JP2015205823A - Cactus extract, and health food product or the like, and medicine comprising the extract - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cactus extract in which cancer inhibitory action and allergy inhibitory action can be expected, and health food products or the like and medicines comprising the extract.SOLUTION: This invention provides a cactus extract obtained by the extraction of a lyophilized product of Opuntia ficus-indica, particularly preferably, extraction using ethyl acetate, hexane or the like. There are also provided a health food product, a health food material, a health beverage and a medicine comprising the cactus extract.

Description

  The present invention relates to a cactus extract, a health food containing the extract, and a medicine. More specifically, the present invention relates to a cactus extract obtained by extraction of a freeze-dried product of prickly pear cactus, a health food containing the extract, and a medicine.

  Cactus is a succulent plant with thorns. There are more than 10,000 species. Among them, there are more than 300 species of Opuntia spp. (Opuntia spp.), And it is used not only as a houseplant but also as an edible or medicinal product. Yes.

  In the cactus, the part that was originally a leaf is degenerated into a thorn, and the part commonly called “leaf” is a stem. However, in the present application, strictly speaking, a portion that is a cactus stem is referred to as a “leaf” in accordance with common social conventions.

  For example, the following Patent Document 1 proposes a whitening agent containing a powder or dry powder of a cactiaceae Opuntia plant, an extract with an ethanol / water extract, and a cosmetic or food containing the whitening agent. .

  In the following Patent Document 2, in order to mask the blue odor of the edible cactus epidermis and suppress browning, the edible cactus is contacted with the cyclodextrin aqueous solution in a specific process, and the odorous component of blue odor is included with the cyclodextrin. Proposed method.

  Patent Document 3 below proposes to use an extract of cactus (Opuntia streptacantha) with water or lower monohydric alcohol as a medicine, food, etc. having an inhibitory effect on granulocyte / macrophage colony-stimulating factor production. .

  Patent Document 4 below proposes a therapeutic agent for depression, depression and the like containing prickly pear cacti, plant parts thereof, extracts from them with solvents such as water, ethanol, acetone and the like.

JP 2009-263254 A JP 2011-004611 A JP 2007-230977 A Japanese Patent No. 4863875

  However, the present inventor believes that there is sufficient room for improvement for cacti applied to health foods, medicines, and the like, particularly prickly pear cactus and its extract.

  According to the research of the present inventor, as a first problem, it is important to reexamine the pretreatment for the extraction of prickly pear cactus when applying the extract of prickly pear cactus to health foods or pharmaceuticals. The knowledge that there was. Furthermore, as a second problem, the prickly pear cactus extract mainly used as a health food additive or a medicine for internal use has come to be recognized that the influence of human digestive enzymes on the extract cannot be ignored. The present invention has been completed based on these findings.

(Configuration of the first invention)
The structure of 1st invention for solving the said subject is the cactus extract obtained by extraction of the freeze-dried material of a prickly pear cactus.

(Configuration of the second invention)
In the configuration of the second invention for solving the above problem, in the cactus extract according to the first invention, the freeze-dried prickly pear cactus is a freeze-dried prickly pear leaf.

(Configuration of the third invention)
In the structure of the 3rd invention for solving the said subject, in the cactus extract which concerns on the said 1st invention or the 2nd invention, the extract used for extraction is an ethyl acetate extract or a hexane extract.

  In the third aspect of the invention, the ethyl acetate extract refers to an extract composed of ethyl acetate or a mixture obtained by mixing another suitable extraction solvent of 30% by mass or less with ethyl acetate. . The hexane extract refers to an extract composed of hexane or a mixed solution obtained by mixing another appropriate extraction solvent with hexane at a ratio of 30% by mass or less.

(Configuration of the fourth invention)
In the configuration of the fourth invention for solving the above-mentioned problems, in the cactus extract according to any one of the first to third inventions, the extraction is an extraction with an ethyl acetate extract followed by a hexane extract. This is done by extraction.

(Structure of the fifth invention)
The structure of 5th invention for solving the said subject is a health food containing the cactus extract in any one of 1st invention-4th invention.

(Structure of the sixth invention)
The structure of 6th invention for solving the said subject is a health foodstuff containing the cactus extract in any one of 1st invention-4th invention.

