JP2011211965A - Heated/sterilized/dried plant prepared using aqua gas, and method for preparing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heated/sterilized/dried plant prepared using aqua gas, and to provide a method for preparing the plant.SOLUTION: This method for preparing the heated/sterilized/dried plant includes low-invasively heat treating a plant after harvesting so as to suppress depletion of antioxidative component, suppress discoloring/fading, decrease the number of general live bacteria, and effectively evaporate moisture. In more details, the method for preparing the dried plant includes continuously jetting hot water and/or steam heated to 100°C or more into a heating chamber of semi-sealed space, heated to equal to or above the temperature so as to generate minute water drops and wet heat steam, replacing air in the heating chamber by the minute water drops and wet heat steam followed by filling with gas component having a composition of a humidity of not less than 95% and not more than 1% oxygen concentration and kept in a 90-180°C temperature zone, and performing heating/sterilization treatment by subjecting by the heating medium, a material to be heated to continuous amplitude heating with not less than 10°C temperature difference in the temperature zone so as to heat treat. A product of the dried plant is also provided.

Description

  The present invention relates to a heated / sterilized / dried plant obtained using superheated steam “Aquagas” (registered trademark) containing fine water droplets and a method for preparing the same, more specifically, using aquagas for the plant, By heat-treating minimally invasively, it is possible to reduce the amount of antioxidant components in plants, to suppress discoloration / fading, to reduce the number of general viable bacteria, and to efficiently evaporate water. The present invention relates to a dried plant and its preparation method. In this specification, superheated steam containing fine water droplets, which is a heating medium generated by mixing and spraying high-temperature fine water droplets and superheated steam from a nozzle, is referred to as “aqua gas”, and heating using the heating medium is performed. The sterilization and drying method may be described as a heating, sterilization and drying method using aqua gas, and a product containing a high antioxidant component prepared by the method may be described as a heating, sterilizing and drying plant.

  Currently, consumers are highly interested in the functionality and safety of ingredients and food, and the demand for domestic products is generally high. However, the harvest time of plants and agricultural products that are the raw materials is limited, and quality degradation is particularly serious in order to reduce the supply of domestic raw materials and the depletion of useful components of plants after harvest in the high harvest season. Various drying techniques for preserving early leaf material for a long period of time have been studied. If these leaf raw materials are harvested without losing their quality, primary processing, long-term storage, and a system that supplies them as raw materials throughout the year can be established. It is thought that stable supply of raw materials will be possible.

  However, in reality, the long-term storage technology for domestic leaf materials and the practical and general-purpose technology with a high price-performance ratio that can be supplied as food throughout the year have not been established. In reality, it is difficult to stably supply consumers at a reasonable price without reducing the loss of useful ingredients and without sacrificing the freshness and functionality of plants and leaf products. is there. With regard to year-round use of domestic plants and agricultural products with high seasonality, raw materials have a problem of quality deterioration during storage, and the conventional drying method is more expensive than raw materials. It is in a situation where it cannot be used sufficiently except for using dry materials such as ventilation drying, freeze drying, reduced pressure drying or superheated steam drying, which are inferior in terms of cost and ingredients, especially in the off-season of domestic leaf material In other words, imported plants and agricultural products must be used.

  On the other hand, since superheated steam heating can use dry steam which is high temperature and pressure, high calorie, and metastable in terms of heat energy, its application technology has been widely proposed as a means for heating and baking foods, for example. (Patent Documents 1 to 5). As drying methods for agricultural products, the above-described ventilation drying, freeze drying, reduced pressure drying, superheated steam drying and the like are used.

  On the other hand, the present inventors have developed and reported a heating method using aqua gas as a prior art. As for this aqua gas heating technology, as a high-quality cooking and food processing system that applies superheated steam heating technology, water has been boiled under high pressure and high temperature fine water droplets and superheated steam are mixed and sprayed from a nozzle. A new heating medium generating method and apparatus for generating the heating medium have been developed and a patent application has been filed (Patent Document 6).

  In addition to the above-mentioned new heating medium, a patent application has been filed for a method and apparatus for generating saturated steam and superheated steam by the same apparatus as the optimum heat treatment technique according to the heating object and purpose (Patent Document 7). Furthermore, the conditions for generating aqua gas (discovery of the critical internal pressure) have been clarified and a stable control method has been proposed (Patent Document 8), but these uses are aimed at heat treatment mainly for sterilization. The use as a drying technique is not mentioned.

  This aqua gas has excellent heating characteristics, so existing wet heat (boiled and steamed) is used for surface sterilization of fresh vegetables before cooking, enzyme deactivation of processed foods such as potatoes, and gelatinization of starch. In addition, since it is superior in terms of quality and sterilization effect than any of dry heat heating (oven), its utilization method has been proposed and partially put into practical use.

  However, aqua gas has a slower drying rate than superheated steam as a heating medium for drying, and has not been studied from the viewpoint of efficiency, but in recent years it has been used as a processing material for agricultural products with high functionality. As the ratio of the dry material increases, a new drying method for maintaining functional components and suppressing deterioration has been demanded. In general, the freeze-drying method is well known as a drying method that makes it possible to suppress such thermal degradation, but the equipment cost is high and the processing time is also long, which means that the food material after freeze-drying processing Is attracting high costs. Therefore, in this technical field, the development of new processing technology that can produce a product that is cheaper and more efficient than freeze-drying methods and that is superior in quality as a dry material compared to conventional methods is strongly developed. It has been requested.

