves and it is drunk mainly after meals. Plants used as raw materials vary depending on the place of production. So far, the following 5 families, 5 genera and 10 species including the aforementioned aceae and oleaceae plants have been known.

(1) Purple stem virgin (Scientific name: Ligustrum purpurascens YCYang., Family name: Oleaceae, Origin: Yunnan)
(2) Infamy Woman Sada (Scientific name: Ligustrum pedunculare Rehd., Family name: Oleaceae, Origin: Sichuan)
(3) Nihon Mao Sada (Scientific name: L.japonicum var.pubescens Koidz., Family name: Oleaceae, Origin: Guizhou)
(4) Ryoro Sada (Scientific name: L.robustum (Roxb.) Bl., Family name: Oleaceae, Origin: Guizhou)
(5) Ribs (Scientific name: Ilex cornuta Lindl. Ex Paxt., Family name: Aquifoliaceae, Origin: Zhejiang)
(6) Biting tea winter blue (scientific name: Ilex kudincha CJTseng., Department name: Aquifoliaceae, production area: Guangxi)
(7) Ooba Fuyuo (Scientific name: Ilex latifolia Thunb., Family name: Aquifoliaceae, Origin: Zhejiang, Hunan)
(8) Hairy beef yellowwood (Scientific name: Cratoxylum prunifolium (Kurz) Dyer, Family name: Hypericaceae (Guttiferae), Origin: Guangxi)
(9) Thick tree (scientific name: Ehretia thysiflora (S.etZ.) Nakai, family name: Boraginaceae, production area: Guangxi)
(10) Ishinan (Scientific name: Photinia serrulata Lindl., Family name: Rosaceae, Origin: Zhejiang)

  The bitter tea is characterized by its production area. For example, the ribs (Ilex cornuta Lindl. Ex Paxt.) And (6) the bitter tea winter blue (Ilex kudincha CJTseng.) Has a strong bitterness, triterpene is the main active ingredient, and is said to have a fat-reducing and anti-inflammatory action, and also used as a raw material in the examples of the present invention (1) (Ligustrum purpuracens Yn OC.Yang) (hereinafter referred to as Yunnan bitter tea) has a relatively soft bitterness, and has long been known as "scattering wind heat, purifying the head, excluding thirst, headache, toothache It is said to have a medicinal effect that cures redness, ear loss, heat exhaustion, and diarrhea.

  There have been several reports on the ingredients of Yunnan bitter tea, and it has been shown that polyphenols are contained (eg, HE Zheng-Dan et al., “Glycosides from Ligustrum purpurascens Acta Botanica Yunnanica, 14 (3), 328-336 (1992) (Non-Patent Document 1), etc.).

  Polyphenolic compounds are known to exist in the plant kingdom as a secondary metabolite of plants in a wide variety and in large quantities. These compounds have attracted attention for a long time in the fields of pharmacy, phytochemistry, etc., and in recent years in the field of health foods because they exhibit various physiological activities. Among them, research on tea polyphenols has been actively conducted, and tea polyphenols, especially catechins, have antibacterial activity, antiviral activity, antimutation activity, antioxidant activity, blood pressure increase suppression, blood cholesterol lowering, anti-cariogenic activity, and antiallergy. It is known to have a very wide range of physiological activities such as intestinal flora improvement and deodorization.

Regarding the use of Yunnan bitter tea, the use of L. purpuracens for serum lipid balance improvement foods and pharmaceuticals has been proposed (for example, suppression of arteriosclerosis) without specifying the ingredients. And a composition containing the same (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-33672 (Patent Document 1), 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-67263 (Patent Document 2)) , Acylcoenzyme A cholesterol acyltransferase activity inhibitor and composition containing the same (JP 9-077676 A (patent document 3), phosphatidylcholine sterol acyltransferase sterol AT activity promoter and composition containing the same (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-077678 (Patent Document 4)).
However, there has been no report on an example of use in which an active ingredient in Yunnan bitter tea has been identified and focused on the physiological activity of the ingredient.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-033672 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-0667263 JP 9-077676 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-077678 JP 2002-226389 A International Publication No. 03/032966 Pamphlet

H. E. Zheng-Dan et al., "Glycosides from Ligustrum purpurascens", Acta Botanica Yunnanica, 14 (3), 328-336 (1992)

  Thus, it is conceivable to find an active ingredient from a food or something similar to food in the treatment and prevention of an aging society expected in the future and the diseases associated therewith. Under such circumstances, the problem of the present invention is to search for an unknown action of a physiologically active ingredient contained in Yunnan bitter tea that has been drunk for a long time and has already been confirmed to be safe as food. The object is to provide a pharmaceutical composition and a health food composition that are effectively utilized.

