JP2011241177A - Carotenoid-containing composition and method for producing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for producing a carotenoid-containing composition whose crystallization is controlled even when the composition includes the carotenoid with high crystallinity.SOLUTION: There is provided the method for producing carotenoid-containing composition that includes: obtaining a carotenoid-containing oil phase composition by heating an oil phase component mixture that comprises a carotenoid component with at least one of crystalline carotenoid and (poly)glycerin fatty acid ester wherein there are 1-6 glycerin units, the number of fatty acid units is 1-6 and which has at least one glycerin unit hydroxy group, at a temperature condition not lower than the melting point of the carotenoid component; and obtaining an oil-in-water emulsified composition by pressurized emulsification of an aqueous composition comprising water-soluble emulsifier with the carotenoid-containing oil phase composition.

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for producing a carotenoid-containing composition.

In recent years, focusing on the high functionality of carotenoids, various compositions containing carotenoids have been proposed. In general, carotenoids are widely known as poorly soluble materials, and thus usually emulsified compositions are employed.
Specifically, the carotenoid-containing emulsion composition containing at least one water-soluble emulsifier in the aqueous phase and the carotenoid-containing emulsion composition containing tocopherol and lecithin in the oil phase (see Patent Document 1) and foods. A carotenoid pigment solubilizing solution for foods having a transmittance at 660 nm of 99% or more when the composition of the carotenoid pigment and polyglycerin fatty acid ester is finely divided and the absorbance at the maximum absorption wavelength of the visible portion is 1 Formulation (see Patent Document 2), and further, an oil phase obtained by dissolving carotenoids in fats and oils is emulsified in an aqueous phase containing a polyhydric alcohol in the presence of polyglycerin fatty acid ester and lecithin, and the oil phase A carotenoid-containing composition (see Patent Document 3) having an average particle size of 100 nm or less is known.

JP 2008-13751 A JP-A-10-120933 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-157159

However, crystalline carotenoids such as lycopene have high crystallinity, and for example, crystals are often left when preparing an emulsion composition. In such a composition containing a crystal, the expected effect may not be obtained due to the presence of the crystal.
Accordingly, the present invention is to produce a carotenoid-containing composition in which crystallization is suppressed even for a composition containing a crystalline carotenoid.

The present invention is as follows.
[1] A carotenoid component containing at least one crystalline carotenoid, a (poly) glycerin fatty acid having 1 to 6 glycerin units and 1 to 6 fatty acid units, and having at least one hydroxyl group of the glycerin unit An oil phase component mixture containing an ester is heated under a temperature condition equal to or higher than the melting point of the carotenoid component to obtain a carotenoid-containing oil phase composition, an aqueous phase composition containing an emulsifier, and the carotenoid-containing solution A method for producing a carotenoid-containing composition, comprising: emulsifying an oil phase composition with pressure to obtain an oil-in-water emulsion composition.
[2] The powder composition according to [1], wherein the crystalline carotenoid is lycopene.
[3] The method for producing a carotenoid-containing composition according to [1] or [2], wherein the (poly) glycerin fatty acid ester has a molecular weight of 10,000 or less.
[4] The carotenoid-containing composition according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the total mass of the (poly) glycerin fatty acid ester is 0.01 to 10 times the total mass of the crystalline carotenoid. Production method.
[5] The method for producing a carotenoid-containing composition according to any one of [1] to [4], comprising adding an antioxidant to the oil phase component mixture before the heating.
[6] The method for producing a carotenoid-containing composition according to [5], wherein the antioxidant is at least one selected from the group consisting of ascorbic acid, ascorbic acid ester, and salts thereof.
[7] The method for producing a carotenoid-containing composition according to [5] or [6], wherein the total mass of the antioxidant is 0.05 to 50 times the total mass of the crystalline carotenoid.
[8] The carotenoid-containing composition according to any one of [1] to [7], further comprising at least one water-soluble packaging agent selected from sugar polymers and oligomers comprising sugar units containing at least two fructose units. Manufacturing method.
[9] The method for producing a carotenoid-containing composition according to [8], wherein the total mass of the water-soluble packaging agent is 0.5 to 50 times the total mass of the oily component including the carotenoid component.
[10] The total mass of the emulsifier contained in the aqueous phase composition is 0.1 to 10 times the total mass of the oil component including the carotenoid component, according to any one of [1] to [9]. The manufacturing method of the carotenoid containing composition in any one.
[11] The method for producing a carotenoid-containing composition according to any one of [1] to [10], further comprising drying the oil-in-water emulsion composition to obtain a powder composition.
[12] Any one of [1] to [11], wherein an average particle size of the re-dissolved oil-in-water emulsion obtained by re-dissolving the oil-in-water emulsion composition or the powder composition is 50 nm to 300 nm. A method for producing a carotenoid-containing composition as described in 1. above.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, even if it is a composition containing highly crystalline carotenoid, the manufacturing method which manufactures the carotenoid containing composition by which crystallization was suppressed is provided.

  The method for producing a carotenoid-containing composition of the present invention comprises a carotenoid component containing at least one crystalline carotenoid, 1 to 6 glycerin units, 1 to 6 fatty acid units, and a hydroxyl group of the glycerin unit. An oil phase component mixture containing at least one (poly) glycerin fatty acid ester is heated under a temperature condition equal to or higher than the melting point of the carotenoid component to obtain a carotenoid-containing oil phase composition (hereinafter referred to as “carotenoid-containing oil”). Phase composition preparation step), and emulsifying the water phase composition containing the emulsifier and the carotenoid-containing oil phase composition under pressure to obtain an oil-in-water emulsion composition (hereinafter referred to as “phase composition preparation step”). "Oil-in-water emulsion composition preparation step").

  According to the present invention, the carotenoid component containing crystalline carotenoid is heated together with the predetermined (poly) glycerin fatty acid ester under a temperature condition equal to or higher than the melting point of the carotenoid component, so that the carotenoid component is combined with the predetermined (poly) glycerin fatty acid ester. Co-dissolve. The carotenoid-containing composition obtained by emulsification is made crystalline by making the oil-phase composition heat-emulsified with the water-phase composition containing a water-soluble emulsifier into a carotenoid-containing oil phase composition obtained by co-dissolution. A composition in which carotenoid crystallization is suppressed is obtained.

In the present specification, a numerical range indicated using “to” indicates a range including the numerical values described before and after “to” as the minimum value and the maximum value, respectively.
In the present invention, when referring to the amount of each component in the composition, when there are a plurality of substances corresponding to each component in the composition, the plurality of substances present in the composition unless otherwise specified. Means the total amount.
In the present specification, the expression “(poly) glycerin fatty acid ester” includes a glycerin fatty acid ester containing one glycerin unit and one fatty acid unit, a glycerin fatty acid ester containing a plurality of either one, and a glycerin fatty acid ester containing a plurality of both. Are used when these glycerin fatty acid esters are used indifferently.
The present invention will be described below.

[Carotenoid-containing oil phase composition]
The carotenoid-containing oil phase composition is prepared from an oil phase component mixture containing a carotenoid component containing at least one crystalline carotenoid and a predetermined (poly) glycerin fatty acid ester.

  “Crystalline carotenoid” in the present invention does not indicate a specific carotenoid, and when it is in the form of oil or paste containing carotenoid, it is a crystalline substance due to various factors such as its production method, treatment, storage, etc. Means carotenoids that may be present. In particular, lycopene, β-carotene, δ-carotene, zeaxanthin, lutein, astaxanthin and the like, which will be described later, are carotenoids in which crystals are likely to exist.

  Crystalline carotenoids are pigments of yellow to red terpenoids, and examples thereof include those derived from plants, algae, and bacteria. Moreover, it is not limited to the thing of natural origin, Any thing may be used if it is obtained according to a conventional method. Moreover, what is necessary is just to confirm that it is a crystalline carotenoid by a conventional method, for example, differential scanning calorimetry (Differential scanning calorimetry, DSC), a polarizing microscope observation, X-ray diffraction etc. are applicable.