  In the conventional drying treatment, the drying of agricultural products containing a large amount of fat-soluble functional substances, etc., the following problems, that is, these functions for the deterioration of fat components and lipid-containing materials due to oxidation caused by heating In the case of sexual components, it cannot be used especially for the drying treatment of agricultural products, and for vacuum drying and freeze drying, economic problems such as high cost and processing time, and recently due to superheated steam Although a drying process has also been attempted, in a stable superheated steam temperature range (approximately 150 ° C. or higher), it is in a low oxygen state, but the temperature itself may be high. There has been a problem that the palatability in terms of fragrance tends to decrease, and there has been a need for a solution.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-090677 JP 2001-061655 A JP 2001-214177 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-323085 JP 2002-194362 A JP 2004-358236 A JP 2007-066464 A JP 2009-091386 A

  In such a situation, the present inventors, in view of the prior art, as a result of intensive research with the goal of establishing a system for supplying domestically produced plants and leafy agricultural products as raw materials year-round, Plant materials such as seasonal plants are heat-treated with aquagas in a minimally invasive manner, suppressing the depletion of antioxidant components contained in plants, suppressing discoloration / fading, reducing the number of general viable bacteria, and efficiently It is possible to achieve a sufficient evaporation of water, and as a dry material that has advantages such as long-term storage stability and storage stability, it has been found that it can be supplied year-round and to complete the present invention. It came.

  The present invention provides a high-quality heated / sterilized / dried plant that uses aqua gas to give the plant superiority such as maintaining high quality of the season, and enables storage at room temperature and transportation at room temperature. It is the purpose. In addition, the present invention is a plant that makes it possible to produce and supply a dry material with a high antioxidant component content that has advantages such as high yield, long-term storage stability and storage stability using aqua gas. The purpose is to provide a new processing method for food and leaf products.

The present invention for solving the above-described problems comprises the following technical means.
(1) Plants after harvesting are heat-treated in a minimally invasive manner using the following heating and sterilization treatment methods, thereby suppressing the depletion of antioxidative components of plants, the suppression of discoloration and fading, and the reduction of the number of general viable bacteria. In addition, by evaporating water, a method for preparing a heated, sterilized and dried plant with a high content of antioxidant components,
Next step: 1) Hot water and / or steam heated to at least 100 ° C. are continuously injected into the heating chamber of the semi-enclosed space heated to the same temperature or higher to generate fine water droplets and wet heat steam. 2) Substituting the air in the heating chamber with the fine water droplets and wet heat steam to have a composition of at least a humidity of 95% and an oxygen concentration of at most 1%, and kept in a temperature range of 90 to 180 ° C. A step of filling with a gas component, and 3) a step of subjecting the material to be heated to continuous amplitude heating with a temperature difference of at least 10 ° C. in the above temperature range and heating and sterilizing treatment with the heating medium composed of the fine water droplets and wet heat steam, A method for preparing a dried plant, characterized by heat treatment.
(2) Heating medium under the following generation and heating conditions 1) Water supply amount: 10 spm to 200 spm
2) Internal control temperature: 100 ° C to 150 ° C
3) Heating time: The method for preparing a dried plant according to (1) above, wherein a dried plant is prepared in which the moisture content of the heated plant is maintained at 10% at most by heating in 2 to 20 minutes.
(3) The method for preparing a heated / sterilized / dried plant according to (1) or (2) above, wherein the plant is an agricultural product.
(4) High content of antioxidant components prepared by the minimally invasive heat treatment method according to any one of (1) to (3) above, wherein the moisture content of the plant to be heated is maintained at 10% at most Dry plant.
(5) Prepared by a minimally invasive heat treatment method with a heating medium having the following generation and heating conditions:
1) Amount of water supply: 10 spm to 200 spm
2) Internal control temperature: 100 ° C to 150 ° C
3) Heating time: 2 to 20 minutes The dried plant according to (4) above, wherein the moisture content of most of the heated plants is maintained at 10%.
(6) The dried plant with a high antioxidant component content according to (4) or (5), wherein the plant is an agricultural product.
(7) The suppression according to any one of (4) to (6) above, wherein suppression of depletion of antioxidant components, discoloration / fading and general viable cell count are suppressed or reduced by the minimally invasive heat treatment method. Dry plant with high antioxidant content.

Next, the present invention will be described in more detail.
In the present invention, plant materials such as plants and leafy vegetables are promptly heat-treated with an aqua gas heating device in a minimally invasive and rapid manner to suppress the depletion of antioxidant components, the suppression of discoloration / fading and the general life. Heated, sterilized and dried plants with a high antioxidant content and a high moisture content stability of 10% or less, high moisture stability, and long-term storage at room temperature. It is characterized by supplying leafy vegetables.

  The present invention relates to a method for drying agricultural products using aqua gas, which has high heating efficiency and enables high-quality food heating processing, and manufacture of high-value-added drying materials such as agricultural products in which the presence of functional components is recognized. Compared with existing ventilation drying and drying with general superheated steam, it is possible to suppress oxidative degradation and retain functional components and their activities. After the drying process, it can be used and processed as a powdered material for functional foods.

  The present inventors tried to dry the plant material using aqua gas, and depending on the type and shape of the agricultural product to be used, it is possible to prepare a dry material with excellent quality in a time that is not so different from superheated steam. Furthermore, it became clear that the degradation of lipid components and antioxidant components in agricultural products was suppressed, and that the color and the like were also able to suppress discoloration and fading.

