JP2013070669A - Citral-containing beverage - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a means for effectively suppressing the deterioration of citral in a citral-containing beverage by light at a low cost.SOLUTION: The citral-containing beverage contains serine, glycine, alanine and citrulline, and is acidic.

Description

  The present invention relates to a citral-containing beverage in which deterioration due to light is suppressed, a method for producing the same, and a method for suppressing deterioration due to light of citral in a beverage.

  Citral is a component having a unique aroma and flavor contained in citrus fruits such as lemon and lime. It is known that when citral is irradiated with light, its chemical structure is changed by isomerization, oxidation, decomposition, etc. to produce a deteriorated odor component, and citral itself is reduced (Non-patent Document 1). Therefore, when products containing citral are exposed to light at each stage of production, distribution, storage, etc., not only the original fresh citrus feeling is lost, but also the quality of the product is significantly reduced due to the generated deodorized odor. To do.

  Recently, beverages in clear glass containers and clear plastic containers are increasing, and in addition, sales forms in which such beverages are displayed under fluorescent light or sunlight for a long time at convenience stores and supermarkets are becoming common. . As a result, there is a tendency that the problem of product quality deterioration and deterioration odor generation due to the reduction of citral and generation of deterioration odor tends to occur more frequently than before, and an early solution is desired.

  Therefore, countermeasures such as the addition of vitamin C as an antioxidant (Non-patent Document 2) and the addition of plant solvent extracts (Patent Documents 1 and 2) have been studied against the deterioration of citral by light. However, in order to expect a sufficient deterioration suppressing effect, it is necessary to add a large amount of these components, which may impair the flavor. In addition, a method for suppressing deterioration by improving packaging means such as a container and a bag with reduced light transmittance has been proposed, but this is not sufficient in terms of both cost and the effect of suppressing deterioration.

JP 2002-255778 A JP 2004-292778 A

R.C.Cookson et al., Tetrahedron, 19, 1995 (1963) H. Terada et al., The proceedings of the EighthWeuruman Flavor Reserch Symposium, held in Reading, UK on 23-26 July 1996 p82-85

  The subject of this invention is providing the means which suppresses deterioration by the light of citral in a citral containing drink effectively and at low cost.

The present invention includes the following inventions (1) to (6).
(1) A citral-containing beverage characterized by containing serine, glycine, alanine and citrulline and being acidic.
(2) The beverage according to (1), wherein the contents of serine, glycine, alanine and citrulline are 0.0025 to 0.2% by weight, respectively, and a total of 0.01 to 0.8% by weight.
(3) The beverage according to (1) or (2), wherein the beverage has a pH of less than 4.
(4) The beverage according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the beverage is filled in a transparent or translucent container.
(5) A method for producing a citral-containing beverage, characterized in that serine, glycine, alanine, and citrulline are contained in a beverage that contains citral and is acidic.
(6) A method for suppressing photodegradation of citral in a citral-containing beverage, characterized by containing serine, glycine, alanine and citrulline in a beverage containing citral and acidic.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the reduction | decrease of the citral by light and the production | generation of a deterioration odor are suppressed, and the citral containing drink is provided. The citral-containing beverage of the present invention is a form of sales of beverages containing transparent glass containers or transparent plastic containers, and there is no deterioration in quality or generation of deteriorated odors even over a long period of time at stores, and additives such as light deterioration inhibitors are used Because it is not, the original flavor of the beverage is not impaired and the safety is excellent. In addition, the citral-containing beverage of the present invention can be produced without performing special treatment such as enzyme treatment or masking treatment or special packaging for light shielding, so it is inexpensive and economical.

  The citral-containing beverage of the present invention contains serine, glycine, alanine and citrulline, and is acidic.

  Of the four amino acids used in the citral-containing beverage of the present invention, serine, alanine, and citrulline may be either D-form or L-form, but L-form is preferably used.

  The amino acid may be a salt thereof. As amino acid salts, there are inorganic acid salts such as hydrochloride, sulfate, nitrate, phosphate, acetate, maleate, fumarate, citrate, malate, lactate, α-ketoglutarate And organic acid salts such as gluconate and caprylate, and alkali metal salts such as sodium salt and potassium salt.

  The content of each amino acid in the citral-containing beverage of the present invention is 0.0025 to 0.2% by weight, preferably 0.01 to 0.15% by weight, and in total 0.01 to 0.8% by weight, preferably 0.1 to 0.4% by weight. is there.

  In addition, the pH of the citral-containing beverage of the present invention may be any pH as long as it is acidic with a pH of less than 7, but is preferably pH 2.5 to 4.5 where citral degradation is promoted, more preferably pH 2.5 to 4. I like it.

  The citral-containing beverage of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is a beverage that contains citral and is acidic, and includes both non-alcoholic beverages and alcoholic beverages. Non-alcoholic beverages include, for example, carbonated beverages, mineral water (hard water / soft water), sports drinks, near water, tea beverages (green tea beverages / tea beverages / oolong tea beverages / barley tea beverages), coffee beverages, milk beverages, fruit juice beverages (In particular, citrus fruit juice and / or citrus fruit-containing beverages), vegetable juice-containing beverages, fruit juices and vegetable juice beverages. Examples of alcoholic beverages include beer, sparkling liquor, strawberry high, whiskey, bourbon, spirits, liqueur, wine, fruit liquor, Japanese sake, Chinese liquor, and shochu. Among the beverages, those having a great influence due to the deterioration of citral are particularly preferable, and specifically, sports drinks and carbonated beverages are preferable.