(Structure of the seventh invention)
The structure of 7th invention for solving the said subject is a health drink containing the cactus extract in any one of 1st invention-4th invention.

(Configuration of the eighth invention)
The structure of the 8th invention for solving the said subject is a pharmaceutical containing the cactus extract in any one of the 1st invention-the 4th invention.

(Structure of the ninth invention)
In the configuration of the ninth invention for solving the above-mentioned problem, the medicine according to the eighth invention is a cancer inhibitor or an allergy inhibitor.

  In conventional health foods and medicines using cacti, as seen in Patent Documents 1, 3, and 4, for example, cactus plants, their leaves, or crushed and dried products thereof are used as they are for health foods and medicines. Or an extract obtained by extracting a plant body or a pulverized / dried product thereof with an extraction solvent. However, such a pretreatment for cactus as a raw material does not necessarily provide a sufficient effect.

  Therefore, as a result of various investigations on pre-treatment for cacti, first, it was found that Opuntia spp. Is preferable as a cactus as a raw material. A particularly important point is to obtain a cactus extract by lyophilizing the above raw material in advance and extracting the lyophilized product.

  It was found that the cactus extract of the present invention thus obtained exhibits, for example, antimutagenicity (cancer suppression effect) and an excellent effect in suppressing skin allergies and the like.

  The reason why the cactus extract of the present invention has the above-mentioned excellent effect has not yet been fully elucidated, but at least it is an unknown effective that works to suppress cancer and allergies by freeze-drying the extracted raw material It is conceivable that the components are very highly concentrated and the active components are extracted at a high concentration in the cactus extract. Furthermore, it is speculated that, after passing through an extremely low moisture state called lyophilization, actions such as deprivation of water of hydration of various hydrophilic compounds in the cactus occur, resulting in the activity of the active ingredient. There is also a possibility that an increase in the degree of activity, inactivation of an inhibitory (antagonistic) action component against the active ingredient, and the like have occurred.

  In addition, as the object to be freeze-dried, a crushed product of the leaf portion, particularly the leaf portion is particularly preferable.

  Next, the extract used for extracting the lyophilized object is preferably an ethyl acetate extract or a hexane extract. These extracts may be composed of ethyl acetate or hexane, or may be a mixed solution in which another type of appropriate extraction solvent is mixed with ethyl acetate or hexane at a ratio of, for example, 30% by mass or less. Experimental results showing that extraction with these extraction solvents does not reduce the antimutagenicity of the cactus extract extract by the action of human digestive enzymes have been obtained, and the second problem of the present invention described above has been solved. The

  The cactus extract of the present invention exhibits at least antimutagenicity (cancer suppression effect) and allergy suppression effect as described above. Therefore, in view of these effects, it can be used as an additive to health foods, health foods or health drinks. Moreover, it can utilize as an active ingredient of pharmaceuticals, such as a cancer inhibitor and an allergy inhibitor.

  In the preparation process of the cactus extract of the present invention, for example, in the process of crushing raw materials, extraction with an extraction solvent, solvent removal after extraction, etc., for example, extraction with hot water at a temperature exceeding 60 ° C., etc. Excessive heating is not preferable for maintaining the activity of the extract.

The antimutagenic activity of the cactus extract according to the present invention is shown. The change of antimutagenicity by processing before cactus extraction is shown. The change of antimutagenicity by digestive enzyme treatment is shown. The allergy suppression effect of the cactus extract of this invention is shown.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described including the best mode.

[Prickly pear cactus]
The kind of prickly pear cactus as a raw material for obtaining the extract is not limited, and for example, prickly pear cactus commonly referred to as Mayan species, Burbank species or the like can be used.

  The prickly pear cactus may use the whole plant, but the leaf portion is most preferable. However, parts other than leaves can also be used in the prickly pear cactus plant. These raw materials can be subjected to lyophilization without crushing or the like, but it is preferable to crush them finely to a size of about 1 cm or less by a mill or the like and to provide lyophilization. It is also preferable to obtain a powdery freeze-dried product by finely crushing these raw materials with a mill or the like and then freeze-drying them, or after freeze-drying and finely crushing them with a mill or the like.