  In the present invention, “low-invasive heat treatment using aqua gas” means that plants and agricultural products are subjected to the following steps, 1) hot water and / or steam heated to 100 ° C. or higher, and the same temperature as this. Step of continuously injecting into the heating chamber of the semi-enclosed space heated as described above to generate fine water droplets and wet heat steam, 2) Replacing the air in the heating chamber with the fine water droplets and wet heat steam, and a humidity of 95% Step of filling with a gas component having a composition with an oxygen concentration of 1% or less and held in a temperature range of 90 to 180 ° C. 3) A heating medium composed of the above-mentioned fine water droplets and wet heat steam. In the above temperature range, it is defined as meaning that heat treatment is performed by a step of performing heating and sterilization treatment by performing continuous amplitude heating with a temperature difference of at least 10 ° C.

  In the present invention, as a device for heat-treating the material to be heated in a minimally invasive manner using the aqua gas, at least a semi-sealed heating chamber that heats the plant material that is the material to be heated from the outside air, A heating means for heating the heating chamber to a predetermined temperature exceeding 100 ° C., hot water and / or steam heated to 100 ° C. or more are continuously injected into the heating chamber to generate fine water droplets and wet heat steam. In addition, an aqua gas generator that includes, as a constituent element, a water vapor generating means that moves in a predetermined direction is used.

  In the present invention, hot water and / or steam heated to 100 ° C. or more are continuously jetted into the heating chamber to generate fine water droplets and wet heat steam, and the heating chamber is kept at normal pressure and fine water droplets. The fine water droplets are filled with water vapor, have a composition with a humidity of 95% or more and an oxygen concentration of 1.0% or less, and replace the air in the heating chamber with a gas component held in a temperature range of 90 to 180 ° C. A method is used in which the material to be heated in the heating chamber is subjected to a heat treatment with continuous amplitude heating at a temperature difference of at least 10 ° C. in the above temperature range.

  In the heating method of the present invention, 1) hot water and / or steam heated to 100 ° C. or higher are continuously injected into a heating chamber of a semi-enclosed space heated to the same temperature or higher via an injection nozzle. 2) generating fine water droplets and wet heat steam, 2) replacing the air in the heating chamber with the fine water droplets and wet heat steam, and having a composition with a humidity of 95% or more and an oxygen concentration of 1% or less, 90 to 180 ° C. 3) Filled with a water vapor gas component containing fine water droplets and high-humidity moist heat steam held in the temperature range of 3) 3) With the fine water droplets and wet heat steam, the material to be heated has a temperature difference of at least 10 ° C. in the temperature range. The heat treatment is performed by applying continuous amplitude heating.

  Here, the “semi-enclosed space” as used in the present invention is not a completely enclosed or open space, but hot water and / or water vapor heated to 100 ° C. or more are continuously injected into the space to form fine water droplets. It means a space that can be filled with the steam and the like in a high temperature and normal pressure state even when wet heat steam is generated. In the present invention, fine water droplets and moist heat steam mean a mixed system of high humidity moist heat steam and fine water droplets partially generated by condensation thereof, and moist heat steam means the high humidity steam portion. The dry heat steam means high dry steam partially generated by the drying phenomenon of the wet heat steam in the heating chamber.

  In the present invention, the material to be heated is subjected to a heat treatment with continuous amplitude heating at a temperature difference of at least 10 ° C. in a temperature range of 90 to 180 ° C. with the fine water droplets and wet heat steam. Continuous temperature heating with a temperature difference of 90 ° C. means continuous heating in a temperature range of 90 to 180 ° C. under conditions where a temperature change near the nozzle having a temperature difference exceeding 10 ° C. occurs in a short time. means. In the present invention, for example, the material to be heated can be continuously heated with an amplitude of a temperature difference of 10 to 50 ° C.

  In the present invention, the heating chamber is heated to a predetermined temperature exceeding 100 ° C., hot water and / or water vapor is introduced into the heating chamber, the heating chamber is replaced with water gas, and the oxygen concentration is set to 1.0. The material to be heated is heated in an atmosphere formed by lowering to less than%. In the present invention, the heating chamber is constituted by a predetermined semi-closed system space that can heat the material to be heated from the outside air, and preferably includes, for example, a plate for placing the material to be heated, a part of A semi-enclosed space having an openable and closable door portion in which a glass window portion is formed is exemplified. The heating chamber is preferably formed of a stainless steel material. In the present invention, the heating chamber is heated to a predetermined temperature exceeding 100 ° C. In this case, the heating chamber is preferably heated to a temperature equal to or higher than the temperature of hot water and / or steam introduced into the heating chamber.

  As described above, in the present invention, the heating chamber is heated to a predetermined temperature, fine water droplets and wet heat steam are generated in the heating chamber, and the air in the heating chamber is replaced with a gas of water. In this case, the fine water droplets and the wet heat steam are, for example, heated by a heater from the outside of the thin tube through a thin tube and introduced into the heating chamber via a nozzle provided at the end of the thin tube. Is generated. The fine water droplets and wet heat water vapor are steam gas components including high temperature and normal pressure fine water droplets heated to 95 to 150 ° C., and more preferably high humidity and heat water vapor. , Has the effect of heating with high energy efficiency.

  In the present invention, water in a water supply tank is pumped up by a water supply pump, supplied to a steam generation heat storage panel through a conduit made of a thin tube, heated to a predetermined temperature of, for example, 105 to 200 ° C. by a heater, and left as it is at the tip of the thin tube The hot water and / or water vapor is jetted at a high speed from the water vapor jet nozzle installed in the. In this case, as the water vapor nozzle, an appropriate one may be used as long as it has a function of forming a fine injection hole at the tip and spraying hot water and / or water vapor.