  As a result of intensive studies on an extract obtained by extracting Yunnan bitter tea with a mixture of water and / or an organic solvent, the present inventors have found that the extract contains a large amount of a polyphenol component and has an antioxidant activity ( It has been found for the first time that it has radical scavenging action and aldose reductase inhibitory activity, and also decreases blood lipid peroxide, increases blood SOD (superoxide dismutase) activity, decreases blood cholesterol and triglycerides, blood sugar It was confirmed to have a lowering effect. These actions that the present inventors have found this time include various lipid peroxidation suppression, cholesterol lowering, neutral lipid lowering, hyperlipidemia improvement, diabetes improvement, learning function improvement, brain function improvement, prevention of dementia, etc. This is an effective action for the treatment and prevention of lifestyle-related diseases, and the present invention has been completed based on these findings.

That is, this invention relates to the composition containing the following Yunnan bitter tea components.
1. A Yunnan bitter tea component-containing extract mainly composed of a polyphenol component obtained by extracting Yunnan bitter tea with water or an organic solvent alone or a mixture thereof, and having antioxidant activity and / or aldose reduction A composition comprising an ingredient having enzyme inhibitory activity as an active ingredient.
2. 2. The composition according to item 1, wherein a plant belonging to the genus Ligustrum is used as Yunnan bitter tea.
3. 3. The composition according to item 2 above, wherein the plant belonging to the genus Ligustrum is Ligustrum purpurascens YCYang.
4). 4. The composition according to any one of items 1 to 3, which is a pharmaceutical composition for treatment and / or prevention of lifestyle-related diseases.
5). 5. The pharmaceutical composition according to item 4 above, which has an action of inhibiting lipid peroxide, lowering cholesterol, neutral lipid, improving hyperlipidemia, improving diabetes, improving learning function, improving brain function, or preventing dementia on a living body.
6). 6. The pharmaceutical composition according to 5 above, wherein the lifestyle-related disease is diabetes and its complications.
7). 4. The composition according to any one of items 1 to 3, which is a health food composition for improving and / or preventing lifestyle-related diseases.
8). 8. The health food composition according to 7 above, which has an action of inhibiting lipid peroxide, lowering cholesterol, neutral lipid, improving hyperlipidemia, improving diabetes, improving learning function, improving brain function, or preventing dementia on a living body.
9. 9. The health food composition according to 8 above, wherein the lifestyle-related disease is diabetes and its complications.

  The present invention provides an extract obtained by extracting Yunnan bitter tea, which has been drunk for a long time and has already been confirmed as safe as a food, and a composition comprising an appropriately fractionated fraction as an active ingredient. is there. According to the present invention, it is possible to produce a composition exhibiting excellent effects such as inhibition of oxidative denaturation and lipid peroxidation from Yunnan bitter tea. The composition according to the present invention can be safely used as pharmaceuticals, foods and cosmetics.