  Specific examples of the crystalline carotenoid in the present invention include lycopene, α-carotene, β-carotene, γ-carotene, δ-carotene, actinioerythrol, bixin, canthaxanthin, capsorubin, β-8′-apo- Carotenal (apocarotenal), β-12′-apo-carotenal, xanthophylls (eg, astaxanthin, fucoxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, capsanthin, β-cryptoxanthin, violaxanthin, etc.), and hydroxyl or carboxyl derivatives thereof. . These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

Among them, it is known for its extremely high antioxidant effect, whitening effect, etc., and it has been requested, studied and implemented for the addition to raw materials for foods, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and processed products thereof. As the carotenoid, lycopene is preferable.
Lycopene (sometimes referred to as “lycopene”) is a carotenoid of the chemical formula C ₄₀ H ₅₆ (molecular weight 536.87) and belongs to a kind of carotenoids of carotenoids. It is a red pigment exhibiting an absorption maximum at 474 nm (acetone).
In lycopene, there are also cis- and trans- isomers of a conjugated double bond at the center of the molecule, and examples include all-trans-, 9-cis and 13-cis isomers. In the present invention, Any of these may be used.

Lycopene may be contained in the emulsion composition of the present invention as a lycopene-containing oil or lycopene-containing paste separated and extracted from a natural product containing it.
Lycopene is naturally contained in tomatoes, strawberries, watermelons, and pink grapefruits, and the above-mentioned lycopene-containing oil may be separated and extracted from these natural products.
In addition, the lycopene used in the present invention may be the above-described extract, a product obtained by appropriately purifying the extract as necessary, or a synthetic product.
In the present invention, lycopene extracted from tomato is particularly preferable from the viewpoint of quality and productivity.

  In the present invention, a commercially available tomato extract can be used as lycopene-containing oil or paste. For example, Lyc-O-Mato 15%, Lyc-O- sold by Sunbright Co., Ltd. Examples include Mato 6% and lycopene 18 sold by Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co., Ltd.

  The crystalline carotenoid may constitute the carotenoid component alone or may constitute the carotenoid component together with the oil (oil) used when extracted from the natural product.

  The crystalline carotenoid is preferably 0.1% by mass to 5% by mass, more preferably 0.2% by mass to 4% by mass with respect to the total mass of the solid content (all components excluding water) in the carotenoid-containing composition. 0.3 mass% to 3 mass% is more preferable. If it is this range, the effect by crystalline carotenoid can be expected.

The (poly) glycerin fatty acid ester that forms the oil phase component mixture with the carotenoid component has 1 to 6 glycerin units and 1 to 6 fatty acid units, and has at least one hydroxyl group of the glycerin unit (poly ) Glycerin fatty acid ester.
Such a specific (poly) glycerin fatty acid ester has high compatibility with crystalline carotenoids, and suppresses crystallization of crystalline carotenoids when a carotenoid-containing oil phase composition is constituted as a co-dissolved product. sell. (Poly) glycerin fatty acid ester having 7 or more glycerin units has increased hydrophilicity and low affinity for carotenoids, while (poly) glycerin fatty acid ester having 7 or more fatty acid units has a carotenoid crystal-inhibiting effect. I can not expect. In addition, for (poly) glycerin fatty acid esters that do not contain hydroxyl groups of glycerin units, such as medium-chain fatty acid triglycerides, crystallization of carotenoids cannot be sufficiently suppressed, but a certain amount of hydroxyl groups is necessary. Therefore, the carotenoid crystal suppression effect cannot be expected.

The (poly) glycerin fatty acid ester contained in the oil phase component mixture as a co-dissolved product is a glycerin having a number of glycerin units (average degree of polymerization) of 1 to 6, more preferably 1 to 4, from the viewpoint of suppressing recrystallization A fatty acid unit having 1 to 6, more preferably 1 to 5 and having 8 to 22 carbon atoms (for example, caprylic acid, capric acid, lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid) And behenic acid), more preferably an ester with a fatty acid having 14 to 18 carbon atoms.
Among these, from the viewpoint of uniform solubility during co-dissolution, the molecular weight is preferably 10,000 or less, more preferably 3000 or less, and even more preferably 2500 or less. Further, from the viewpoint of affinity with carotenoids, HLB is preferably 9 or less, and more preferably 6 or less.

  In addition, in the case of a powder composition, it is a (poly) glycerin fatty acid ester that is solid at room temperature, from the viewpoint of the carotenoid concentration in the carotenoid powder composition and the yield at the time of hot-air drying during production of the composition. preferable. That is, if it is solid at normal temperature, it is not necessary to increase the amount of the packaging agent, and a sufficient amount of carotenoid can be contained. Moreover, if it is solid at normal temperature, it will be difficult to adhere to a contact surface at the time of hot-air drying, and the fall of the yield of a carotenoid powder composition can be suppressed.

  Examples of the (poly) glyceryl fatty acid ester include glyceryl myristate, monoglyceryl monostearate, diglyceryl monostearate, triglyceryl monostearate, pentaglyceryl monoglycerate, hexaglyceryl pentastearate, triglyceryl dipalmitate Glyceryl distearate, tetraglyceryl tristearate, tetraglyceryl pentastearate, hexaglyceryl monostearate, hexaglyceryl tristearate, hexaglyceryl tetrabehenate, etc., from the viewpoint of recrystallization inhibition and uniform solubility, myristic Glyceryl acid, glyceryl monostearate, diglyceryl monostearate, tetraglyceryl pentastearate, hexaglyceryl pentastearate Preferred.

  The content (mass) of the (poly) glycerin fatty acid ester varies depending on the type or content of the crystalline carotenoid used, but from the viewpoint of the stability of the carotenoid-containing composition, the content (mass) is 0. It is preferably 01 times to 10 times, more preferably 0.1 times to 8 times, and still more preferably 0.3 times to 5 times. If the total mass of the polyglycerin fatty acid ester in the carotenoid-containing composition is 0.01 times the total mass of the crystalline carotenoid, a sufficient crystal suppression effect can be expected. The increase in the particle diameter of the emulsified particles can be suppressed.

The oil phase component mixture preferably contains an antioxidant as a component other than the carotenoid component and the (poly) glycerin fatty acid ester in order to suppress the decomposition of the crystalline carotenoid.
Such an antioxidant is preferably at least one selected from ascorbic acid, ascorbic acid ester and salts thereof from the viewpoint of surely suppressing the decomposition of crystalline carotenoid. By using such an antioxidant (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “ascorbic acid-based antioxidant”), decomposition of the crystalline carotenoid by heating (for example, oxidative decomposition) is reliably suppressed, and the carotenoid Reduction of crystalline carotenoid in the production process of the containing composition can be suppressed.

Ascorbic acid antioxidants include L-ascorbic acid, L-ascorbic acid Na, L-ascorbic acid K, L-ascorbic acid Ca, L-ascorbic acid phosphate, magnesium salt of L-ascorbic acid phosphate L-ascorbic acid sulfate, L-ascorbic acid sulfate disodium salt, L-ascorbic acid stearate, L-ascorbic acid 2-glucoside, L-ascorbyl palmitate, tetraisopalmitate L-ascorbyl, etc. And fatty acid esters of ascorbic acid such as stearic acid L-ascorbyl ester, tetraisopalmitic acid L-ascorbyl ester, palmitic acid L-ascorbyl ester, and the like. Among these, from the viewpoint of suppressing heat loss of carotenoids, L-ascorbic acid, L-ascorbic acid Na, L-ascorbic acid Ca, L-ascorbic acid stearate, L-ascorbic acid 2-glucoside, L-ascorbic acid Palmitic acid ester, magnesium salt of L-ascorbic acid phosphate, L-ascorbic acid sulfate disodium salt, and tetraisopalmitic acid L-ascorbyl are particularly preferred.
These ascorbic acid-based antioxidants may be contained alone in the oil phase component mixture or may be blended in the oil phase component mixture in the form of an aqueous solution. Although there is no restriction | limiting in particular as an ascorbic-acid type antioxidant density | concentration of such aqueous solution, Generally 0.05 mass%-5 mass% are preferable from a viewpoint of antioxidant.