  The hole diameter, the number of holes, the drilling position of the holes, etc. can be arbitrarily set. The injection speed of hot water and / or water vapor from the water vapor injection nozzle is preferably about 160 to 200 m / s at the tip of the injection nozzle, but is not limited thereto, and the size and type of the apparatus Depending on the purpose of use and the like, it can be arbitrarily set, for example, by changing the hole diameter, the number of holes, etc. of the fine injection holes.

  In the present invention, for example, the water vapor injected from the fine injection nozzle is introduced into the heating chamber. At this time, the water vapor is injected into a circulation fan installed in the vicinity of the tip of the injection nozzle to rotate the circulation fan. The water vapor is transferred to a predetermined wind direction by the impact force and wind force of the water, and the water vapor is brought into contact with a heater installed in accordance with the wind direction, and the water vapor is introduced into the entire heating chamber without lowering its temperature, The heating chamber is replaced with a gas of water maintained at a predetermined temperature, and the humidity is 95% or more and the oxygen concentration is 1.0% or less, more preferably, the humidity is 99.0% or more and the oxygen concentration is 1.0% or less. A gas water atmosphere is formed in the heating chamber by filling the heating chamber with the gas components.

  The hot water and / or water vapor injected from the fine injection port is further refined by colliding with the circulation fan. Further, the heater installed in the lee of the wind direction formed by the circulation fan is preferably so that the surface thereof is in direct contact with the sprayed hot water and / or steam in a large area. It is installed in a position and direction so as to block the sprayed hot water and / or water vapor as much as possible. Thereby, it is possible to efficiently transfer the heat from the heater to the injected hot water and / or water vapor, and to reliably prevent a temperature drop of the injected hot water and / or water vapor.

  The circulation fan is preferably installed, for example, in the center of the rear side of the heating chamber, and the sprayed hot water and / or water vapor is installed in a duct located on the left side and right side of the heating chamber. Although the thing which has the function to transfer so that it may contact directly with the heater heated was illustrated, it is not restrict | limited to these, If it has the same function, it can use similarly.

  In addition, the heater is preferably exemplified by a large number of hairpin-shaped sheathed heaters, etc., which increase the contact area with the sprayed hot water and / or steam, However, the present invention is not limited to these and can be used in the same manner as long as they have similar functions. The number of rotations and the direction of rotation of the circulation fan is determined by taking into account the size of the device, the position and shape of the duct, the shape of the heater, the installation position, etc., and the injected hot water and / or steam is circulated into the duct. Is set to be able to circulate as

  When the heating chamber is replaced with gaseous water, a material to be heated is introduced into the heating chamber, and a predetermined heat treatment is performed using the gaseous water as a heat medium. The material to be heated introduced into the heating chamber is subjected to a predetermined heat treatment and then carried out of the heating chamber at an appropriate timing, and the gaseous water in contact with the heated material is discharged out of the system from the gaseous water discharge port. Is done. The hot water and / or water vapor injected into the heating chamber first collides with the circulation fan, is refined, transferred to the duct, contacts the heater installed in the duct, and is heated to a predetermined temperature. After contacting the material to be heated introduced into the heating chamber and being used as a heat medium, it is discharged out of the system.

  The heat energy of the heating medium is used as a heat source for the heat treatment of the material to be heated. In the present invention, the injected hot water and / or water vapor is not directly in contact with the material to be heated, After being heated by the heater installed in the duct, the material to be heated is heated without being brought into contact with the material to be heated and without reducing the amount of heat of the injected hot water and / or water vapor. It becomes possible to heat efficiently.

  In addition, the injected hot water and / or water vapor collides with the circulation fan at high speed, and the water droplets are divided by the impact due to the collision, and further refined and further heated by the heater, This refined high-temperature heating medium consists of high-temperature water particles with high thermal conductivity that are completely transparent to the naked eye, and has high penetrability inside the material to be heated. Then, the subsequent high-temperature heating medium constantly supplies heat energy to the heat-exchanged heat medium, so that heat with high thermal conductivity is continuously transferred to the inside, and the heating medium is efficiently heated. It penetrates into the inside of the material and can heat the material to be heated in a short time.

  In the present invention, the jetted hot water and / or water vapor droplets are further refined by colliding with the circulation fan, and fill the heating chamber as sterilizing fine water particles. As a result of the experiment, the pH of the water collected from the water supply tank was about 6.9 to 7.1, but the pH of the bactericidal fine water particles was about 5.2 to 5.8, which was 105 ° C. In cooperation with the above high temperature conditions, a highly sterilizing atmosphere is formed in the heating chamber. Therefore, when the present invention is applied to a material to be heated, the material to be heated can be heat-treated in a highly sterilizing atmosphere, so that a high sterilizing effect can be imparted simultaneously with heating. In the present invention, the method and apparatus described in the publicly known literature that has been developed and reported by the present inventors can be appropriately adopted for the above-described heating method using aqua gas, its apparatus, and other specific configurations.

  In the present invention, as shown in the examples described later, in the same manner as the preparation method of the dried raw material of sesame leaves in which the superiority of aquagas is confirmed, 1) normal pressure of about 100 to 130 ° C. containing fine water droplets. Agricultural product drying method using superheated steam and its material, 2) Agricultural product drying method using superheated steam at a normal pressure of about 100 to 130 ° C. containing fine water droplets and its material, 3) 100 containing fine water droplets About the agricultural product which has a functional component using about 130 degreeC normal pressure superheated steam, the drying method which suppressed the oxidative degradation of the functional component, and its raw material can be provided.