It is a flowchart which shows the outline | summary of the fraction refinement | purification operation about Yunnan bitter tea extract. It is a flowchart (continuation) which shows the outline | summary of the fraction refinement | purification operation about Yunnan bitter tea extract. It is a graph which shows the AAPH radical scavenging effect of Yunnan bitter tea extract. It is a graph which shows the effect with respect to a blood glucose level (Serum Glucose) in a diabetic animal model of Yunnan bitter tea extract. It is a graph which shows the effect with respect to serum lipid peroxide (Serum MDA) in the diabetic animal model of Yunnan bitter tea extract. It is a graph which shows the effect with respect to the lipid peroxide (Liver mitochondria MDA) in a liver mitochondrion in a diabetic animal model of Yunnan bitter tea extract. It is a graph which shows the effect with respect to the lipid peroxide density | concentration (Kidney mitochondria MDA) in a kidney mitochondria in a diabetic animal model of Yunnan bitter tea extract. It is a graph which shows the change of the amount of lipid peroxide (nmolMDA / ml) in the blood before and after administration of Yunnan bitter tea extract about the human who administered Yunnan bitter tea extract. It is a graph which shows the change of SOD activity (%) in the blood before and after administration of Yunnan bitter tea extract about the person who administered Yunnan bitter tea extract. It is a graph which shows the change of the blood cholesterol level (mg / dl) before and after administration of Yunnan bitter tea extract about the human who administered Yunnan bitter tea extract. It is a graph which shows the change of the amount of triglycerides (mg / dl) in blood before and after administration of Yunnan bitter tea extract about the human who administered Yunnan bitter tea extract. It is a graph which shows the protective effect with respect to glutamate toxicity in the hippocampal primary culture cell of Yunnan bitter tea extract. It is a graph which shows the protective effect with respect to the kainic acid toxicity in the hippocampal primary culture cell of Yunnan bitter tea extract. It is a graph which shows the protective effect with respect to beta amyloid toxicity in the hippocampal primary culture cell of Yunnan bitter tea extract. It is a graph which shows the protective effect with respect to the hydrogen peroxide toxicity in the hippocampal primary culture cell of Yunnan bitter tea extract. It is a graph which shows the effect (positive selection number) with respect to the spatial cognitive impairment in the Happo radial maze induced by scopolamine of Yunnan bitter tea extract. It is a graph which shows the effect (number of misselection) with respect to the spatial cognitive impairment in the Happo radial maze induced by scopolamine of Yunnan bitter tea extract.

The present invention will be described in detail below.
The Yunnan bitter tea component-containing extract in the present invention is an extract (extract) obtained by extracting Yunnan bitter tea with water or an organic solvent alone, or a mixture thereof, and performing a treatment such as filtration and concentration, or This is processed by adsorption, separation, elution and the like.

In the extraction, water, alcohols, hydrophilic organic solvents, or a mixture thereof is used. When the extract is used for food, medicine, etc., a solvent that does not adversely affect the human body is used.
The extraction is usually performed at normal temperature or under pressure at normal temperature to about 60 ° C. for 1 to 3 hours, but if necessary, the extraction temperature may be raised to 70 to 90 ° C., and the extraction time may be as short as 1 hour or less, or It may be performed in 3 hours or more. After the extraction treatment, the extract is recovered by appropriate means such as filtration or centrifugation, and if necessary, treatments such as solvent removal, concentration of the extract, drying, and powdering are performed.

  The Yunnan bitter tea component-containing extract thus obtained has AAPH (2,2′-azobis (2-aminopropane) dihydrochloride) and DDPH (1,1-diphenyl) as shown in the test results described below. -2-picrylhydrazyl) showed a strong radical scavenging action, and in a test using a diabetic model animal, the blood glucose level was significantly reduced compared to the control group. It was confirmed to have an action of inhibiting aldose reductase appearing in tissues such as peripheral nerves, kidneys and blood vessels. Moreover, it was confirmed by the administration test with respect to a volunteer that the extract containing a Yunnan bitter tea component has an antioxidant action, a serum cholesterol lowering action, and a neutral fat reducing action.

  In addition, fraction purification by various chromatography of the extract was attempted, and various polyphenol compounds were identified. That is, the polyphenol compound fraction was purified by treating the extract with an adsorbent. As the adsorbent, styrene-divinylbenzene adsorbent, methacrylic acid adsorbent, hydrophilic vinyl polymer, modified dextran gel, polyacrylamide gel, reverse phase silica gel, ion exchange resin and the like are used. When these adsorbents are used, a polyphenol compound and an unknown active ingredient are contained in a fraction adsorbed thereto (hereinafter referred to as an adsorbed fraction). By eluting the adsorbed fraction with hydrous alcohol, alcohol, hydrous acetone or the like, various polyphenol compounds were confirmed (see the section of fraction purification in Production Example 1 described later).