  The total mass of the ascorbic acid-based antioxidant contained in the oil phase component mixture is preferably 0.05 to 50 times the mass of the crystalline carotenoid from the viewpoint of suppressing the loss of carotenoid due to heat, and is preferably 1 times. It is more preferably 10 times, more preferably 1.5 times to 10 times, and even more preferably 2 times to 10 times. If the mass of the ascorbic acid-based antioxidant is 0.05 times the amount of the crystalline carotenoid or more, it is sufficient to exert the effect of suppressing the reduction of the crystalline carotenoid content, and if it is 50 times or less, a sufficient amount of crystals. The carotenoid formulation is not impaired.

The oil phase composition (carotenoid-containing oil phase composition) in the present invention can be obtained by heat-treating the oil phase component mixture (oil phase component mixture).
The temperature at which the oil phase component mixture is heated needs to be a temperature equal to or higher than the melting point of the carotenoid component. Below the melting point of the carotenoid component, the crystalline carotenoid does not dissolve, and a large amount of crystals are present in the carotenoid-containing composition.

  The melting point of the carotenoid component means a temperature at which the crystalline carotenoid in the carotenoid component is dissolved. When the carotenoid component is composed of a single crystalline carotenoid, the melting point of the crystalline carotenoid corresponds. On the other hand, when a component other than the crystalline carotenoid is contained in the carotenoid component, it means a temperature at which the carotenoid in the carotenoid component is dissolved. For example, when a carotenoid-containing oil derived from a natural product is used as the carotenoid component, impurities and the like may be contained, and the crystalline carotenoid in the carotenoid component may be dissolved at a temperature lower than the melting point of the crystalline carotenoid. Are known. In this case, the temperature at which the crystalline carotenoid in the carotenoid component dissolves corresponds to the “melting point of the carotenoid component” in the present invention. The melting point of the carotenoid component can be confirmed by a method generally used for confirming the melting point, for example, by DSC.

  Specifically, the heating temperature applied to prepare the carotenoid-containing oil phase composition varies depending on the type of crystalline carotenoid or carotenoid component used, but generally 150 ° C in the case of a carotenoid component containing lycopene. It can be set to -200 degreeC, and it is preferable that it is 150 to 180 degreeC from a viewpoint of suppression of thermal decomposition, and it is more preferable that it is 150 to 170 degreeC.

  Further, as the maximum heating temperature applied for preparing the carotenoid-containing oil phase composition, from the viewpoint of suppressing the decomposition of the crystalline carotenoid, the maximum temperature in the overheat treatment is 10 ° C. different from the melting point of the carotenoid component. It is preferable that the temperature is within the range, and it is more preferable that the melting point is slightly, for example, a temperature within 5 ° C.

The heating time may be a time for dissolving the carotenoid component in the oil phase component mixture, and is 10 minutes to 60 minutes from the viewpoint of efficiently suppressing the decrystallization of the crystal and the decomposition of the carotenoid due to excessive heat. It is preferably 15 minutes to 45 minutes, but is not limited thereto.
By such heat treatment, a carotenoid-containing oil phase composition can be obtained from an oil phase component mixture containing a carotenoid component and a polyglycerin fatty acid ester.

  In the heat treatment, it is important that the entire oil phase component mixture is at a uniform temperature. Therefore, it is preferable to sufficiently stir while heating. It is desirable to maintain the temperature.

The carotenoid-containing oil phase composition may contain other oil components that are usually used as oil phase components in addition to the above-described components.
As such other oily components, other oily components are not particularly limited as long as they are components that do not dissolve in an aqueous medium but dissolve in an oily medium, and have physical properties and functionality according to the purpose. Can be appropriately selected and used. For example, non-crystalline carotenoids, unsaturated fatty acids, fats and oils such as coconut oil, fat-soluble vitamins such as tocopherol, and ubiquinones are preferably used.

Examples of the unsaturated fatty acid include a monovalent highly unsaturated fatty acid (ω-9, oleic acid, etc.) or a polyvalent highly unsaturated fatty acid (ω-3, ω-6) having 10 or more carbon atoms, preferably 18-30. Is mentioned. Such unsaturated fatty acids may be any known ones, for example, omega-3 oils include linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and fish oils containing them. Can be mentioned.
Examples of ubiquinones include coenzyme Qs such as coenzyme Q10.

  Examples of the fat-soluble vitamins include fat-soluble vitamins E, vitamins A, vitamins D, and oil-soluble derivatives of erythorbic acid. Among them, the antioxidant function is high and the radical scavenger (antioxidant). It is preferable that it is fat-soluble vitamin E which can also be used.

  Vitamin E is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include those selected from a compound group consisting of tocopherol and its derivatives, and a compound group consisting of tocotrienol and its derivatives. These may be used alone or in combination. Moreover, you may use combining the compound group which consists of a tocophenol and its derivative, and each selected from the compound group which consists of a tocotrienol and its derivative, respectively.

The compound group consisting of tocopherol and its derivatives includes dl-α-tocopherol, dl-β-tocopherol, dl-γ-tocopherol, dl-δ-tocopherol, dl-α-tocopherol acetate, nicotinic acid-dl-α-tocopherol Linoleic acid-dl-α-tocopherol, succinic acid dl-α-tocopherol and the like. Among these, dl-α-tocopherol, dl-β-tocopherol, dl-γ-tocopherol, dl-δ-tocopherol, and a mixture thereof (mixed tocopherol) are more preferable. Moreover, as a tocopherol derivative, these carboxylic acid ester, especially acetate ester are used preferably.
The compound group consisting of tocotrienol and derivatives thereof includes α-tocotrienol, β-tocotrienol, γ-tocotrienol, δ-tocotrienol and the like. In addition, as the tocotrienol derivative, these acetates are preferably used.

Examples of vitamin A include retinol, 3-hydroretinol, retinal, 3-hydroretinal, retinoic acid, 3-dehydroretinoic acid, vitamin A acetate and the like. Examples of vitamin Ds include vitamin Ds such as vitamins D _{2 to} D ₇ . Examples of other fat-soluble vitamins substances, esters such as nicotinic acid vitamin E; may be mentioned vitamin K ₁ or vitamin K, such as K _3.

Fatty acid esters of erythorbic acid such as erythorbyl palmitate, erythorbyl tetraisopalmitate; fatty acid esters of vitamin B ₆ such as pyridoxine dipalmitate, pyridoxine tripalmitate, pyridoxine dilaurate, pyridoxine dioctanoate, etc. Can also be mentioned as fat-soluble vitamins.

Examples of the fats and oils other than the above include liquid fats and oils (fatty oils) and solid fats and oils (fats) at room temperature.
Examples of the liquid oil include olive oil, camellia oil, macadamia nut oil, castor oil, avocado oil, evening primrose oil, turtle oil, corn oil, mink oil, rapeseed oil, egg yolk oil, sesame oil, persic oil, wheat germ oil, and sasanca Oil, flaxseed oil, safflower oil, cottonseed oil, eno oil, soybean oil, peanut oil, tea seed oil, kaya oil, rice bran oil, cinnagari oil, Japanese kiri oil, jojoba oil, germ oil, triglycerin, glycerin trioctanoate, Examples include glycerin triisopalmitate, salad oil, safflower oil (safflower oil), palm oil, coconut oil, peanut oil, almond oil, hazelnut oil, walnut oil, grape seed oil, squalene, and squalane.
Moreover, as the solid fats and oils, beef tallow, hardened beef tallow, beef leg fat, beef bone fat, mink oil, egg yolk oil, pork tallow, horse fat, sheep fat, hardened oil, cocoa butter, palm oil, hardened palm oil, Palm oil, palm hardened oil, owl, owl kernel oil, hardened castor oil and the like can be mentioned.
Among these, coconut oil, which is a medium-chain fatty acid triglyceride, is preferably used from the viewpoint of the particle size and stability of the emulsion composition.

The oily component in the present invention is a compound selected from the group consisting of tocopherols, tocotrienols and their derivatives included in fat-soluble vitamins (hereinafter referred to as tocopherols as appropriate) in order to improve physical properties in the composition. Is preferably contained together with other oil phase components.
When the tocopherols are used in combination in the carotenoid-containing oil phase composition, it is preferably used in the range of 5% to 35% by mass, more preferably 7% to 20% by mass of the total mass of the oil component. can do.