Advantages of the aqua gas drying according to the present invention are a low oxygen state with an oxygen concentration of 1% or less and a high thermal efficiency. For example, when drying sesame (leaves), the characteristics are as follows. It is. In addition to egoma, the present invention can be suitably applied to perilla and basil. In addition, any plant material containing an antioxidant component can be suitably applied as well.
1) α-Linolenic acid
Ventilation drying (80%) Superheated steam / Aqua gas (90-100%)
2) Rosmarinic acid
Ventilation drying (20%), superheated steam (60%), aqua gas (100%)
3) The amount of soluble total polyphenols also shows good persistence.
4) Survival microorganisms are confirmed after 10 hours of ventilation drying.

  The plant raw material aquagas drying technology according to the present invention can heat, sterilize and dry plant materials in a low-oxygen state and with high thermal efficiency in a minimally invasive manner, thereby suppressing the depletion of plant antioxidant components. In addition, the quality and appearance are good and high quality, which is not seen in conventional dried plants, by suppressing plant discoloration and fading, reducing the number of viable bacteria in plants, and evaporating water efficiently. The present invention is essentially different from existing dried plant drying products in that a significant effect of being able to prepare and provide a dried plant product is obtained.

  The present invention is characterized not only by simply evaporating and drying the moisture of the plant, but also allowing the plant to be heated, sterilized and dried minimally invasively under conditions of low oxygen and high thermal efficiency. In particular, it is preferably used as a method for heating, sterilizing and drying plant materials containing antioxidant components under low oxygen conditions with an oxygen concentration of 1% or less. For example, the present invention is not limited to the type of plant and can be suitably applied to all types of plant materials. In this specification, egoma (leaves), which is a typical example of a plant containing a high amount of antioxidant components, is shown as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to all types of plant materials in the same manner.

  In the present invention, after using the aqua gas drying treatment, when using the aqua gas drying and the superheated steam drying for the superheated steam drying treatment, in terms of actual operation, for example, in a continuous treatment process, the batch treatment for switching the aqua gas atmosphere to the superheated steam atmosphere, or When processing in line, continuous processing that incorporates an aqua gas atmosphere and a superheated steam atmosphere as a set makes it possible to greatly reduce the processing time of the drying operation and greatly increase the efficiency of the drying operation. , Special effects can be obtained. In this way, aqua gas drying is combined with superheated steam drying, and in terms of quality maintenance, it is less than or equal to aqua gas single treatment, and no synergistic effect is observed, but in actual operation, these treatments are used in combination. In this case, there is a practical advantage that the drying operation can be performed in a short time with high efficiency and in various ways.

The present invention has the following effects.
(1) High yield, seasonal high quality maintenance, improved convenience, long-term room temperature storage stability and storage stability, etc. without compromising functionality such as antioxidant performance by antioxidant components in plants and agricultural products It is possible to provide a dry plant or dry agricultural product that can be supplied as a dry material with superiority, and a processing method thereof.
(2) High-quality processing and supply of plants and agricultural products will be possible. High-value-added crops and shipping adjustments will be provided to production farmers, production-region promotion to production-region processors, and food to consumers. It will be possible to ensure safety and security and to improve the soundness of eating habits.
(3) Agricultural products with various functions can be made into raw materials. Drying with an aqua gas heating device can improve the quality of agricultural raw materials and further reduce costs by systematizing them. Be expected.
(4) The dry materials of these agricultural products can be stored for a long time using domestic agricultural products as raw materials, so processing them at the time of high harvesting and supplying them throughout the year can contribute to improving the utilization rate and self-sufficiency rate of domestic agricultural products. .
(5) The present invention is applied to traditional Chinese medicines that have been processed by a vacuum freeze-drying method, where functionality and medicinal properties are important, and drying of seafood, seaweeds and the like that contain a lot of oil and are subject to oxidation. It can also be applied to many fields.

  Next, the present invention will be specifically described based on examples, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

Example 1
In the present example, the preparation of dried plant foliage and the content of α-linolenic acid and rosmarinic acid contained therein were evaluated.
1. Preparation of dried plant foliage The following apparatus and raw materials were used to prepare a dried plant foliage.
(1) Equipment used 1) Aqua gas equipment (Aqua-Acker)
As an aqua gas apparatus (aqua accker), Taiyo Mfg. Co., Ltd. (Shimizugawa, Hokuto City, Hokkaido), Aqua Gas Prototype No. 1 was used. This apparatus was used under the conditions of feed water amount (spm) 160, 180, and 200, and a set temperature in the cabinet of 120 ° C.
2) Superheated steam device As a superheated steam device, SDAHW manufactured by China Maintenance Co., Ltd. was used.
3) Warm air drying device As a warm air drying device, a reduced pressure equilibrium exothermic dryer (BCD-2000U) manufactured by Yahiro Sangyo Co., Ltd. (Moriyama-cho, Mikamo, Gifu Prefecture) was used.
4) Freeze-drying apparatus As a freeze-drying apparatus, ALPHA-1-4 manufactured by MRTIN CHRIST Gefriertrockungsangen (Germany) was used.

(2) Raw material used Raw sesame leaves (leaf blades) were used as raw material plant stems and leaves for drying. The raw leaves (leaf blades) of egoma were cultivated in the field of Shimane Agricultural Technology Center.