Therefore, the composition containing the extract containing Yunnan bitter tea component according to the present invention as an active ingredient is effective in suppressing lipid peroxide in vivo, lowering blood cholesterol and neutral fat, improving hyperlipidemia, improving diabetes, etc. In addition, it has the effect of inhibiting the production of lipid peroxides in vivo, that is, the effect of preventing injuries and aging of organs and the like by in vivo antioxidant effects, and is particularly useful for the treatment and prevention of diabetes and its complications. In addition, it is also considered effective for the suppression and prevention of brain disorders such as dementia, which are thought to be caused by aging of the brain, and the treatment thereof. At the same time, improvement of brain function can be expected to improve learning function, reduce irritability, eliminate insomnia, and recover from calmness.
Therefore, the composition of the present invention can be used as a pharmaceutical composition and a health food composition.

Pharmaceutical compositions include so-called lifestyle-related diseases such as hypercholesterolemia, hyperlipidemia, arteriosclerosis, ischemic heart disease and other heart diseases and various organ disorders, various brain diseases such as stroke, dementia, Alzheimer Effects such as prevention / improvement and treatment of cerebral infarction, cerebral infarction, cerebrovascular disorder, memory disorder and the like are expected.
Health food compositions include so-called lifestyle-related diseases such as hypercholesterolemia, hyperlipidemia, arteriosclerosis, ischemic heart disease and other heart diseases and various organ disorders, various brain diseases such as stroke, dementia, Alzheimer's Health maintenance effects such as prevention / improvement of cerebral infarction, cerebral infarction, cerebrovascular disorder, memory disorder, etc. are expected.

The composition according to the present invention shows no toxicity and can be used safely.
The composition of the present invention is used orally or parenterally. When used orally, the dosage varies depending on age, weight, symptoms, intended treatment or improvement effect, administration method, etc. In the range of 100 to 2000 mg per adult per serving. When the composition of the present invention is administered, it is generally used as an oral administration as a tablet, pill, capsule, powder, granule, syrup or the like. When granulating, tableting or preparing a syrup, an appropriate auxiliary material (starch, dextrin, sweetener, pigment, fragrance, etc.) can be used as necessary.

  Although the manufacture example and test example of a Yunnan bitter tea extraction component are given to the following and this invention is demonstrated further more concretely, this invention is not limited within these ranges.

Production example 1: Manufacture of Yunnan bitter tea extract (1-1) Extraction of Yunnan bitter tea extract Yunnan bitter tea extract crushes dried leaves of "Ligustrum purpurascens YCYang." The 100 kg was extracted with 1500 L of hot water at 60 ° C. for 60 minutes, and the insoluble matter was centrifuged to obtain an extract. The extract was concentrated under reduced pressure to obtain Yunnan bitter tea extract as a lyophilized powder.
The properties of the resulting extract are as follows:
pH 5.2, Brix 2.4, specific gravity 1.006, solid content 1.85% (27.75 kg in the above production example), polyphenol concentration 25.6% (per solid content).

(1-2) Fractionation purification of Yunnan bitter tea extract A fraction purification operation was performed on 20 g of the above Yunnan bitter tea extract. An outline flow of the fraction purification operation is shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. The structures of caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid and purified components 1 to 10, which are fraction purified products in FIGS. 1 and 2, are shown below.

Test Example 1: AAPH radical scavenging action (data from Dr. Yokozawa, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University)
(1-1) Background Allophycocyanin, a fluorescent protein, loses fluorescence when attacked by free radicals. Utilizing this property, allophycocyanin was incubated in the presence of a free radical generator and a test substance, and fluorescence was measured to investigate the free radical removal effect.

(1-2) Experimental method Add 37.5 nM allophycocyanin to 75 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) and add 3 mM 2,2′-azobis (2-aminopropane) dihydrochloride) (AAPH) as a free radical generating reagent. 1 μg / mL of Yunnan bitter tea extract, acteoside, and ion-exchanged water were added as test samples, respectively, and reacted at 37 ° C., and Em 651 nm after 0, 5, 10, 20, and 30 minutes from the start of the reaction, The fluorescence intensity at Ex 598 nm was measured.

(1-3) Experimental Results As shown in FIG. 3, Yunnan bitter tea extract showed a strong radical scavenging action, and acteoside, which is a component contained in Yunnan bitter tea extract, was also found to have a strong activity.