  The content of the carotenoid-containing oil phase composition of the present invention in the carotenoid-containing composition varies depending on the form of the target carotenoid-containing composition, but as a total amount of the oil phase component, an emulsified composition from the viewpoint of exhibiting the function of the oil component. In the case of a thing, Preferably it is 0.1 mass%-50 mass%, More preferably, it is 0.5 mass%-25 mass%, More preferably, it is 0.2 mass%-10 mass%. In the case of a powder composition, it is preferably 10% by mass to 50% by mass, more preferably 10% by mass to 40% by mass, and more preferably 10% by mass to 30% by mass of the total mass of the composition. More preferably it is.

  In addition to the above components, an emulsifier usable as an oil phase component may be included. Examples of the emulsifier that can be used as such an oil phase component include those having an HLB of 7 or less among the emulsifiers described later.

[Aqueous composition]
In the oil-in-water emulsion preparation step, the water phase composition containing a water-soluble emulsifier and the carotenoid-containing oil phase composition are pressure-emulsified to obtain an oil-in-water emulsion composition.
The aqueous phase composition used for obtaining the carotenoid-containing composition of the present invention is composed of an aqueous medium, particularly water, and contains at least an emulsifier.

The emulsifier in the present invention may be any of an anionic surfactant, a cationic surfactant, an amphoteric surfactant and a nonionic surfactant.
The emulsifier in the present invention preferably has an HLB of 10 or more, and more preferably 12 or more, from the viewpoint of emulsifying power. If the HLB is too low, the emulsifying power may be insufficient. Note that an emulsifier with HLB = 5 or more and less than 10 may be used in combination from the viewpoint of the foam suppression effect.
Here, HLB is a hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance that is usually used in the field of surfactants, and a commonly used calculation formula such as the Kawakami formula can be used. Kawakami's formula is shown below.
HLB = 7 + 11.7 log (M _w / M ₀ )
Here, the molecular weight M _w of the hydrophilic group, M ₀ is the molecular weight of the hydrophobic group.
Moreover, you may use the numerical value of HLB described in the catalog etc.
Further, as can be seen from the above formula, an emulsifier having an arbitrary HLB value can be obtained by utilizing the additivity of HLB.

The content of the emulsifier in the carotenoid-containing composition generally varies depending on the form of the composition, but in the case of the emulsion composition, 0.5 to 30% by mass of the entire composition is preferable, and 1 to 20% by mass is more preferable. 2-15 mass% is still more preferable, and in the case of a powder composition, 0.1-50 mass% of the whole composition is preferable, 5-45 mass% is more preferable, and 10-30 mass% is still more preferable. Within this range, it is preferable in that the interfacial tension between the oil phase and the poor solvent phase can be easily lowered, and it is difficult to cause problems such as excessive foaming without causing an excessive amount.
The total mass of the emulsifier can be used in the range of 0.1 to 10 times the total mass of the oily component including the carotenoid component in both the powder composition and the emulsion composition. From the viewpoint of miniaturization and suppression of foaming, 0.5 to 8 times is preferable, and 0.8 to 5 times is particularly preferable. Within this range, the dispersion stability of the composition can be improved.

  Among the emulsifiers, nonionic surfactants are preferable because they are hypoallergenic and have little influence on the environment. Examples of nonionic surfactants include sucrose fatty acid ester, polyglycerin fatty acid ester, organic acid monoglyceride, propylene glycol fatty acid ester, polyglycerin condensed ricinoleic acid ester, sorbitan fatty acid ester, polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid ester and the like. It is done.

  As the sucrose fatty acid ester, those having 12 to 20 carbon atoms of the fatty acid constituting the sucrose fatty acid ester are preferable and 14 to 16 are more preferable from the viewpoint of the stability of the dispersed particles in the composition.

Preferred examples of sucrose fatty acid esters include sucrose dioleate, sucrose distearate, sucrose dipalmitate, sucrose dimyristic ester, sucrose dilaurate, sucrose monooleate, sucrose Examples include sugar monostearate, sucrose monopalmitate, sucrose monomyristic ester, and sucrose monolaurate. Among these, sucrose monooleate, sucrose monostearate, sucrose Monopalmitate, sucrose monomyristate, and sucrose monolaurate are more preferable.
In the present invention, these sucrose fatty acid esters can be used alone or in combination.

The polyglycerol fatty acid ester contained in the aqueous phase composition has an average degree of polymerization of 2 or more, preferably 6 to 15, more preferably 8 to 10 and a fatty acid having 8 to 18 carbon atoms, such as caprylic acid. , Esters of capric acid, lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, and linoleic acid.
Preferred examples of polyglycerol fatty acid esters include hexaglycerol monooleate, hexaglycerol monostearate, hexaglycerol monopalmitate, hexaglycerol monomyristate, hexaglycerol monolaurate, decaglycerol monooleate , Decaglycerin monostearic acid ester, decaglycerin monopalmitic acid ester, decaglycerin monomyristic acid ester, decaglycerin monolauric acid ester and the like.
Among these, more preferably, decaglycerol monooleate (HLB = 12), decaglycerol monostearate (HLB = 12), decaglycerol monopalmitate (HLB = 13), decaglycerol monomyristate (HLB = 14), decaglycerin monolaurate (HLB = 16), and the like.
These polyglycerin fatty acid esters can be used alone or in combination.

As the sorbitan fatty acid ester in the present invention, those having 8 or more carbon atoms of fatty acids are preferable, and those having 12 or more are more preferable. Preferred examples of sorbitan fatty acid esters include sorbitan monocaprylate, sorbitan monolaurate, sorbitan monostearate, sorbitan sesquistearate, sorbitan tristearate, sorbitan isostearate, sorbitan sesquiisostearate, sorbitan oleate, sorbitan sesquioleate And sorbitan trioleate.
In the present invention, these sorbitan fatty acid esters can be used alone or in combination.

The polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid ester preferably has 8 or more carbon atoms, more preferably 12 or more. Moreover, as length (addition mole number) of the ethylene oxide of polyoxyethylene, 2-100 are preferable and 4-50 are more preferable.
Preferable examples of polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid ester include sorbitan polyoxyethylene monocaprylate, sorbitan polyoxyethylene monolaurate, sorbitan polyoxyethylene monostearate, sorbitan polyoxyethylene sesquistearate, sorbitan polyoxyethylene tristearate Sorbitan polyoxyethylene isostearate, sorbitan polyoxyethylene sesquiisostearate, sorbitan polyoxyethylene oleate, sorbitan polyoxyethylene sesquioleate, sorbitan polyoxyethylene trioleate, and the like.
These polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid esters can be used alone or in combination.

Furthermore, you may contain phospholipids, such as a lecithin, as an emulsifier in this invention.
The phospholipid that can be used in the present invention comprises a glycerin skeleton, a fatty acid residue, and a phosphate residue as essential components, to which a base, a polyhydric alcohol, and the like are bonded, and is also referred to as lecithin. Since phospholipids have a hydrophilic group and a hydrophobic group in the molecule, they have been widely used as emulsifiers in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic fields.

  Industrially, lecithin having a purity of 60% or more is used as lecithin and can be used in the present invention. However, from the viewpoint of formation of fine oil droplet size and stability of functional oily components, it is generally high. This is called purity lecithin, which has a lecithin purity of 80% or more, more preferably 90% or more.

Examples of phospholipids include various conventionally known phospholipids extracted and separated from living organisms of plants, animals and microorganisms.
Specific examples of such phospholipids include various lecithins derived from plants such as soybean, corn, peanut, rapeseed and wheat, animals such as egg yolk and cows, and microorganisms such as Escherichia coli.
Examples of such lecithins by their compound names include phosphatidic acid, phosphatidylglycerin, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylmethylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylserine, bisphosphatidic acid, diphosphatidylglycerin (cardiolipin) and the like; sphingomyelin And the like can be mentioned.
In the present invention, hydrogenated lecithin, enzymatically decomposed lecithin, enzymatically decomposed hydrogenated lecithin, hydroxylecithin, and the like can be used in addition to the high-purity lecithin described above. These lecithins that can be used in the present invention can be used alone or in the form of a mixture of plural kinds.