(3) Drying treatment After washing 25 g of fresh sesame leaves (leaf blade), the water is removed, and this is subjected to the following four drying steps (a), (b), (c) and (d), respectively. Then, the drying process was performed until the water content became 10% or less.
(A) Aqua gas drying Aqua gas drying was performed under the following conditions.
1) Drying at 120 ° C and 160 spm (required time: 10 minutes)
2) Dry at 120 ° C. and 180 spm (required time: 10 minutes)
3) Dry at 120 ° C and 200 spm (required time: 20 minutes)

(B) Superheated steam drying Superheated steam drying was performed under the following conditions.
4) Dry at 120 ° C (required time: 10 minutes)
5) Dry at 180 ° C (required time: 5 minutes)

(C) Superheated steam drying after aqua gas treatment Superheated steam drying was performed after the aqua gas treatment under the following conditions.
6) Aqua gas treatment at 120 ° C and 200 spm (required time: 2 minutes), followed by superheated steam drying at 120 ° C (required time: 8 minutes)
7) Aqua gas treatment at 120 ° C and 200 spm (required time: 2 minutes), followed by superheated steam drying at 150 ° C (required time: 5 minutes)
8) Aqua gas treatment at 120 ° C and 200 spm (required time: 2 minutes), followed by superheated steam drying at 180 ° C (required time: 3 minutes)

9) Aqua gas treatment at 120 ° C and 300 spm (required time: 2 minutes), followed by superheated steam drying at 120 ° C (required time: 8 minutes)
10) Aqua gas treatment at 120 ° C and 300 spm (required time: 2 minutes), followed by superheated steam drying at 150 ° C (required time: 5 minutes)
11) After aqua gas treatment at 120 ° C and 300 spm (required time: 2 minutes), dry with superheated steam at 180 ° C (required time: 3 minutes)

(D) Warm air drying Warm air drying was performed under the following conditions.
12) Dry fresh leaves as they are at 50 ° C (required time: 10 hours)
13) Steaming the fresh leaves for 2 minutes (branching), followed by hot air drying at 50 ° C (required time: 10 hours)
14) Steaming the fresh leaves for 5 minutes (branching), followed by hot air drying at 50 ° C (required time: 10 hours)

(4) Control experiment 1
A control experiment (control experiment 1) was performed as follows.
25 g of fresh leaves (leaf blade) of the above sesame were subjected to lyophilization. Freeze drying was performed under the following conditions. That is, fresh leaves (leaf blades) of sesame were frozen at −30 ° C. overnight, and then lyophilized for 72 hours at a vacuum of around 0.05 Torr. By freeze-drying fresh leaves, the contents of α-linolenic acid and rosmarinic acid in the plant foliage were hardly reduced. From this, the content of α-linolenic acid and rosmarinic acid in the dried product (control product 1) obtained by the freeze-drying treatment was defined as the raw material content equivalent amount.

2. Measurement of water content, fatty acid content and rosmarinic acid content For each of the obtained dried products, the α-linolenic acid content, rosmarinic acid content and water content were measured according to the following method.

(1) Method for measuring α-linolenic acid content To 0.5 g of the dried product, 20 mL of chloroform: methanol = 2: 1 (v / v) solution was added and ground with a polytron homogenizer for 1 minute, and then at 2,000 rpm. Centrifuge for 10 minutes. 100 μL of the obtained supernatant was weighed into a test tube with a stopper, and 100 μL of 100 μg / mL TCA (Tricosaneic acid, internal standard) and 2 mL of methanol were added. After cooling, 200 μL of acetyl chloride was added, Heated at 0 ° C. for 1 hour.

  After cooling, 400 mL of octane and 5 mL of 0.5N sodium hydroxide solution dissolved in 10% (w / v) saline were added and shaken vigorously for 10 minutes. Next, after centrifuging at 2500 rpm for 10 minutes, the obtained upper layer (octane layer) is dispensed into a gas chromatograph (GC) vial and subjected to the following GC analysis to measure the α-linolenic acid content. did.

The GC analysis was performed under the following conditions.
Column: DB-WAX (0.25 mm × 30 m, manufactured by J & W Scientific)
Column temperature: 100 ° C. (1 minute hold) → Temperature rise at 20 ° C./minute → 180 ° C. → Temperature rise at 2 ° C./minute → 240 ° C. → Temperature rise at 4 ° C./minute → 260 ° C. (5 minute hold)
Detector: FID
Detector temperature: 260 ° C
Sample vaporization chamber temperature: 260 ° C
Sample injection volume: 1 μL

(2) Method for measuring rosmarinic acid content 50 mL of 80% by volume methanol aqueous solution was added to 0.4 g of powdered dried product, refluxed at 80 ° C. for 1 hour, and then 100 mL with 80% by volume methanol aqueous solution. The volume was constant. The extract was filtered through a 0.45 μm filter and then subjected to high performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC) analysis to measure the rosmarinic acid content.

The HPLC analysis was performed under the following conditions.
Column: Shim-pack XR-ODS (4.6 × 100 mm, manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation)
Column temperature: 40 ° C
Eluent: Water / acetonitrile = 80/20 to 20/80 (containing 0.2% formic acid) Gradient elution flow rate: 1 mL / min Detector: UV 280 nm
Sample injection volume: 10 μL

(3) Measuring method of water content 0.5 g of dried product was collected and precisely weighed in a weighing pan that had been made constant. This was dried in a dryer at 105 ° C., then transferred to a desiccator, allowed to cool, and the weight was measured. It dried until it became constant weight (2-4 hours), allowed to cool, and repeated weight measurement, and the moisture content of the original sample was calculated from the difference in weight between the original sample and the dried sample.