[Freeze-dried prickly pear]
When the prickly pear cactus raw material prepared as described above is subjected to freeze-drying, the means (apparatus) used for freeze-drying and the treatment conditions for freeze-drying are not particularly limited. For example, the following can be exemplified.

(Apparatus used for freeze-drying)
The apparatus used for lyophilization is not particularly limited as long as it has the required performance, but a commercially available general lyophilization apparatus (freeze drying apparatus) can be used.

(Processing conditions for lyophilization)
The processing conditions for lyophilization are not particularly limited, but can be performed, for example, by the following process.

  (1) First, as a pretreatment, a specific part of the prickly pear cactus, for example, a leaf part, is collected, and unnecessary parts such as so-called “thorns” are removed and washed, and then an appropriate device or tool such as a knife. For example, cut into an appropriate size of about 3 cm. The cut raw material is frozen at about −30 ° C. as necessary to prevent deterioration during storage and transportation.

  (2) The above cut raw material is roughly pulverized to about 1 cm and then transferred to a freeze-drying device. For example, the pressure in the frozen material is sublimated by sublimation to about 0.5 to 1 Pascal at a low temperature of −60 ° C. ,dry.

  (3) After that, the temperature of the frozen product is increased to about 40 ° C. to promote drying, and then the dried product is crushed, preferably after removing the fibrous material, To do.

[Extraction of freeze-dried product]
The lyophilized prickly pear cactus prepared as described above is extracted with an extraction solvent. The kind of extraction solvent is not specifically limited, For example, water can be used. Lower monohydric alcohols such as methanol and ethanol, liquid polyhydric alcohols such as glycerin, propylene glycol, and 1,3-butylene glycol, and nonpolar solvents such as hexane, diethyl ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and methylene chloride can also be used. . Furthermore, a mixture of two or more extraction solvents such as a water / methanol mixture and an ethyl acetate-hexane mixture can also be used.

  In particular, non-polar solvents, especially ethyl acetate, hexane and the like are preferably exemplified for the reason described above in the “Effects of the Invention” column.

  The specific extraction method may be any method that can elute the active ingredient from the lyophilized prickly pear cactus, and various known extraction devices can be used. Further, for example, the lyophilized product of crushed prickly pear cactus is put into an extraction solvent and stirred, or the extraction solvent is put in a container and introduced into an ultrasonic cleaner to perform extraction. After performing solvent extraction with water, the obtained aqueous solution may be used as it is as a cactus extract or may be concentrated by evaporating water to some extent.

  In the case of extraction using a non-polar solvent, after the extraction, the non-polar solvent is first removed as much as possible by a method such as distillation, and then the residue is compatible or miscible with the non-polar solvent and applied to the human body. It can be dissolved in an ingested organic solvent X (eg, ethanol) and then removed (referred to as “washing with organic solvent X”). By performing the washing using the organic solvent X at least once, the nonpolar solvent can be sufficiently or completely removed.

  The “cactus extract” in the present invention refers to a product excluding the extraction solvent to be excluded as described above. In the “extraction with ethyl acetate followed by extraction with hexane” of the fourth invention, after the extraction with hexane is completed, the hexane is sufficiently removed, and then the extraction with ethyl acetate is performed.

[Non-toxicity of cactus extract]
Since prickly pear is used for food and medicine as described above, it is easily estimated that the extract is non-toxic under the assumption that the extraction solvent is excluded.

  Moreover, although no data is shown, the presence or absence of mutagenicity of the cactus extract was confirmed as a control during the antimutagenicity test described later, but no mutagenicity was observed. Furthermore, in an animal experiment (antiallergic test) to be described later, a rat cactus lyophilized extract was orally ingested for 1 week, but no toxicity was exhibited. From the above points, the cactus extract of the present invention is considered to be non-toxic.

[Health food]
Examples of health foods containing the cactus extract of the present invention include ice cream, eel, yokan, konjac, dorayaki, sable, kishimen, udon, buckwheat, melon bread and other cookies, rusks and biscuits and other cookies, daifuku rice cake, Examples include, but are not limited to, throat lozenges, buns, rice crackers, ramen, hamburgers, croquettes, sausages, frankfurters, skewers, nan curry, gourmets and the like.

[Health foods]
Examples of health foods containing the cactus extract of the present invention include various edible powders such as udon powder and bread crumbs, various edible pastes, seasonings such as dressings, sauces, and soy sauce, but are not limited thereto.