When the carotenoid-containing composition of the present invention is a powder composition, it preferably contains a water-soluble bulking agent in order to protect oil droplets during the pulverization process during drying and during powder storage. As a result, the particle size of the oil droplets can be maintained in a fine state, and deterioration of the carotenoid component in the oil droplets can be reduced.
Further, the water-soluble packaging agent can improve the water dispersibility of the oil component when the powder composition is redissolved in water, and can also improve the transparency after re-dissolution. .

The water-soluble packaging agent is preferably a polysaccharide (hereinafter simply referred to as “fructose polymer or oligomer”) which is at least one selected from a fructose polymer and an oligomer comprising a saccharide unit containing at least two fructose units.
The fructose polymer or oligomer in the present invention refers to a polymer or oligomer composed of a saccharide unit containing fructose (fructose) as a repeating unit and a plurality of saccharide units bonded by dehydration condensation. In the present invention, those having less than 20 sugar repeating units containing fructose units are called fructose oligomers, and those having 20 or more sugar units are called fructose polymers.

  The number of repeating sugar units is preferably 2 to 60, more preferably 4 to 20 from the viewpoints of drying suitability and refinement of oil droplets during re-dissolution. If the number of repetitions (the degree of polymerization of fructose) is 2 or more, the hygroscopicity is not too strong, and it can effectively prevent the recovery rate from adhering to the drying container during the drying process, On the other hand, when the number is 60 or less, it is possible to effectively prevent the coarsening of the oil droplet diameter during re-dissolution of water.

In addition to fructose, the fructose polymer or oligomer may contain other monosaccharides at the molecular ends or chains. Other monosaccharide units that can be included here include glucose (glucose), galactose, mannose, idose, altrose, gulose, talose, allose, xylose, arabinose, lyxose, ribose, threose, erythrose, erythrulose, xylulose, There are ribulose, psicose, sorbose, tagatose, etc., but it is not limited thereto. Among these monosaccharides, glucose is preferable from the viewpoint of availability. Moreover, it is preferable from the viewpoint of refinement | miniaturization of the oil droplet at the time of re-dissolution that a coupling | bonding position exists in the terminal of a fructose chain.
When saccharides other than fructose are included, the content ratio is 50% or less, preferably 30% or less, in terms of the degree of polymerization with respect to the number of fructose units from the viewpoint of drying suitability and refinement of oil droplets during re-dissolution.

Inulin is mentioned as a water-soluble packaging agent preferably used in the present invention from the viewpoints of storage stability of dyes and availability. Inulin in the present invention refers to a fructose polymer or fructose oligomer having one glucose at the end. Inulin is widely known to exist in nature, and is abundant in chicory, Jerusalem artichoke, dahlia, garlic, leek, onion and the like. Details of inulin are described in the Handbook of Hydrocolloids, GOPhillips, PAWilliams Ed., 397-403, (2000) CRC Press. Generally, the chain length is expressed with G as the glucose unit and F as the fructose unit. The inulin of the present invention does not include sucrose represented by GF.
Inulin, which is usually extracted from nature, is a polymer or oligomer ranging from GF2 (kestose), GF3 (nystose), GF4 (fructosylnystose) to about GF60, or a mixture thereof.

In the present invention, inulin can be extracted from hot roots such as chicory, Jerusalem artichoke and dahlia, extracted from hot water, concentrated and spray-dried for sale. Examples of this include Frutafit extracted from chicory root (manufactured by SENSSUS), Beneo (Orafuti) also extracted from chicory root, Dahlia root-derived reagent (Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd., Sigma), chicory root extraction A reagent (Sigma) etc. can be mentioned.
In addition, the fructose oligomers and polymers in the present invention can include those prepared from sucrose (sucrose) using the fructan transfer activity of β-fructofuranosidase. Examples of this include Fuji FF (Fuji Nippon Seika Co., Ltd.) and GF2 (Meiji Seika Co., Ltd.).

The inulin used in the present invention is preferably 2 to 60 in terms of the number of fructose repetitions (degree of polymerization) from the viewpoint of refinement of oil droplets during re-dissolution, and more preferably to the apparatus during spray drying. From the viewpoint of adhesion and solubility in water, the degree of polymerization of fructose is 4-20.
The fructose polymer or oligomer of the present invention is preferably added during emulsification, but part or all of the fructose polymer or oligomer can also be added after emulsification.

  In addition, other water-soluble polymers and oligomers may be used in combination with the fructose polymer or oligomer. Examples of other water-soluble polymers and oligomers include agarose, starch, carrageenan, gelatin, xanthan gum, gellan gum, galactomannan, casein, tragand gum, xyloglucan, β-glucan, curdlan, water-soluble soybean fiber, chitosan, alginic acid, alginic acid Although an atrium etc. are mentioned, it is not limited to these.

In the carotenoid-containing composition, the water-soluble packaging agent is preferably 0.5 to 50 times, more preferably 1 to the total mass of the oily component in the composition from the viewpoint of shape maintenance and solubility. The amount is 20 times, more preferably 1 to 10 times, and still more preferably 2 to 5 times.
The water-soluble packaging agent may be contained in the aqueous phase of the carotenoid-containing composition, and may be contained as an aqueous phase composition during the pressure emulsification described below. It may be added to the aqueous phase of the composition.

[Other ingredients]
In addition to the above components, components usually used in the fields of foods, cosmetics and the like may be appropriately blended in the carotenoid-containing composition of the present invention according to the form of the composition. Depending on the characteristics of the additive component, the additive component may be blended as a component of the oil phase component mixture, carotenoid-containing oil phase composition or water phase composition, or as a component added to the water phase of the carotenoid-containing composition. May be.

Such other components include polyhydric alcohols such as glycerin and 1,3-butylene glycol; glucose, fructose, lactose, maltose, sucrose, pectin, copper carrageenan, locust bean gum, guar gum, hydroxypropyl guar gum, xanthan gum , Karaya gum, tamarind seed polysaccharide, gum arabic, gum tragacanth, hyaluronic acid, sodium hyaluronate, sodium chondroitin sulfate, dextrin, etc .; sugar alcohols such as sorbitol, mannitol, maltitol, lactose, maltotriitol, xylitol Inorganic salts such as sodium chloride and sodium sulfate; tongues having a molecular weight of over 5000 such as casein, albumin, methylated collagen, hydrolyzed collagen, water-soluble collagen and gelatin Synthetic polymers such as carboxyvinyl polymer, sodium polyacrylate, polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene glycol, ethylene oxide / propylene oxide block copolymer; water-soluble cellulose derivatives such as hydroxyethyl cellulose / methyl cellulose; flavonoids (catechin, anthocyanin) , Flavones, isoflavones, flavans, flavanones, rutin), phenolic acids (chlorogenic acid, ellagic acid, gallic acid, propyl gallate), lignans, curcumins, coumarins, etc. For example, you may include as a functional component, an excipient | filler, a viscosity modifier, a radical scavenger, etc.
In addition, for example, various additives such as various medicinal components, pH adjusters, pH buffers, ultraviolet absorbers, preservatives, fragrances, and colorants can be used in combination.

[Production method]
In the method for producing a carotenoid-containing composition of the present invention, the carotenoid-containing oil phase composition obtained in the carotenoid-containing oil phase composition preparation step and the aqueous phase composition are pressurized in the oil-in-water emulsion composition preparation step. Emulsification yields a carotenoid-containing composition as an oil-in-water emulsion composition.
As a result, an oil-in-water emulsion in which oil droplets (dispersed particles) containing an oil component containing crystalline carotenoid are finely dispersed in water is obtained, and a carotenoid-containing composition in which carotenoid crystallization is suppressed is obtained.

