JP2011234719A - Improved beverage - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a beverage comprising catechins, more particularly, to provide the use of water-soluble gum for providing an improved beverages comprising catechins.SOLUTION: The beverage comprises: catechins in an amount of from 0.01 to 1 wt.% of the beverage, wherein the catechins comprise at least 81 wt.% of epicatechins; and a polymer having amine groups, wherein the polymer includes a water-soluble gum. The use of water-soluble gum allows the formulation of beverages that enable consumers to meet the daily intake of catechins required to achieve health benefits and which have excellent appearance and/or taste characteristics.

Description

  The present invention relates to a beverage containing catechin. In particular, the present invention relates to the use of water soluble rubber to provide improved beverages containing catechins.

  Tea has been often consumed as a beverage for 2000 years and is the most common beverage consumed by mankind except for water. Tea is very fresh and can be served hot or cold and has been available on the market for many years. Lipton®, for example, is the world's leading tea brand and is available in over 110 countries by Uniliver.

  Usually, tea is reported to serve the functions of improving vascular function, preventing fatigue, lowering cholesterol levels, and increasing vigor. It is understood that the health benefits of tea are largely due to the presence of high concentrations of natural antioxidants known as flavonoids. Both green and black teas are rich in flavonoids that can include catechins, flavonols, and theaflavins.

  Recently, excessive laboratory and epidemiological studies have shown that antioxidants present in tea will reduce the risk of various diseases. In particular, catechins including epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epicatechin (EC), epicatechin gallate (ECG), and epigallocatechin (EGC) found in tea have been shown to work positively on physiological functions. It has been proposed to use it as an antiallergic agent and an activator of brain function.

  The health benefits of tea are evident at consumption rates as low as 3 cups per day (eg U. Peters et al., “Does tea affect cardiovascular disease? A meta-analysis.” American Journal of Epidemiology, 2001, 154: pp. 495-503), but many do not achieve this moderate consumption rate on a long-term basis.

  Some attempts have been made to provide beverages with increased catechin concentrations. Unfortunately, however, increasing the amount of catechin in the beverage leads to products with poor stability, appearance, and taste characteristics.

  An international patent application published as WO 2009/016018 A1 (Unilever) is a composition comprising a high concentration of polyphenols (including catechins) stabilized by complexing with a polymer containing amine groups (which may include beverages). , Thereby reducing or eliminating the catechin bitterness and / or astringency. However, the resulting complex is present in the form of particles, resulting in a beverage that tends to settle and / or has a cloudy appearance, which may not be desired by some consumers.

WO2009 / 016018A1 (Unilever)

U. Peters et al., “Does tea affect cardiovascular disease? A meta-analysis.” American Journal of Epidemiology, 2001, 154: pp. 495-503

  Thus, there is a need for the present applicant to provide a beverage that delivers the benefits of high concentrations of catechin, has an improved taste, especially with respect to bitterness, does not form a precipitate, or does not have a cloudy appearance. Recognized to do. Applicants have found that one or more of these needs may be met by using a special class of complexing agents based on rubbers that form soluble complexes with catechins. Surprisingly, the use of soluble gums allows the formation of beverages with excellent appearance and / or taste characteristics even when high concentrations of catechin are incorporated.

Tests and Definitions Beverage The term “beverage” as used herein refers to a substantially aqueous drinkable composition suitable for human consumption. Preferably the beverage comprises at least 85%, more preferably at least 90%, most preferably 95 to 99.9% by weight of water of said beverage.

Tea-based beverage The term “tea-based beverage” as used herein refers to a beverage comprising at least 0.01% by weight tea solids of said beverage. Preferably the tea based beverage comprises 0.04 to 3% tea solids, more preferably 0.06 to 2%, most preferably 0.1 to 1% tea solids.

Tea solids As used herein, the term “tea solids” refers to dry material that can be extracted from the leaves of Camellia sinensis var. Sinensis and / or Camellia sinensis var. Assamica plants. The leaves are subjected to a process referred to as a “fermentation” process where they are oxidized by certain endogenous enzymes that are released during the initial process of “black tea” production. This oxidation may be supplemented by the action of endogenous enzymes such as oxidases, laccases and peroxidases. Alternatively, the leaves may be partially fermented (“oolong tea”) or maintained substantially unfermented (“green tea”).