Test Example 2: Test using diabetes model animals (data from Dr. Yokozawa, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University)
(2-1) Background Streptozotocin acts as an oxidizing agent on organs and causes various disorders. In particular, since the animal exhibits a condition of diabetes due to damage to the pancreas, the streptozotocin-administered animal is used as a model animal for diabetes. A diabetic nephropathy model can be created by administering a low volume of streptozotocin after 3/4 excision of the kidney.

(2-2) Experimental method In the animal model of diabetes, the left kidney of male Wistar rats is half-extracted, and after the recovery for 1 week after surgery, the right kidney is completely excised and put into a 3/4 nephrectomy state. After waiting for 1 week post-operative recovery, streptozotocin was administered intraperitoneally at 25 mg / kg body weight. After 4 weeks, blood glucose (Serum Glucose), serum lipid peroxide (Serum MDA), liver mitochondrial lipid peroxide (Liver mitochondria) MDA) and the concentration of lipid peroxide in kidney mitochondria (Kidney mitochondria MDA) were measured. Yunnan bitter tea extract (100 mg / kg body weight / day and 200 mg / kg body weight / day) and acteoside (100 mg / kg body weight / day and 200 mg / kg body weight / day) were orally administered, and distilled water was administered to the control. .

(2-3) Experimental Results As shown in FIG. 4, the blood glucose level tended to decrease in the Yunnan bitter tea group, and the blood glucose level significantly decreased in the acteoside administration group compared to the control group. As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the lipid peroxide concentration indicating oxidative damage of the organ by streptozotocin was significantly lower than that of the control group in the 200 mg / kg body weight / day high dose administration group of Yunnan bitter tea extract and acteoside. It was shown that organ damage due to oxidative damage can be suppressed.

Test Example 3: In vitro aldose reductase inhibition (Prof. Yokozawa, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University data)
(3-1) Background Aldose reductase is present in various tissues where diabetic complications appear, such as the lens, retina, peripheral nerve, kidney and blood vessels, and plays an important role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Normally, glucose is metabolized to a glycolytic system by hexokinase, but in diabetes, aldose reductase activity is enhanced and metabolism in the polyol pathway is promoted. Since D-sorbitol and fructose produced at that time are relatively stable, they accumulate in the cells, leading to increased osmotic pressure and water retention, causing cell damage.
It is thought that a mechanism mediated by aldose reductase is involved in the onset of diabetes, and aldose reductase inhibitors have been developed as therapeutic agents for diabetes.

(3-2) Experimental method The lens was taken out from the eyes of the pig and washed with PBS (phosphate buffered saline). One mL of ion-exchanged water was added to one lens, homogenized under ice-cooling, and centrifuged at 11000 × g for 20 minutes to obtain a supernatant. Ammonium sulfate was added to the obtained supernatant so as to be 40% saturated, stirred well, and allowed to stand at 4 ° C. for 30 minutes to precipitate insoluble matter. Centrifuged at 11000 × g for 20 minutes at 4 ° C. and the supernatant was dialyzed against 0.05M NaCl. The solution after dialysis was used as an aldose reductase solution (the amount of protein had been measured).

The aldose reductase activity was determined using 10 μL of test solution (prepared to final concentrations of 10 μg / mL, 1 μg / mL, 0.1 μg / mL), 80 mM potassium phosphate buffer (1.2 mM DL-glyceraldehyde and 0.4 M LiSO _4). , PH 6.2) was put in a test tube, pre-warmed at 25 ° C., 100 μL of aldose reductase solution and 10 μL of 15 mM NADPH solution were added and stirred. Absorbance (A2) 3 minutes after the initial value (A1) of absorbance at 340 nm was measured. A blank test with ion-exchanged water added instead of the test sample was performed to measure the initial absorbance (B1) and the absorbance (B2) after 3 minutes. The inhibition rate of aldose reductase activity was calculated by the following formula. In addition, a 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) was calculated from a correlation line obtained by linearly approximating the inhibitory activity with concentrations of 10 μg / mL, 1 μg / mL, and 0.1 μg / mL.