  The results are shown in Table 1. In the table, the description in () is (a) when the α-linolenic acid content (raw material content equivalent amount) and rosmarinic acid content (raw material content equivalent amount) of the control product 1 (lyophilized product) are 100. The ratio (relative ratio) of the corresponding component contained in (a) Aqua gas dried product, (b) Superheated steam dried product, (c) Superheated steam dried product, and (d) Hot air dried product after Aqua gas treatment.

  As can be seen from this result, when the fresh leaves of sesame (raw material) were dried with warm air, the yield of α-linolenic acid was reduced to the 80% level regardless of the presence or absence of steaming as a pretreatment. In a state where the amount of α-linolenic acid originally contained in the raw leaves (raw material) of the sesame seed is substantially maintained (high content) by drying by superheated steam treatment (combination) after superheated steam treatment and aqua gas treatment A dried product could be prepared. Moreover, according to the conditions of the aqua gas treatment or the superheated steam treatment, the shorter the treatment time or the lower the treatment temperature, the higher the yield of α-linolenic acid could be maintained.

  Similarly for rosmarinic acid, when the raw leaves (raw material) of sesame are dried with warm air, if steaming heat treatment is not performed as a pretreatment, the amount is drastically reduced to the level of 20%. The amount has drastically decreased to the 50% level. However, the dried product containing rosmarinic acid in a high proportion (high yield) without losing rosmarinic acid from raw leaves (raw material) by drying by aquagas treatment or by superheated steam treatment (combined use) after aquagas treatment. Could be prepared.

  From these things, it became clear that drying by aqua gas treatment was effective as a method for preparing a dried product of plant stems and leaves containing α-linolenic acid and rosmarinic acid in high proportions (high yield). The treatment with aqua gas and superheated steam is the same or lower than the treatment with aqua gas alone in terms of quality maintenance, and no synergistic effect was observed, but in terms of actual operation, it is effective in shortening the treatment time such as drying time. Expected. The present invention was also applicable to perilla, flax, thia and basil in addition to the above-mentioned egoma as a plant containing α-linolenic acid and rosmarinic acid in a high proportion in the plant stem and leaves.

Example 2
In this example, the color tone of dried sesame leaves was measured.
About dried egoma leaves prepared by various methods shown in Table 2, color tone (L, a, b value) was measured using CR-300 manufactured by Konica Minolta. The results are shown in Table 3. The L value indicates lightness, the a value indicates a color tone from green to red, and the b value indicates a color tone from blue to yellow. That is, the smaller the a value (the larger the negative value), the better the green color is left.

  As can be seen from this result, the green color tone of the raw leaves (raw material) of the sesame seeds was substantially maintained by aquagas drying (excluding treatment at 120 ° C., 200 spm, 20 min) (a) A dried product could be obtained in a low value state. On the other hand, in the single treatment of superheated steam drying, a tendency of browning (partially burnt) was observed as the temperature increased. Drying with superheated steam after aqua gas treatment was equivalent to or less than that of aqua gas alone treatment in terms of quality maintenance, and no synergistic effect was observed, but in terms of actual operation, it was effective in shortening treatment time such as drying time. Was expected.

Example 3
In this example, a microorganism test was performed on dried egoma leaves.
For the dried sesame leaves prepared by various methods described in Example 1, the general viable cell count and coliform group were evaluated by conventional methods (general viable cell count: pour plate culture method, coliform group: BGLB medium method). . That is, 1 g of a dried product is precisely weighed, 99 g of sterilized physiological saline is added, and the mixture is mixed for 1 minute with a stomacher as a sample stock solution. Prepared.

  The microorganisms in this sample solution were evaluated by counting the number of colonies generated by the pour culture method (cultured at 35 ° C. for 48 hours) using a standard agar medium. Evaluation was performed by confirming the presence or absence of gas generation in the fermentation tube by culture using a medium (cultured at 35 ° C. for 48 hours). The results are shown in Table 4.

  As can be seen from this result, the viable count of the dried product of the control product 1 (freeze-dried product) is the same as the viable count of the raw leaf (raw material), and there is a general viable count of 10 5 in the raw material. The coliform group was also positive. On the other hand, these microorganisms could not be detected by aqua gas drying, superheated steam drying, drying with a combination of superheated steam after aqua gas treatment, or warm air drying after steaming. However, when pre-treatment was performed by warm air drying without steaming, the number of general viable bacteria remained.

  From these facts, it is not known whether there is a synergistic effect of aqua gas treatment or superheated steam treatment, but aqua gas drying alone treatment or drying with a combination of superheated steam after aqua gas treatment effectively sterilizes microorganisms present in fresh leaves (raw materials) It turned out to be effective as a means.

Example 4
In this example, the soluble total polyphenol content of dried sesame leaves and the DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging activity (antioxidant activity) were measured.
For the dried sesame leaves prepared by various methods described in Example 1, the soluble total polyphenol content and DPPH radical scavenging activity as an index of antioxidant activity were measured.

1) Measurement of soluble total polyphenol content The soluble total polyphenol content of the dried sesame leaves was measured by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. That is, the dried product of sesame leaves was extracted with 70 vol% ethanol in water, and then centrifuged. The resulting supernatant of the dried sesame leaves extract was serially diluted, and 80 μL thereof was diluted 5 times with water. 80 μL of each diluted phenol reagent and 10% aqueous sodium carbonate solution were added and allowed to stand for 60 minutes, and then the absorbance at 650 nm was measured with a spectrophotometer. From this measured value, the amount of soluble total polyphenol per 1 g of dried sesame leaves was calculated as an amount equivalent to gallic acid.