[Health drink]
Examples of the health drink containing the cactus extract of the present invention include juices such as orange juice and apple juice, beverage teas such as green tea and oolong tea, sports drinks, various soft drinks such as canned coffee, It is not limited to these.
[Effects of health foods, health food ingredients, health drinks]
In daily life, by taking the health food, health food, and health drink according to the present invention, the following health effects (a) to (c) can be obtained without knowing.

  (A) Cancer suppression effect: It is a health effect based on the antimutagenicity exhibited by the added cactus extract of the present invention.

  (B) Allergy suppressing effect: It is a health effect based on the antiallergic action exhibited by the added cactus extract of the present invention. Specifically, an effect on atopic dermatitis and various other allergic symptoms can be expected.

  (C) In addition to the above, the cactus extract of the present invention has an inhibitory activity against okadaic acid which is a tumor promoter, an inhibitory activity against urokinase that induces cancer invasion and metastasis, radical scavenging ability and oxidation against linoleic acid. The inhibitory effect is known, and the ability to eliminate active oxygen, which is a cause of lifestyle-related diseases, can be expected.

[Pharmaceutical]
The medicine containing the cactus extract of the present invention includes at least a cancer inhibitor and an allergy inhibitor. The effects of these medicines correspond to the above (a) and (b).

  The medicament containing the cactus extract of the present invention can be produced and administered in various internal dosage forms. For example, it can be in the form of tablets, powders, granules, capsules, liquids and the like. In these preparations, carriers and additives usually used as internal medicines, for example, solvents, bases, diluents, fillers and other excipients, solubilizers, emulsifiers, dispersants, disintegrants, solubilizers Additives such as thickeners and lubricants, antioxidants, preservatives, fragrances, sweeteners, and other additives can be used in accordance with conventional methods for formulation.

  The usage and dose of the medicament of the present invention are not particularly limited because the effect may be mild, and an administration protocol may be set as appropriate.

  Next, examples of the present invention will be described. The technical scope of the present invention is not limited by the following examples.

[Example 1: Preparation of cactus extract]
(Preparation of sample for freeze-drying, freeze-drying of sample)
As a raw material for obtaining a cactus extract, an appropriate amount of a prickly pear leaf portion was collected, subjected to pretreatment such as removal of unnecessary portions and washing, and then crushed to an appropriate size.

  Next, the crushed material was packed in a bag, introduced into a cooling device, and pre-freezing was performed at −35 ° C. The pre-frozen product was taken out of the cooling device and roughly pulverized to a size of about 1 cm, then placed in a tray and transferred to a freeze-drying device. The pressure was reduced to about 0.67 Pascal to sublimate the water in the frozen product. As the freeze-drying device, model RL-4522BS manufactured by Kyowa Vacuum Technology Co., Ltd. was used. Thereafter, the temperature of the frozen material was raised to 40 ° C. in a dry atmosphere to promote drying, and then the powder was freeze-dried using a mill.

(Extraction process of lyophilized product)
The freeze-dried prickly pear cactus prepared as described above was extracted using an extraction solvent. As the extraction solvent, hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol were used. All of these extraction solvents are 100% solvents that are not mixed with other types of solvents or water. In the following description, when hexane, ethyl acetate, or methanol is described as the extraction solvent, it means 100%.

  Extraction was performed by putting a lyophilized product into an appropriate amount of each of the solvents contained in a container and introducing the lyophilized product into an ultrasonic cleaner.

  About the sample which used hexane or ethyl acetate which is a nonpolar solvent as an extraction solvent, the above-mentioned "washing | cleaning using the organic solvent X (ethanol)" was performed after completion | finish of an extraction process, and the nonpolar solvent was fully removed. In the sample using methanol as the extraction solvent, the extraction solvent was sufficiently removed after the extraction process was completed.

[Example 2-1: Evaluation of cancer suppression effect of cactus extract]
(Anti-carcinogenicity of cactus extract)
The majority of cancer-causing factors are said to be caused by food and smoking. Considering the onset factors at the molecular level, most of them are chemical carcinogenesis due to chemical substances (carcinogens). Carcinogens include substances that induce an initiation process in which normal cells damage genes and mutate into precancerous cells, and substances that induce a promotion process in which precancerous cells mutate into cancer cells.