(3-3) Experimental results A similar test was performed on the fractions of Yunnan bitter tea extract. Table 1 shows the inhibition rate of aldose reductase activity and IC50 by 10 μg / mL, as well as the fraction yield of each component in 20 g of Yunnan bitter tea extract.

The inhibition rate of aldose reductase activity by Yunnan bitter tea extract (10 μg / mL) was 67.4%, indicating a high inhibitory activity.
IC50 in the inhibition of aldose reductase of Yunnan bitter tea extract was 8.4 μg / mL, and it was found that there was an action of inhibiting aldose reductase at a low concentration.
This result indicates that Yunnan bitter tea extract has strong aldose reductase inhibitory activity, and its activity is strong in acteoside and its analogs. In view of the content ratio, it was revealed that the aldose reductase inhibitory activity in Yunnan bitter tea is not only due to acteoside and its analogs, but is synergistic with other unknown components.

Test Example 4: DPPH radical scavenging action by Yunnan bitter tea fraction
(4-1) Background In order to obtain the structure-activity relationship of substances obtained by fractionation from Yunnan bitter tea extract, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (1,1-diphenyl-2- The scavenging action of (picrylhydrazyl) (DPPH) radicals was measured.

(4-2) Experimental Method 100 μL of DPPH solution (60 μM ethanol solution) was placed in a 96-well microplate, 100 μL of ethanol solution of the test sample or 100 μL of ethanol was added as a control, mixed gently, and left at room temperature for 30 minutes. Thereafter, the absorbance at 520 nm was measured. The inhibition rate was calculated by the following formula, and the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) was calculated from the inhibition rate and concentration of the test sample diluted stepwise.

(4-3) Experimental results Table 2 shows the experimental results.

  Yunnan bitter tea extract showed a strong DPPH radical scavenging action, which was found to be due to caffeic acid, acteoside, ligpuruproside A, and their related polyphenols.

(4-4) Summary Extract the powdered Yunnan bitter tea with hot or warm water, and remove unnecessary substances to obtain an extract. The extract can be pulverized by a usual method, and an excipient or an additive may be added as necessary. It was found that caffeic acid, caffeic acid derivatives, acteoside and analogs thereof were part of the active ingredient by fractionating the extract by column chromatography and subjecting it to an effect test. However, the sum of their activities does not represent the activity of the extract itself, suggesting the possibility of synergistic effects due to the mixture of these components or the existence of unknown efficacy components.

Test Example 5: Antioxidant, serum cholesterol lowering and neutral fat reducing effects of Yunnan bitter tea extract on volunteers For 21 volunteers (12 men, 9 women) who previously collected blood Then, 8 capsules / day (2.0 g / day) (anhydrous equivalent) of the above-mentioned 250 mg extract extract capsules were orally administered for 14 days. On the 15th day from the start of administration, blood was collected, and the lipid level, SOD (superoxide dismutase) activity, cholesterol level, and neutral fat level were measured for blood before and after administration of the extract.

The amount of lipid peroxide was measured by the following method for determining the amount of lipid peroxide that reacts with TBA. That is, 1 ml of physiological saline and 0.05 ml of blood were placed in a test tube and centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 10 minutes. To 0.5 ml of the supernatant, 4.0 ml of 1 / 12N sulfuric acid was added and stirred. To this, 0.5 ml of 10% aqueous phosphotungstic acid solution was added and stirred, and then left for 5 minutes. This was centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 10 minutes, and 2.0 ml of 1 / 12N sulfuric acid was again added to the resulting precipitate and stirred. Then, 0.3 ml of 10% phosphotungstic acid aqueous solution was added and stirred, and then this was centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 10 minutes. A precipitate was obtained. After adding 4.0 ml of water to this precipitate and suspending it, adding 1.0 ml of TBA reagent (2-thiobarbituric acid 3.35 mg / ml, acetic acid 8.8 mol / l), heating on a boiling water bath for 60 minutes, It was cooled with. To the obtained reaction product, 5.0 ml of n-butanol was added, mixed well, the reaction product was extracted into a butanol layer, centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 10 minutes, and MDA (malonaldehyde in the upper butanol layer was collected. ) The amount was measured.
FIG. 8 shows the measurement results (nmol MDA / ml) of lipid peroxide levels before and after administration of Yunnan bitter tea extract.
As is clear from FIG. 8, the administration of Yunnan bitter tea extract extracts suppressed the production of lipid peroxide amounts as compared to before the extract extract was administered.