The ratio (mass) of the oil phase and the aqueous phase in emulsification is not particularly limited, but the oil phase / water phase ratio (mass%) is preferably 0.1 / 99.9 to 50/50, 0 5 / 99.5 to 30/70 is more preferable, and 1/99 to 20/80 is still more preferable.
By setting the oil phase / water phase ratio to 0.1 / 99.9 or more, the active ingredient does not become low, and the practical problem of the emulsion composition tends not to occur, which is preferable. Further, by setting the oil phase / water phase ratio to 50/50 or less, the emulsifier concentration does not become thin, and the emulsification stability of the emulsion composition tends not to deteriorate, which is preferable.

The pressure emulsification may be performed by one step of emulsification, but it is preferable to perform two or more steps of emulsification from the viewpoint of obtaining uniform and fine emulsified particles.
Specifically, in addition to a one-step emulsification operation such as emulsification using a normal emulsification apparatus (for example, stirrer, impeller stirring, homomixer, continuous flow type shearing apparatus, etc.) utilizing a shearing action, a high-pressure homogenizer, etc. It is particularly preferable to use two or more types of emulsifiers together by a method such as emulsification. By using a high-pressure homogenizer, the emulsion can be arranged into even more uniform droplets of fine particles. Further, it may be performed a plurality of times for the purpose of forming a droplet having a more uniform particle diameter.

  The emulsifying means usable here may be any of generally known emulsification methods such as natural emulsification method, interfacial chemical emulsification method, electroemulsification method, capillary emulsification method, mechanical emulsification method, ultrasonic emulsification method and the like. it can.

  As a useful method for making an emulsion fine, a surface chemical emulsification method such as a PIT emulsification method or a gel emulsification method is known. This method has the advantage that less energy is consumed, and is suitable for finely emulsifying a material that is easily deteriorated by heat.

  Moreover, as a general-purpose emulsification method, a method using mechanical force, that is, a method of breaking oil droplets by applying a strong shearing force from the outside is applied. The most common mechanical force is a high speed, high shear stirrer. As such a stirrer, what is called a homomixer, a disper mixer and an ultramixer are commercially available.

Moreover, there is a high-pressure homogenizer as another mechanical emulsification apparatus useful for miniaturization, and various apparatuses are commercially available. Since the high-pressure homogenizer can give a larger shearing force than the stirring method, it can be miniaturized even if the amount of the emulsifier is relatively small.
High-pressure homogenizers can be broadly classified into a chamber-type high-pressure homogenizer having a fixed throttle portion and a homogeneous valve-type high-pressure homogenizer that controls the opening of the throttle.
Examples of the chamber type high-pressure homogenizer include a microfluidizer (manufactured by Microfluidics), a nanomizer (manufactured by Yoshida Kikai Kogyo Co., Ltd.), an optimizer (manufactured by Sugino Machine Co., Ltd.), and the like.
As the homogeneous valve type high-pressure homogenizer, Gorin type homogenizer (manufactured by APV), Lanier type homogenizer (manufactured by Lanier), high-pressure homogenizer (manufactured by Niro Soabi), homogenizer (manufactured by Sanwa Machinery Co., Ltd.), high-pressure homogenizer ( Izumi Food Machinery Co., Ltd.), ultra-high pressure homogenizer (manufactured by Ika), and the like.

  There is an ultrasonic homogenizer as an emulsifying device which is a relatively energy efficient dispersion device and has a simple structure. Examples of high-power ultrasonic homogenizers that can be manufactured include ultrasonic homogenizers US-600, US-1200T, RUS-1200T, MUS-1200T (above, manufactured by Nippon Seiki Seisakusho Co., Ltd.), ultrasonic processor UIP2000, UIP-4000, UIP-8000, UIP-16000 (above, manufactured by Heelscher) and the like. These high-power ultrasonic irradiation devices are used at a frequency of 25 kHz or less, preferably 15 to 20 kHz.

  As another known emulsifying means, a method using a static mixer, a microchannel, a micromixer, a membrane emulsifying apparatus or the like which does not have an external stirring unit and requires only low energy is also a useful method.

The temperature condition for emulsifying and dispersing in the present invention is not particularly limited, but is preferably 10 to 100 ° C. from the viewpoint of the stability of the functional oil component, and depending on the melting point of the functional oil component to be handled, A preferable range can be appropriately selected.
In the present invention, when a high-pressure homogenizer is used, the pressure is preferably 50 MPa or more, more preferably 50 MPa to 280 MPa, still more preferably 100 MPa to 280 MPa.
Moreover, it is preferable from the viewpoint of maintaining the particle size of the dispersed particles that the emulsified liquid, which is an emulsified and dispersed composition, is cooled through some cooler within 30 seconds, preferably within 3 seconds immediately after passing through the chamber.

  In this production method, the oil-in-water emulsion composition obtained in the oil-in-water emulsion composition preparation step may be dried to obtain a powder composition (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “powdering step”). Good. Thereby, the carotenoid containing composition as a powder composition can be obtained. The carotenoid-containing composition as the powder composition has storage stability in a powdered form, and is a crystalline carotenoid both in the powder composition and in the emulsion composition obtained by re-dissolving the powder composition in an aqueous medium. It is a composition in which crystallization of is suppressed.

As the drying means used in the powdering step, known drying means can be used, for example, natural drying, heat drying, hot air drying, high frequency drying, ultrasonic drying, vacuum drying, vacuum drying, freeze drying, spray drying. Etc. These means may be used singly or in combination of two or more kinds.
In the present invention, since functional materials that are relatively weak against heat are often contained, vacuum drying, vacuum drying, freeze drying, and spray drying are preferable. Moreover, although it is one of vacuum drying, the method of drying in vacuum (reduced pressure), maintaining the temperature below 0 degreeC or more and the freezing temperature is also preferable.
In the case of vacuum drying or vacuum drying, it is preferable to dry while repeatedly concentrating while gradually increasing the degree of vacuum in order to avoid scattering due to bumping.

In the present invention, lyophilization is preferred in which water is removed by sublimating ice from a frozen material. In this freeze-drying method, the drying process usually proceeds at 0 ° C. or less, usually from about −20 ° C. to −50 ° C., so that the material does not undergo thermal denaturation, and the taste, color, nutritional value, shape in the condensate process A great merit is that the texture and the like can be easily restored to the state before drying.
Examples of commercially available freeze dryers include freeze dryer VD-800F (Tytec Corporation), Flexi Dry MP (FTS Systems), Duratop Durastop (FTS Systems), Takara Vacuum Freeze Dryer Type A (Takara ATM Co., Ltd.), desktop freeze dryer FD-1000 (Tokyo Rika Kikai Co., Ltd.), vacuum freeze dryer FD-550 (Tokyo Rika Kikai Co., Ltd.), vacuum freeze dryer (Takara Manufacturing Co., Ltd.) ) And the like, but are not limited thereto.

  In the present invention, the spray drying method is particularly preferable as a drying means from the viewpoint of achieving both production efficiency and quality. Spray drying is a type of convection hot air drying. The liquid composition is sprayed as fine particles of several hundreds μm or less in hot air, and is recovered as a solid powder by falling inside the tower while being dried. The material is temporarily exposed to hot air, but because the exposure time is very short and the temperature does not rise excessively due to the latent heat of vaporization of water, heat denaturation of the material is unlikely to occur as in freeze-drying. Changes due to water are also small. In the case of a material that is very sensitive to heat, it is possible to supply cold air instead of hot air. In that case, although a drying capability falls, it is preferable at the point which can implement | achieve milder drying.

Examples of commercially available spray dryers include spray dryer SD-1000 (Tokyo Rika Kikai Co., Ltd.), spray dryer L-8i (Okawara Chemical Co., Ltd.), and closed spray dryer CL-12 (Okawara Kako). ), Spray dryer ADL310 (Yamato Scientific Co., Ltd.), mini spray dryer B-290 (Buch), PJ-MiniMax (Powdering Japan), PHARMASD (Niro), etc. It is not limited to this.
Further, for example, fluidized bed granulator / dryer MP-01 (Paulec Co., Ltd.), fluidized bed built-in spray dryer FSD (Niro Co., Ltd.), etc. It is also preferable to use a device that can perform drying and granulation at the same time and form a granule that is excellent in handleability simultaneously with drying.

  The powder composition of the present invention has a property of restoring water, that is, restoring the state of the oil-in-water emulsion composition before drying when re-dissolved (re-dispersed) in water.