Tea extract As used herein, the term “tea extract” refers to a solution obtained from the extraction of tea material, including solutions that are concentrated or dried. Preferably the tea extract is an aqueous solution.

Catechin The term “epicatechin” as used herein refers to epicatechin, epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate, epigallocatechin gallate, and mixtures thereof. The term “non-epicatechin” refers to catechin, gallocatechin, catechin gallate, gallocatechin gallate, and mixtures thereof. The term “catechin” is used as a general term for epicatechin, non-epicatechin, and mixtures thereof.

Rubber The term “rubber” as used herein refers to a protein-polysaccharide conjugate that can modify the rheological properties of a solution. It is within the scope of the present invention that the rubber comprises a synthetic protein-polysaccharide conjugate. However, the rubber is preferably natural rubber, more preferably vegetable rubber.

Plant rubber The term “plant rubber” as used herein refers to plant-derived rubber, which may be natural rubber or modified natural rubber. Such rubbers are mostly found in plant wood elements or seed coatings.

Water-soluble rubber As used herein, the term “water-soluble rubber” refers to a rubber capable of forming a colloidal solution or dispersion in water.

Gum arabic The term “gum arabic” as used herein refers to an edible dry exudate obtained from the stems and branches of Acacia trees, in particular Acacia Senegal and Acacia seyal. Gum arabic (INS No. 414, E414) is a highly heterogeneous proteinaceous polysaccharide with a complex chemical composition, arabinogalactan fraction, arabinogalactan-protein fraction, and glycoprotein fraction It is shown to consist of several fractions including The main structural features of gum arabic are 1,3-linked β-D-galactopyranosyl side chains with 2 to 5, 1,3-linked linked to the main chain by 1,6-linkages. It is a skeleton of linked β-D-galactopyranosyl units. Both main chain and side chain contain arabinose, galactose, rhamnose, glucuronic acid residues. The side chain has almost glucuronic acid or 4-O-methyl glucuronic acid residue ends. In addition, there are small amounts of proteins present in the material that forms the internal part of the structure.

Other Terms As used herein, the term “comprising” encompasses the terms “consisting essentially of” and “consisting of”. All percentages included herein are calculated on a weight basis unless otherwise stated.

In the first aspect, the present invention provides:
A catechin in an amount of 0.01 to 1% by weight of the beverage, the catechin comprising at least 81% by weight epicatechin; and a beverage comprising a polymer comprising an amine group, wherein the polymer comprises a water-soluble rubber. A beverage is provided.

  Applicants allow the use of water-soluble rubber to adapt the consumer's daily uptake of catechins required to achieve health benefits, with excellent appearance and / or taste characteristics It has been found that it is possible to form a beverage having

  Natural sources of catechin (eg tea leaves, cocoa beans) mainly contain epicatechin. Therefore, in the beverage according to the present invention, at least 81% by weight of the catechin contained therein contains epicatechin. Preferably at least 82% by weight of catechin contains epicatechin, more preferably at least 84% by weight of catechin contains epicatechin.

  In a further aspect, a method for producing a beverage is provided that combines a substance containing water-soluble rubber with a substance containing catechin.

  Such a method allows the formation of a beverage that is substantially transparent and free of sediment.

  The beverage according to the present invention contains a high concentration of catechins maintained in dissolved form. Although not wishing to be theoretically supported, it is speculated that water-soluble rubber interacts with catechin to form a soluble complex.

  European patent EP 1361798 B1 (Kao Corporation) discloses that the addition of water-soluble polymers can reduce the bitterness and astringency of beverages containing high concentrations of non-epicatechin. However, studies that provide data that support the health benefits of catechins tend to focus on sources of catechins that typically include primarily epicatechin (eg, green tea beverages). Therefore, the beverage of the present invention comprises epicatechin and non-epicatechin, and the amount of non-epicatechin is less than 0.014% by weight of the beverage. More preferably the amount of non-epicatechin is less than 0.0135% by weight of the beverage.