The SOD (superoxide dismutase) activity was measured by the NBT reduction method using an SOD measurement kit manufactured by Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd. The NBT reduction method uses nitro blue tetrazolium as a superoxide anion detector and conjugates the superoxide anion formation reaction (xanthine / xanthine oxidase) with the disproportionation reaction by SOD, reducing the reduction coloration by the superoxide anion. This is a method for obtaining the degree of inhibition as an inhibition rate. Specifically, 0.1 ml of blood was added to 1.0 ml of the coloring reagent and 1.0 ml of the enzyme solution, mixed, and then reacted at 37 ° C. for 20 minutes. Next, 2.0 ml of the enzyme reaction stop solution was added and shaken well, and then the absorbance at 560 nm was measured with a colorimeter or spectrophotometer having a 560 nm filter. A value obtained by adding 0.1 ml of distilled water to 1.0 ml of the coloring reagent and 1.0 ml of the enzyme solution and carrying out the same treatment was measured as a blank value, and the SOD activity value (inhibition rate%) was determined from the difference from the blank value.
FIG. 9 shows the measurement results (%) of SOD activity before and after administration of the Yunnan bitter tea extract.
As is clear from FIG. 9, the SOD activity increased by administering Yunnan bitter tea extract compared to before administration of the extract.

  The measurement results (concentration: mg / dl) of the amount of cholesterol and the amount of triglyceride before and after administration of the Yunnan bitter tea extract are shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. FIG. 10 shows the amount of cholesterol in the blood, and FIG. 11 shows the amount of neutral fat in the blood.

  As is clear from FIGS. 10 and 11, the administration of Yunnan bitter tea extract has an effect of lowering the amount of cholesterol and neutral fat compared to before administration of the extract. In this case, no change was observed for those who had normal cholesterol and triglyceride values before administration of the extract, and cholesterol and triglyceride fat for those who had abnormally high cholesterol and triglyceride values. In particular, neutral fat was reduced to a normal value.

Test Example 6: Protective effect of Yunnan bitter tea on neurotoxicity of glutamic acid, kainate, hydrogen peroxide and β-amyloid in primary cultured cells of hippocampus
(6-1) Background For the purpose of preventing and treating cerebrovascular disorders that cause dementia, we investigated the antioxidant stress action of Yunnan bitter tea extract using an in vitro cerebral ischemia model. Yunnan bitter tea extract against neuronal cytotoxicity caused by glutamic acid, kainic acid, an AMPA receptor agonist, hydrogen peroxide, a radical inducer, and β-amyloid, a causative agent of Alzheimer's disease, in rat hippocampal primary cells The protective effect of was investigated.

(6-2) Experimental method Nerve cells were removed from the hippocampus excised from Wistar female rats (fetal 17 days old), and serum-free medium for 7 days at a density of 2.5 × 10 ⁵ cells / well in a 96-well plate. The cells were cultured and used for experiments as hippocampal primary culture cells. Cytotoxicity induced by glutamic acid, kainic acid, hydrogen peroxide and β-amyloid was measured at 560 nm using LDH (lactate dehydrogenase) in the culture solution using a measurement kit (LDH-Cytotoxic Test Wako) manufactured by Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd. It was measured by absorbance and used as an index of cell damage. The cytotoxic rate was calculated by the following formula.

  As a negative control, a serum-free medium alone was added, and as a positive control, a serum-free medium treated with 0.2% Tween for 15 minutes was used. A 1 mM glutamic acid solution was added so that the final concentration of glutamic acid was 100 μM. A 100 mM kainic acid solution was added so that the final concentration of kainic acid was 1 mM. A 10 mM β-amyloid solution was added so that the final concentration of β-amyloid was 10 μM. A 3 mM hydrogen peroxide solution was added so that the final concentration of hydrogen peroxide was 300 μM. Glutamic acid, kainic acid, β-amyloid, hydrogen peroxide and Yunnan bitter tea extract (solid content: 100 μg / mL) were added simultaneously, and LDH was measured after 24 hours of culture.