The carotenoid-containing composition in the present invention is an oil-in-water emulsion composition or a powder composition obtained by pulverizing this.
The average particle size in the carotenoid-containing composition means the particle size of dispersed particles (oil droplets) in the emulsion composition in the case of an oil-in-water emulsion composition, and 1% by mass in the case of a powder composition. This means the particle size of dispersed particles (oil droplets) when an aqueous solution of (re-dissolved) is obtained.

  The particle diameter of the dispersed particles can be measured with a commercially available particle size distribution meter or the like. Emulsion particle size distribution measurement methods include optical microscopy, confocal laser microscopy, electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, static light scattering, laser diffraction, dynamic light scattering, centrifugal sedimentation, electricity A pulse measurement method, a chromatography method, an ultrasonic attenuation method, and the like are known, and apparatuses corresponding to the respective principles are commercially available.

In view of the particle size range and the ease of measurement in the present invention, the dynamic light scattering method is preferred for measuring the particle size of the dispersed particles in the present invention. As a commercially available measuring device using dynamic light scattering, Nanotrac UPA (Nikkiso Co., Ltd.), dynamic light scattering type particle size distribution measuring device LB-550 (Horiba, Ltd.), a concentrated particle size analyzer FPAR-1000 (Otsuka Electronics Co., Ltd.) and the like can be mentioned. As the particle size in the present invention, a value measured at 25 ° C. using a particle size analyzer FPAR-1000 (Otsuka Electronics Co., Ltd.) is adopted.
That is, the method for measuring the particle diameter is 20 times diluted with pure water in the case of an oil-in-water emulsion composition, and diluted with pure water so that the solid content concentration is 1% by mass in the case of a powder composition. To obtain the median diameter (d = 50) using a particle size analyzer FPAR-1000 (Otsuka Electronics Co., Ltd.).

  In addition to the components of the composition, the particle size of the dispersed particles can be adjusted by factors such as the stirring conditions (shearing force / temperature / pressure) in the production method and the ratio of the oil phase to the water phase.

  The particle size of the carotenoid-containing composition in the present invention is preferably 50 nm to 300 nm from the viewpoint of transparency and absorbency, more preferably 50 nm to 200 nm, and most preferably 50 nm to 150 nm from the viewpoint of transparency. It is.

The carotenoid-containing composition of the present invention is a carotenoid-containing composition in which the crystallization of the crystalline carotenoid is suppressed and the expected effect of the carotenoid is sufficiently expected. For this reason, it can be preferably applied to food compositions, cosmetic compositions, and pharmaceutical compositions.
Moreover, the component which can be added to foodstuffs or cosmetics can be suitably added to the foodstuffs or cosmetics containing the emulsion composition of this invention as needed. In particular, when used in foods, it can be stored for a long period of time as a powdered food, and when dissolved in an aqueous medium, a dispersion composition having fine dispersed particles and excellent transparency is obtained.
Foods, cosmetics, and the like containing the carotenoid-containing composition of the present invention can exhibit effects that may not be sufficiently exhibited due to the presence of crystals, for example, good carotenoid absorption.

As a cosmetic composition, for example, a lotion, a cosmetic liquid, an emulsion, a cream pack / mask, a pack, a cosmetic for hair washing, a fragrance cosmetic, a liquid body cleansing agent, a UV care cosmetic, a deodorant cosmetic, an oral care cosmetic, etc. used.
Moreover, as food, not only general foods such as nutritional drinks, nourishing tonics, palatability drinks, and frozen desserts, but also nutritional supplements such as tablets, granules, and capsules are preferably used.
When used as a functional food, the amount of the powder composition according to the present invention varies depending on the type and purpose of the product and cannot be specified unconditionally, but is 0.01 to 10% by mass relative to the product, Preferably, it can be added and used so that it may become the range of 0.05-5 mass%. If the added amount is 0.01% by mass or more, the desired effect can be expected, and if it is 10% by mass or less, the appropriate effect can often be exhibited efficiently.

  EXAMPLES Hereinafter, although an Example demonstrates this invention, this invention is not limited to this. In the following description, “parts” and “%” are based on mass unless otherwise specified.

[Example 1]
<Preparation of oil phase composition>
The oil phase components shown below (excluding mixed tocopherols) were adjusted so as to be in the range of 160 ° C. to 165 ° C. from room temperature, and stirred and dissolved while heating for 20 minutes to obtain a carotenoid-containing oil phase composition. . The obtained carotenoid-containing oil phase composition was adjusted to 60 ° C. and kept warm, and mixed tocopherol was added while stirring to obtain an oil phase composition 1.
<Preparation of aqueous phase composition>
The aqueous phase component shown below was dissolved by mixing and stirring while heating at 70 ° C., and then coarsely dispersed for 90 seconds with a 600 W ultrasonic homogenizer (US-150T, manufactured by Nippon Seiki Seisakusho Co., Ltd.). An aqueous composition 1 was obtained.

[Oil phase component 1]
・ Lycopene paste (lycopene concentration 18%) 8.9g
・ Diglyceryl monostearate 0.9g
・ Calcium ascorbate 50% solution 7.1g
・ Mixed tocopherol 1.3g

[Aqueous component 1]
・ Sucrose laurate 11.1 g
・ Lecithin 1.8g
・ Inulin 25.6g
・ Water 246.9g

  The lycopene paste is lycopene 18 (manufactured by Kyowa Wellness Co., Ltd.), diglyceryl monostearate is NIKKOL DGMS (HLB = 5.0, manufactured by Nikko Chemicals Co., Ltd.), and mixed tocopherol is RIKEN E Oil 800 (RIKEN vitamin ( Sucrose laurate is Ryoto Sugar Ester L-1695 (HLB = 16, manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Foods), lecithin is Recion P (manufactured by Riken Vitamin Co., Ltd.), As the inulin, Fuji FF (Fuji Nippon Seika Co., Ltd.) was used. The melting point of lycopene 18 is 153 ° C.

<Preparation of emulsion>
The oil phase composition 1 was kept warm at 60 ° C. while stirring, and the water phase composition 1 prepared above and kept at 70 ° C. was added thereto, and dispersed with a 600 W ultrasonic homogenizer for 3 minutes. Crude dispersion emulsion 1 was obtained (lycopene concentration 0.53%).
Subsequently, the coarsely dispersed emulsion 1 was subjected to high-pressure emulsification treatment at 245 MPa and 30 ° C. four times using Starburst Mini (manufactured by Sugino Machine Co., Ltd.) to obtain Emulsion 1.

  The obtained emulsion 1 was then spray-dried (spray dryer ADL310 type, manufactured by Yamato Kagaku) under the conditions of a spray pressure of 0.15 MPa, an outlet temperature of 80 ° C., and a throughput of 7 ml / min. Drying was performed, and the powder was collected with a cyclone to obtain a powder composition 1 having a lycopene concentration of 3%.

[Examples 2-5, Comparative Examples 1-2]
Except having changed the kind and content of an oil phase component and an aqueous phase component as shown in Table 1, it carried out similarly to Example 1, and oil phase composition 2-5, 7-8 and aqueous phase composition 2-5. 7-8 were obtained. In the same manner as in Example 1, emulsification was performed using oil phase compositions 2 to 5 and 7 to 8 and aqueous phase compositions 2 to 5 and 7 to 8, and emulsions 2 to 5 and 7 to 8 were obtained. Obtained. Furthermore, spray drying was performed to obtain powder compositions 2 to 5 and 7 to 8.
In Table 1, tri (caprylic acid / caproic acid) glycerin is Coconut MT (HLB = 1, manufactured by Kao Corporation), hexastearic pentastearate is Hexaglyn 5-SV (glycerin number 7, stearic acid number 5, (Manufactured by Nikko Chemicals Co., Ltd.), magnesium ascorbate phosphate is PM ascorbate (manufactured by Showa Denko KK), decaglyceryl monostearate is Decaglyn1-SV (glycerin number 10, stearic acid number 1, HLB = 12.0 , Nikko Chemicals Co., Ltd.).