  Preferably the water soluble rubber comprises one or more vegetable rubbers, more preferably the rubber comprises seed rubber and / or exudate rubber, most preferably exudate rubber. Examples of typical vegetable gums include one or more of gum arabic, ghatti gum, tragacanth gum, karaya gum, mesquite seed gum, neem gum, peach gum, or rubbers derived therefrom. It is particularly preferable that the water-soluble rubber contains gum arabic.

  The total catechin content of the beverage is preferably such that the consumer can adapt to the daily uptake of catechins required to achieve health benefits in one or two servings. Thus, the beverage serving preferably comprises at least 50 mg catechin, more preferably 150 mg, most preferably 300 mg to 1 g catechin. For ease of transportation and handling, the beverage preferably has a weight of less than 500 g.

  High concentrations of rubber may result in undesired viscous beverages. In order to achieve a good mouthfeel beverage, the rubber preferably accounts for 0.01% to 1% of the weight of the beverage, preferably 0.05 to 0.5%, more preferably 0.05 to 0. .3%, most preferably 0.1 to 0.2%.

  Applicants have found that the use of water soluble rubber in combination with catechin is well suited for delivering tea-based beverages without bitterness. Thus, the beverage is preferably a tea based beverage, more preferably a green tea based beverage.

  From the viewpoint of microscopic stability and taste, the beverage preferably has an acidic pH. In particular, the pH (at 20 ° C.) may be from 2 to 7, preferably from 2 to 5, more preferably from 2.5 to 4.5, most preferably from 3 to 4.

  The invention will now be described with reference to the following non-limiting examples.

Example 1
In this example, several candidate polymers were evaluated for their ability to produce a beverage that was substantially clear and free of precipitate, and the selected polymers were also tested for their ability to mask the bitter taste of catechins. Ceytea® from Premium Exports Ltd (Sri Lanka) was used to formulate all samples. Ceytea® is a green tea powder with a typical catechin content of 270 mg / g.

Evaluation of bitterness and astringency Eight untrained subjects who were not informed of the composition of the presented samples for the bitterness of four samples (gum arabic, WPI, WPI + pectin, pectin) containing equal amounts of catechin Measured by. The samples were qualitatively evaluated for their bitterness and astringency. The results are shown in Table 1.

  As can be observed from the data in Table 1, some of the polymers tested have been found to interact with catechins to form insoluble complexes, resulting in products with an undesirable milky white appearance and / or precipitate. It was issued. Pectin (a polymer that does not contain amine groups) and gum arabic formed an acceptable product with no precipitate or milky appearance. However, when pectin was used, the product was noticeably viscous and maintained a slight bitterness and astringency. The greatest ability to mask bitterness and astringency was observed with gum arabic, and products prepared using this polymer further had a mellow mouthfeel that had no negative effect on viscosity.

Claims (10)

A catechin in an amount of 0.01 to 1% by weight of the beverage, the catechin comprising at least 81% by weight epicatechin; and a beverage comprising a polymer comprising an amine group, wherein the polymer comprises a water-soluble rubber. A beverage characterized by.   The beverage according to claim 1, wherein the catechin includes epicatechin and non-epicatechin, and the amount of non-epicatechin is less than 0.014% by weight of the beverage.   The beverage according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the water-soluble rubber comprises one or more vegetable gums.   The beverage according to claim 3, wherein the water-soluble rubber comprises gum arabic.   The beverage according to claim 3, wherein the water-soluble rubber is gum arabic.   The beverage according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the rubber occupies 0.01 to 1% by weight of the beverage.   The beverage according to any one of claims 1 to 6, which is a tea-based beverage.   8. A beverage according to any one of claims 1 to 7, having a pH of 2 to 7.   The manufacturing method of the drink as described in any one of Claim 1 to 8 which combines the substance containing the said water-soluble rubber, and the substance containing catechin. The method according to claim 9, wherein the substance containing catechin is a tea extract.