(Anti-mutagenicity test)
Normal cells are transformed into precancerous cells by the action of carcinogens. The mechanism at that time is similar to the mechanism by which microorganisms are mutated, and evaluation was made by utilizing a phenomenon (antimutagenicity) that prevents carcinogens from inducing mutations in microorganisms.

  The crushed leaves of prickly pear cactus were subjected to lyophilization under the conditions described in the section “Freeze drying of sample”. The resulting lyophilized product was extracted with hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol, and hot water (70 ° C.), and after removing the solvent by drying under reduced pressure, etc., the sample concentration was adjusted to 1.0 mg / plate with DMSO. These were used as sample solutions.

  In order to examine the antimutagenicity of the sample solution, a modified method of Ames test, a preincubation method was used. Add 100 μL of sample solution, 100 μL of 1-NP solution (1.0 μg / mL), 500 μL of 0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) and 100 μL of 17-hour pre-cultured cell suspension to a test tube. It was. The culture was shaken for 20 minutes in a constant temperature bath at 37 ° C., 2 mL of top agar was added, and the mixture was overlaid on a minimal glucose agar medium. After culturing at 37 ° C. for 48 hours, the number of colonies produced was counted. Antimutagenic activity was determined using the following formula. In the control group, DMSO containing no cactus extract was used instead of the sample solution.

Antimutagenicity = [(A−B) / A] × 100
A: Number of reverted colonies in control group B: Number of reverted colonies in sample group (result of antimutagenicity, discussion)
Anti-mutagenic activity in Maya species was hexane extracted fraction 81.7 ± 3.4%, ethyl acetate extracted fraction 78.8 ± 2.2%, methanol extracted fraction 20.3 ± 3.3%. It was. Anti-mutagenic activity in Burbank species was 84.2 ± 3.7% hexane extract fraction, 85.8 ± 5.5% ethyl acetate extract fraction, and 11.0 ± 2.3% methanol extract fraction. It was.

  The above results are shown in FIG. In FIG. 1, “Hex.extracted fraction” is a hexane extracted fraction, “EtOAc extracted fraction” is an ethyl acetate extracted fraction, and “MeOH extracted fraction” is a methanol extracted fraction. In addition, the bar graph with a relatively dark color “Burbank” is of Burbank type, and the bar graph with a relatively light color “Maya” is of Mayan type.

  As can be seen from FIG. 1, the presence of strong antimutagenic components in both the hexane extract fraction and the ethyl acetate extract fraction was suggested for both Burbank species and Maya species. Although not shown in FIG. 1, it was also found that anti-mutagenicity was reduced in the hot water (70 ° C.) extract fraction for both Burbank and Maya species.

[Example 2-2: Change in antimutagenicity by processing]
Changes in antimutagenicity due to processing prior to cactus extraction were examined as follows.

(Preparation of sample solutions for various processing treatments)
Using crushed leaves of prickly pear cactus as raw materials, the processing is performed as shown in the following (a) to (d), and the various processed products obtained are treated with hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol, hot water (70 ° C.). After removing the solvent by drying under reduced pressure, etc., the solution was prepared with DMSO to a sample concentration of 10 mg / mL, and these were used as sample solutions for various processing treatments.

  In addition, when solvent-extracting the following various processed products, (a) juice, (b) paste, (d) fermented juice is a liquid or liquid fluid using water as a medium, so hexane or acetic acid When extracting with ethyl, extract the processed product directly into a solvent, and when extracting with methanol or hot water, add the processed product directly into these solvents. At the same time, the solution was poured into hexane and extracted with hexane.

  (A) Juice: The crushed leaves of prickly pear were simply shredded using a juicer mixer to obtain a juice-like juice.

  (B) Paste: A crushed cactus leaf was made into juice in the same manner as in (a) above, and then heated at 100 ° C. for about 120 minutes to obtain a paste.

  (C) Freeze-dried powder: The crushed leaves of prickly pear cactus were subjected to freeze-drying under the conditions described in the above-mentioned section "Freeze-drying of sample" to obtain freeze-dried powder.