  In the present invention, citral is a generic name for geranial and neral, and may be derived from a natural product or synthesized, but a product derived from a natural product is preferred. . Citral derived from natural products can be isolated from essential oils obtained by pressing or steam distillation from the leaves of citrus fruits such as lemon, lime, orange and grapefruit, and leaves of lemongrass and its related species. May be used as they are.

  The citral-containing beverage of the present invention may be added with citral as it is, or may be added in a form contained in a citrus flavor (lemon flavor, orange flavor, lime flavor, grapefruit flavor, etc.). .

  There is no particular limitation on the concentration of citral in the beverage, and the concentration according to each beverage can be appropriately set, but is usually about 10 to 100 ppm.

  The citral-containing beverage of the present invention is usually used in the production of beverages, except for containing an appropriate amount of citral and the prescribed range of amounts of serine, alanine, and citrulline according to the type of beverage. Can be produced according to the methods and conditions. Examples of the method of containing the amino acid include a method of adding the amino acid to a beverage, but are not limited thereto.

  The citral-containing beverage of the present invention is typically an acidic beverage based on a basic formulation of acidulants such as citric acid, malic acid, and tartaric acid, and sugars such as sucrose, glucose, fructose, fructose glucose liquid sugar, and oligosaccharides. , Containing the above amino acids, but acceptable in beverages and commonly used additives such as sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose, stevia, vitamins, colorants, stabilizers, antioxidants, pH It may contain a regulator, an emulsifier, a preservative, a preservative, a fungicide, a color former and the like.

  The citral-containing beverage of the present invention is preferably provided in a form filled in a transparent or translucent container having light transmissivity such as a PET bottle or a glass bottle. The capacity to be filled is not limited.

  EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to examples, but these examples do not limit the present invention.

[Example 1]
A sports drink (control group) containing citral was prepared using citrus flavor, sugar and acidulant. A sports drink (test group) containing an amino acid and citral was prepared in the same manner as above except that 0.06% by weight of serine, 0.03% by weight of glycine, 0.03% by weight of alanine, and 0.02% by weight of citrulline. The same operation was performed except that 0.11% by weight of aspartic acid, 0.04% by weight of arginine, 0.04% by weight of lysine, and 0.036% by weight of 8 other amino acids (not including serine, glycine, alanine and citrulline). A sports drink (comparative section) containing amino acids and citral was prepared. The amino acid content in these beverages is 13 mmol / l. The composition of 11 amino acids such as arginine was based on the composition of a commercially available amino acid-containing beverage.

  Each of these citral-containing beverages was subjected to UHT sterilization (106.5 ° C. for 30 seconds) and filled into 280 ml PET bottles.

  After filling, it was stored under three exposure conditions (15 ° C 3000 Lx for 4 or 6 weeks, 15 ° C 12000 Lx for 1 week, 15 ° C 9000 Lx for 1 week or 2 weeks). After storage, five experienced panelists were selected and a sensory evaluation was performed on the aroma of each beverage. The sensory evaluation was performed by paying attention to the degree of suppression of exposure deterioration of the aromatic component.

The results are shown in Table 1. The description of each symbol in the table is as follows.
○: Exposure degradation is suppressed and a fresh fragrance remains △: Exposure degradation is sensed sensuously, but is somewhat suppressed ×: Exposure degradation is not suppressed, and a fresh fragrance feels is decreasing

  As shown in Table 1, under any of the storage conditions, in the test group to which four kinds of amino acids were added, deterioration of citral by light was suppressed, and a fresh fragrance was maintained. On the other hand, in the control group to which no amino acid was added, a stink bug-like photodegradation odor was felt and the fresh aroma was also reduced. Moreover, in the comparative group to which 11 kinds of amino acids not containing serine, alanine, glycine and citrulline were added, the effect of suppressing the deterioration of citral by light was small, and the fresh aroma was greatly reduced.

[Production Example 1]
A citral-containing beverage is produced with the composition shown in Table 2 below.

  The present invention can be used in the field of producing citral-containing beverages such as sports drinks.

Claims (6)

  A citral-containing beverage characterized by containing serine, glycine, alanine and citrulline and being acidic.   The beverage according to claim 1, wherein the content of serine, glycine, alanine and citrulline is 0.0025 to 0.2% by weight, respectively, and 0.01 to 0.8% by weight in total.   The beverage according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pH of the beverage is less than 4.   The beverage according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the beverage is filled in a transparent or translucent container.   A method for producing a citral-containing beverage, characterized in that serine, glycine, alanine and citrulline are contained in a beverage containing citral and acidic.   A method for suppressing photodegradation of citral in a citral-containing beverage, characterized by containing serine, glycine, alanine and citrulline in a beverage containing citral and acidic.