[Example 6]
The composition of each phase was prepared and emulsified in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the types and contents of the oil phase component and the water phase component were changed as shown in Table 1, and spray drying was not performed. Emulsion 6 was obtained.
In Table 1, glyceryl monostearate is MGS-F50V (1 glycerin, 1 stearic acid, HLB = 3.5, manufactured by Nikko Chemicals Co., Ltd.), and decaglyceryl monolaurate is Decaglyn1-L (glycerin 10 and lauric acid number 1, HLB = 15.5, Nikko Chemicals Co., Ltd.), and glycerin manufactured by Kao Corporation was used.

[Comparative Example 3]
The same as in Example 1 except that the types and contents of the oil phase component and the water phase component were changed as shown in Table 1, and the oil phase composition was prepared without mixing by simply mixing the oil phase component. Then, the composition of each phase was prepared, emulsified and spray-dried to obtain a powder composition 9.

[Comparative Example 4]
The powder composition 10 was prepared by carrying out preparation, emulsification and spray drying of each phase composition in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the heat treatment for preparing the oil phase composition was set at 70 ° C. for 30 minutes. Got.

<Evaluation>
Evaluation of the emulsion before a drying process and the obtained powder composition was performed as follows. As Comparative Example 5, the case of lycopene 18 alone was also evaluated. These evaluation results are shown in Table 2.
(1) DSC endothermic peak temperature Using DSC Q2000 (TA Instruments Japan Co., Ltd.), the emulsion is freeze-dried to remove moisture, and the powder composition is in powder form. The endothermic and exothermic temperatures were determined in one cycle of temperature increase / decrease (15 ° C./min) in the temperature range of 30 ° C. to 200 ° C.
(2) Crystal Evaluation by Polarizing Microscope Observation Using PCLIPSE LV100POL (Nikon Corporation), an emulsion was observed as an emulsion, and a powder composition was dissolved in water and visually observed. The evaluation results of visual observation were as follows.
Visual evaluation ○: Almost no lycopene-derived crystals are observed
Δ to ○: Slightly lycopene-derived crystals are observed
Δ: Crystals derived from lycopene are scattered but slightly.
X: Crystals derived from lycopene exist on the entire surface of the observed image

(3) Average particle diameter The average particle diameter of the dispersed particles in the emulsion obtained from the aqueous phase component and the oil phase component is diluted 20 times with pure water, and the powder composition has a solid content concentration of 1%. Thus, each sample was diluted with pure water, and the value of d = 50 at 25 ° C. was read as an average particle size using a particle size analyzer FPARE-1000 (Otsuka Electronics Co., Ltd.).
(4) Lycopene remaining rate In the case of the emulsions or powder compositions of Examples 1, 3-6 and Comparative Examples 1-4, the emulsion was 1062 with acetone so that the lycopene concentration was 0.005% by volume. The solution was fully diluted by doubling. On the other hand, the powder composition was similarly diluted 5.65 times with pure water and sufficiently dissolved to have a 0.005% volume lycopene concentration, and 1062 times diluted with acetone and sufficiently dissolved. Subsequently, after filtering with a 0.45-micrometer filter, the light absorbency (465 nm-475 nm) of the maximum peak wavelength of the filtrate was measured with the spectrophotometer V-630 (made by JASCO Corporation).
In the case of Example 2, the emulsion was diluted 708 times with acetone so that a lycopene concentration of 0.005% by volume was obtained, while the powder composition was sufficiently diluted 5.65 times with pure water. Residual rate was measured in the same manner as in Examples 1, 3 to 6 and Comparative Examples 1 to 4, except that it was dissolved in 708 and diluted 708 times with acetone to be sufficiently dissolved.
The evaluation was carried out by diluting lycopene 18 with acetone so that the lycopene concentration was 0.005% by volume, and measuring the absorbance at the peak wavelength in the same manner. The ratio when this lycopene absorbance was taken as 100% was the lycopene of each composition. The remaining rate was.

(4) Dynamic Absorbability Emulsions or powder compositions of Examples 1 to 6 and Comparative Examples 1 to 5 (Comparative Example 5 is a dilution adjusted to a lycopene concentration of 2 mg / ml with coconut MT) and a lycopene concentration of 2 mg / ml. Dilute to ml and administer orally (n = 4 for each group) at a dose of 10 ml / kg to 6-week-old male rats that were not fasted. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 24 h after administration Later, each 0.4 ml of blood was collected. The collected blood was centrifuged and 0.1 ml of supernatant plasma was taken out. After the plasma was dissolved in acetone, hexane was added and left to stand, and the supernatant was collected. The collected supernatant was solidified and dried, then redissolved in chloroform / methanol = 1/1 (vl / vl), and the lycopene content was determined by HPLC HPLC.
The relationship between the time from administration to blood collection and the concentration of lycopene in plasma was graphed, and the AUC (area under the blood concentration-time curve) for 8 hours after administration was determined for each administration composition, which was taken as the kinetic absorption value. . The results are shown in Table 2 below. The larger this value, the higher the active ingredient concentration in the blood.

As shown in Table 1 and Table 2, the lycopene 18 is heat-treated at a temperature higher than the melting point of the lycopene 18 together with the polyglycerol fatty acid ester having 1 to 6 glycerin units and 1 to 5 fatty acid units. The carotenoid-containing compositions of Examples 1 to 6 for which the compositions were prepared were compositions in which crystallization was suppressed, with no DSC endothermic peak observed, whether in emulsion or powder form. .
Moreover, from the result of the administration experiment to rats, all of the carotenoid-containing compositions of Examples 1 to 6 show excellent lycopene absorbability, and contain carotenoid that exhibits high absorbability with suppressed lycopene crystallization. It was clear that it was a composition.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, a carotenoid-containing composition in which crystallization is suppressed can be produced even for a composition containing a highly crystalline carotenoid.

Claims (12)

A carotenoid component containing at least one crystalline carotenoid, and a (poly) glycerin fatty acid ester having 1 to 6 glycerol units and 1 to 6 fatty acid units, and having at least one hydroxyl group of the glycerol unit. Heating the containing oil phase component mixture under a temperature condition equal to or higher than the melting point of the carotenoid component to obtain a carotenoid-containing oil phase composition; and
Pressure emulsifying an aqueous phase composition containing an emulsifier and the carotenoid-containing oil phase composition to obtain an oil-in-water emulsion composition;
A method for producing a carotenoid-containing composition, comprising:   The method for producing a carotenoid-containing composition according to claim 1, wherein the crystalline carotenoid is lycopene.   The method for producing a carotenoid-containing composition according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the (poly) glycerin fatty acid ester has a molecular weight of 10,000 or less.   The method for producing a carotenoid-containing composition according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the total mass of the (poly) glycerin fatty acid ester is 0.01 to 10 times the total mass of the crystalline carotenoid. .   The manufacturing method of the carotenoid containing composition as described in any one of Claims 1-4 including making an antioxidant contain in the said oil-phase component liquid mixture before the said heating.   The method for producing a carotenoid-containing composition according to claim 5, wherein the antioxidant is at least one selected from the group consisting of ascorbic acid, ascorbic acid ester, and salts thereof.   The method for producing a carotenoid-containing composition according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the total mass of the antioxidant is 0.05 to 50 times the total mass of the crystalline carotenoid.   The production of a carotenoid-containing composition according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising at least one water-soluble packaging agent selected from sugar polymers and oligomers comprising sugar units containing at least two fructose units. Method.   The method for producing a carotenoid-containing composition according to claim 8, wherein the total mass of the water-soluble packaging agent is 0.5 to 50 times the total mass of the oil component including the carotenoid component.   10. The carotenoid-containing composition according to claim 1, wherein the total mass of the emulsifier contained in the aqueous phase composition is 0.1 to 10 times the total mass of the oily component including the carotenoid component. A method for producing the composition.   The method for producing a carotenoid-containing composition according to any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising drying the oil-in-water emulsion composition to obtain a powder composition.   The average particle diameter of the redissolved oil-in-water emulsion obtained by re-dissolving the oil-in-water emulsion composition or the powder composition is 50 nm to 300 nm. Of producing a carotenoid-containing composition.