2) Measurement of DPPH radical scavenging activity Antioxidant activity was evaluated by determining DPPH radical scavenging activity using DPPH which is a stable radical. The DPPH radical scavenging activity was measured before and after adding the dried sesame leaf extract to the DPPH solution, after extracting the dried sesame leaf with 70% by volume water-containing ethanol overnight and centrifuging. Was measured by measuring the change in absorbance at 520 nm (the degree of purple color fading of DPPH) and calculated as the equivalent of Trolox per gram of dried sesame leaves. The results are shown in Table 5.

  As can be seen from this result, when the fresh leaves of sesame were dried with warm air [12]], the residual amount of soluble polyphenol decreased to 70% of control product 1 (freeze-dried product). On the other hand, the Aqua gas drying single treatment [1) to 3)] tended to increase. On the other hand, in the combined drying with superheated steam after the aqua gas treatment [6) to 11)], although there is an increasing trend, in terms of quality maintenance, it is less than or equal to the aqua gas alone treatment [1) to 2)], and the synergistic effect is Although not recognized, in terms of actual operation, it was expected to be effective in shortening the processing time such as drying time. In the single treatment [4) to 5)] of the superheated steam drying, the soluble total polyphenol content was decreased as compared with the aqua gas alone treatment or the drying with the superheated steam after the aqua gas treatment.

Aqua gas drying alone treatment maintained soluble total polyphenols at a level comparable to conventional steam-heated hot air drying. It was confirmed that the soluble total polyphenol content in the dried sesame leaves and the DPPH radical scavenging activity value correlated well. From these facts, it was proved that drying by aqua gas treatment is effective as a means for favorably maintaining the soluble total polyphenol and DPPH radical scavenging activity inherent in the raw leaves (raw materials).

  As described above in detail, the present invention relates to a heated, sterilized, and dried plant using aquagas and a method for preparing the same, and according to the present invention, without sacrificing functionality of plants and agricultural products, high yield, Providing dry plants and dry agricultural products and processing methods that can be supplied as dry materials with superior quality such as high quality maintenance in season, improved convenience, long-term storage stability and storage stability can do. The present invention makes it possible to improve the quality of plants and agricultural products and supply them, to produce farmers for high value-added crops and shipment adjustments, for producers of production areas, to promote production areas and to consume. For the elderly, food safety and security and a healthy diet are achieved. Agricultural products with various functionalities can be made into raw materials, and by performing drying treatment with an aqua gas heating device, the quality of agricultural dry materials is improved, and further systemization is expected to reduce costs. The Since these dried agricultural products can be stored for a long time using domestic agricultural products as raw materials, they can be processed at the time of many harvests and supplied throughout the year, which can contribute to an increase in the utilization rate and self-sufficiency rate of domestic agricultural products. INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION This invention is useful as what makes it possible to provide the heating, drying, and sterilization technique of agricultural products and the drying and sterilization plant product which maintained the functionality by the high content of antioxidant components by aquagas heating.

Claims (7)

Plants after harvesting are heat-treated in a minimally invasive manner using the heating and sterilization methods described below, thereby suppressing the depletion and discoloration / fading of plant antioxidant components, reducing the number of viable bacteria, and A method for preparing a heated, sterilized, and dried plant with a high antioxidant content by evaporating,
Next step: 1) Hot water and / or steam heated to at least 100 ° C. are continuously injected into the heating chamber of the semi-enclosed space heated to the same temperature or higher to generate fine water droplets and wet heat steam. 2) Substituting the air in the heating chamber with the fine water droplets and wet heat steam to have a composition of at least a humidity of 95% and an oxygen concentration of at most 1%, and kept in a temperature range of 90 to 180 ° C. A step of filling with a gas component, and 3) a step of subjecting the material to be heated to continuous amplitude heating with a temperature difference of at least 10 ° C. in the above temperature range and heating and sterilizing treatment with the heating medium composed of the fine water droplets and wet heat steam, A method for preparing a dried plant, characterized by heat treatment. Heating medium under the following generation and heating conditions 1) Water supply amount: 10 spm to 200 spm
2) Internal control temperature: 100 ° C to 150 ° C
3) Heating time: The method for preparing a dried plant according to claim 1, wherein a dried plant is prepared in which the moisture content of the heated plant is maintained at 10% at most by heating in 2 to 20 minutes.   The method for preparing a heat / sterilized / dried plant according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the plant is an agricultural product.   A dried plant with a high content of antioxidant components, prepared by the minimally invasive heat treatment method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the water content of the plant to be heated is maintained at 10% at most. Prepared by a minimally invasive heat treatment method with a heating medium having the following generation and heating conditions,
1) Amount of water supply: 10 spm to 200 spm
2) Internal control temperature: 100 ° C to 150 ° C
3) Heating time: 2 to 20 minutes The dried plant according to claim 4, wherein the moisture content of most of the heated plants is maintained at 10%.   The dried plant with a high antioxidant component content according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the plant is an agricultural product.   Antioxidant component high content in any one of Claims 4-6 by which the suppression of the depletion of an antioxidant component, discoloration, discoloration, and the number of general viable bacteria is suppressed or reduced by the said minimally invasive heat processing method. Dry plant.