  (D) Fermented juice: After pulverized prickly pear leaves were made into juice in the same manner as in (a) above, they were transferred into a thermostat and naturally fermented at 58 ° C. for 48 hours. This natural fermentation utilizes lactic acid bacteria and yeasts attached to the cactus raw material. This fermented product was transferred to a cloth bag and squeezed to obtain a fermented juice.

(Change of antimutagenicity by processing)
In order to investigate the antimutagenicity of the sample solution relating to the extraction fraction by hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol, and hot water, respectively, by the above-described extraction method for the various processed products according to (a) to (d) above, For these sample solutions, a modified Ames test method and a preincubation method were used.

  Add 100 μL of sample solution, 100 μL of 1-NP solution (1.0 μg / mL), 500 μL of 0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) and 100 μL of 17-hour pre-cultured cell suspension to a test tube. It was. The culture was shaken for 20 minutes in a constant temperature bath at 37 ° C., 2 mL of top agar was added, and the mixture was overlaid on a minimal glucose agar medium. After culturing at 37 ° C. for 48 hours, the number of colonies produced was counted. Antimutagenic activity was determined using the following formula. In the control group, DMSO containing no cactus extract was used instead of the sample solution.

Antimutagenicity = [(A−B) / A] × 100
A: Number of reverted colonies in the control group B: Number of reverted colonies in the sample group
Changes in antimutagenicity due to processing are shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the antimutagenicity (%) obtained by using the above formula is shown as a bar graph in the vertical axis direction, and the distinction between processing and the extracted fraction by the extraction solvent is shown in the horizontal axis direction. The distinction of the processing is indicated by notations such as “juice” and “paste” at the bottom of the horizontal axis in FIG. In the beginning of these notations, a short indicator line is attached vertically downward from the horizontal axis. The two bar graphs on the left side of this indicator line are “hexane extraction images” related to the processing in order from the left side. The sample solutions of “fraction” and “ethyl acetate extraction fraction” are shown, and the two bar graphs on the right side of the indicator line are “methanol extraction fraction” and “hot water extraction fraction” related to the processing in order from the left side. The sample solution is shown. For each processing treatment, there is a “bar graph missing part” that does not match the above explanation. In that part, the antimutagenicity of the sample solution of the corresponding extracted fraction was 0 (%). The space for displaying is deleted.

  As can be seen from FIG. 2, the sample solutions of “hexane extraction fraction” and “ethyl acetate extraction fraction” in the “freeze-drying” processing are “hexane extraction fraction” and “ethyl acetate in other types of processing. Compared with the sample solution of the “extracted fraction”, the antimutagenicity is significantly superior.

[Example 2-3: Change in antimutagenicity by digestive enzyme treatment after processing]
(Digestive enzyme treatment)
(A) Juice, (b) Paste, (c) Freeze-dried powder, (d) Fermented juice is the various processed products of (a) to (d) described above, Changes in antimutagenicity after treatment were examined. As digestive enzyme treatment, pepsin treatment was performed for 30 minutes, followed by pancreatin treatment for 2 hours.

  Specifically, for (c) lyophilized powder, each sample solution related to extraction with hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol and hot water was added to a pH 2 buffer solution, and pepsin was allowed to act for 30 minutes. Then, these 1st sample liquids (liquid which added each sample solution to the buffer solution of pH 2) were taken out from the container, added to the buffer solution of pH 8, and let pancreatin act for 2 hours. It is considered that pepsin in the first working fluid charged into the second working fluid is almost inactivated due to a change in pH.

  For (a) juice, (b) paste, and (d) fermented juice, these processed products are directly put into a pH 2 buffer solution and pepsin is allowed to act for 30 minutes. The first working fluid) was directly put into a pH 8 buffer solution, and pancreatin was allowed to act for 2 hours (second working fluid).

  Thereafter, when extracting the second working liquid with hexane or ethyl acetate, the second working liquid was directly put into the solvent for extraction. These are the “hexane extract fraction” or “ethyl acetate extract fraction” in FIG. 3 below.

  On the other hand, when extracting the second working liquid with methanol or hot water, the second working liquid is directly put into these solvents for extraction, and then the liquid is put into hexane and then washed with hexane. Extracted. These are the “methanol extraction fraction” or “hot water extraction fraction” in FIG. 3 below.