(6-3) Experimental results The results of the examination of the effects of Yunnan bitter tea extract on the cytotoxicity of glutamate, kainate, β-amyloid toxicity and hydrogen peroxide toxicity on the hippocampal primary cultured cells and the cytotoxicity FIG. 12 (glutamic acid toxicity), FIG. 13 (kainic acid toxicity), FIG. 14 (β amyloid toxicity) and FIG. 15 (hydrogen peroxide toxicity).
Yunnan bitter tea extract suppressed cell damage caused by glutamic acid, kainic acid, β-amyloid and hydrogen peroxide in primary cultured hippocampal cells. This indicates that Yunnan bitter tea extract has an effect of protecting brain cells by eliminating radicals, and is effective in preventing and treating brain cell damage and dementia caused by oxidative stress.

Test Example 7: Effects of Yunnan bitter tea extract in a rat model of spatial cognitive memory impairment in the haploradial maze induced by scopolamine
(7-1) Background For the same purpose as in Test Example 7, the antioxidative stress action of Yunnan bitter tea extract was examined using an in vivo cerebral ischemia model. Using scopolamine, an anticholinergic agent known to induce learning and memory impairment, we investigated the effects of Yunnan bitter tea extract in a rat model of spatial cognitive memory impairment by scopolamine.

(7-2) Experimental method A Wistar male rat (7 weeks old, weight 200-250 g) under dietary restriction is placed in the center of an eight-way radial maze (arm length 48 cm, width 10 cm, ground height 40 cm), and at the tip of the arm. Trained until the placed food can be efficiently ingested, the number of selections of the arm that the rat first visited (the number of positive selections), the number of selections of the arm visited more than once (the number of erroneous selections), and the end of the trial The running time was measured up to 10 minutes. Rats trained to continuously show results of 7 or more initial selections and 1 or less erroneous selections for 3 consecutive trials or more were defined as rats with completed spatial cognitive memory. Scopolamine (0.5 mg / kg body weight) was intraperitoneally administered to rats with completed spatial recognition memory, and the effect of Yunnan bitter tea extract on spatial recognition memory impairment developed 30 minutes later was examined. Yunnan bitter tea extract (100 mg / kg body weight) was orally administered 60 minutes before the trial.

(7-3) Experimental Results FIG. 16 (positive selection number) and FIG. 17 (false selection number) show the effects of Yunnan bitter tea extract on spatial cognitive impairment in the haploradial maze induced by scopolamine.
Yunnan bitter tea extract increased the number of positive selections and decreased the number of false selections when rats with spatial cognitive impairment induced by scopolamine were tried in the eight-way radial maze. This indicates that Yunnan bitter tea extract has an effect of improving learning and memory ability.

Test Example 8: Effect of Yunnan bitter tea extract on infarct area of middle cerebral artery occluded mice
(8-1) Experimental Method An embolus (about 11 mm) in which the tip of a nylon thread was processed was inserted into the left internal carotid artery of a ddY mouse (5 weeks old, body weight 20-25 g) for 4 hours. One week after insertion, a pre-slice slice of the brain containing the cerebral cortex was prepared, and the volume of the infarct was measured by TTC (triphenyltetrazolium chloride) staining. Yunnan bitter tea extract (100 mg / kg body weight) was orally administered for 2 weeks.

(8-2) Experimental results Table 3 shows the experimental results.

雲南苦丁茶エキスは中大脳動脈を４時間閉塞させたマウスにおいて約３０％の梗塞巣を減少させた。約半数には梗塞巣が見られず、脳硬塞の予防・治療に効果があることが示された。

Yunnan bitter tea extract reduced approximately 30% of the infarct in mice in which the middle cerebral artery was occluded for 4 hours. About half did not show an infarct, indicating that it was effective in preventing and treating cerebral infarction.

Claims (2)

Antioxidant activity with polyphenol components extracted from the leaves of Ligustrum purpurascens YCYang as a main component, extracted with water or organic solvents alone or mixtures thereof And / or a brain function improving composition comprising an ingredient having an aldose reductase inhibitory activity as an active ingredient.   The composition for improving brain function according to claim 1, which is used for improving learning function, stroke, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, cerebral infarction, cerebrovascular disorder or memory disorder.

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