  About these extracts, after removing the solvent by drying under reduced pressure or the like, it was prepared with DMSO so as to have a sample concentration of 10 mg / mL, and these were used as sample solutions for digestive enzyme treatment.

(Consideration as a result of changes in antimutagenicity by digestive enzyme treatment)
The change in antimutagenicity in each sample solution related to the digestive enzyme treatment was examined by the same method as in the case of the above-mentioned “change in antimutagenicity due to processing”.

  The results are shown in FIG. The notation of FIG. 3 is the same as that of FIG.

  As can be seen from FIG. 3, the sample solutions of “hexane extract fraction” and “ethyl acetate extract fraction” in “freeze drying” are “hexane extract fraction” and “ethyl acetate extract fraction” in other types of processing. The antimutagenicity is remarkably excellent in comparison with the sample solution.

[Example 3: Effect on mouse contact dermatitis model]
Since prickly pear cactus is eaten raw or cooked, the cactus extract of the present invention was orally administered to mice to evaluate the allergic inhibitory effect.

  First, as described in "Preparation of cactus extract" in Example 1, Burbank prickly pear leaves were crushed and freeze-dried, and the freeze-dried product was extracted with ethyl acetate. After sufficiently removing, a cactus extract was obtained.

  This extract was mixed with a 0.5% CMC aqueous solution and orally administered at 100 mg / kg and 250 mg / kg. The effect on contact dermatitis was evaluated using 2,4,6-trinitrochlorobenzene (TNCB) as a hapten in female BALB / c mice as experimental animals.

  Two days before the sensitization, the mouse abdomen was shaved and sensitized by applying 100 μl of 5% TNCB acetone solution, and 7 days later, 10 μl of 1% TNCB olive oil solution was applied to the front and back of the mouse pinna and contacted. Dermatitis was induced and ear swelling was measured 24 hours and 48 hours later. Prior to induction, the thickness of the pinna of each mouse was measured, and the initial value was subtracted to calculate the pinna swelling at each time.

  The ear swelling after 24 hours is shown in FIG. 4 (a), and the ear swelling after 48 hours is shown in FIG. 4 (b). In FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, “Ear swelling (μm)” on the vertical axis indicates the thickness of ear swelling in μm. In the horizontal axis directions of FIGS. 4A and 4B, “N” indicates that no TNCB treatment was performed, and specifically means a blank test. “CTRL” represents a control, specifically, a result of a mouse orally administered with a 0.5% CMC aqueous solution containing no cactus extract. 4A and 4B, “Nopal” means prickly pear cactus, “100” is the 100 mg / kg oral administration group, and “250” is the 250 mg / kg oral administration group.

  Since this model mouse is a type IV allergic reaction, it reaches a peak of swelling 24 to 48 hours after the induction. As is clear from FIG. 4 (a), the cactus extract of the present invention was orally administered once a day after sensitization, but significantly increased ear swelling after 24 hours at a dose of 250 mg / kg. Suppressed. Furthermore, from FIG. 4 (b), there is also a tendency to suppress ear swelling after 48 hours at doses of 100 mg / kg and 250 mg / kg.

  These results suggest that the cactus extract of the present invention has an antiallergic action in type IV allergic reaction. A dose of 250 mg / kg corresponds to an intake of 270 g once a day in terms of raw prickly pear cactus when taken by a person weighing 60 kg.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY According to the present invention, a cactus extract that can be expected to have a cancer suppressing action or an allergy suppressing action, a health food containing the extract, and a medicine are provided.

Claims (9)

Cactus extract obtained by extraction of freeze-dried prickly pear cactus. The cactus extract according to claim 1, wherein the freeze-dried prickly pear is a freeze-dried prickly pear leaf. The cactus extract according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the extract used for the extraction is an ethyl acetate extract or a hexane extract. The cactus extract according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the extraction is performed by extraction with an ethyl acetate extract and subsequent extraction with a hexane extract. A health food containing the cactus extract according to any one of claims 1 to 4. A health food containing the cactus extract according to any one of claims 1 to 4. A health drink containing the cactus extract according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The pharmaceutical containing the cactus extract in any one of Claims 1-4. The medicament according to claim 8, which is a cancer suppressor or an allergy suppressor.