JP2018154598A - Amino acid-containing granules and method for producing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide amino acid-containing granules (granular product) that can suppress bitterness of amino acid, and favorably melt in the mouth, and have excellent flavor and physical properties, and a method for stably producing the amino acid-containing granules.SOLUTION: The present invention provides amino acid-containing granules containing granules having amino acid as a main component and granules having acidulant as a main component. Further, the present invention provides a method for producing amino acid-containing granules which includes a first process of granulating a composition having amino acid as a main component, a second process of granulating a composition having acidulant as a main component, and a third process of mixing granules obtained in the first process and granules obtained in the second process.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

  The present invention relates to an amino acid-containing granule excellent in flavor and physical properties, in which bitterness is suppressed and mouthfeel is good, and a stable production method thereof.

  Amino acids are known for various effects such as muscle strengthening, fatigue recovery, diet and immunity improvement. For example, arginine, which is one of the basic amino acids, is a kind of useful amino acid having various physiological activities such as promoting the secretion of growth hormone and improving basal metabolic power. For this reason, various amino acid-containing granules have been developed as supplements for supplementing amino acids.

  Patent Document 1 describes an amino acid-containing granule and a method for producing the same. This production method is a production method including a step of granulating by adding 10 to 17 parts by weight of ethanol to 100 parts by weight of a granulation raw material containing amino acid particles having a volume-based median diameter of 60 to 90 μm.

  Patent Document 2 describes a granular preparation and a production method thereof. This production method is a production method in which a granulated material containing 30% by weight or more of an amino acid contains an additive having both a binding action and a lubricating action, and is extruded and granulated.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-205661 JP 2006-070024 JP

  However, if the granulation raw material containing a large amount of a bitter amino acid such as arginine is granulated as it is using the above-described conventional production method, there is a problem of a flavor side that granules having a strong bitterness are produced. Further, when a large amount of amino acid having high solubility and hygroscopicity such as arginine is blended, it is difficult to stably granulate a granule having a good mouthfeel.

  For example, Patent Document 1 contains 35% or more of a water-soluble amino acid (amino acid having a solubility in water at 20 ° C. of 5 g / dl or more) and 14 to 16 parts by weight of ethanol with respect to 100 parts by weight of the granulated raw material. It describes the granules produced by addition. However, when 35% by weight or more of arginine, which is a water-soluble and basic amino acid, is blended, it becomes a granule having a strong bitterness, which causes a problem in flavor.

  The present inventors considered adding an acidulant such as citric acid in order to mask the bitterness when a large amount of an amino acid having bitterness such as arginine is added. However, when a large amount of highly hygroscopic citric acid is blended for the purpose of improving the flavor, continuous production becomes extremely low when ethanol is added in the addition amount described in Patent Application 1. Moreover, when the obtained granule is hard and contained in the oral cavity, it takes time to dissolve and feels rough.

  The present invention relates to an amino acid-containing granule (granular product) that can suppress the bitterness of amino acids and has a good mouthfeel and excellent flavor and physical properties, and a method for stably producing the amino acid-containing granules. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present inventors have intensively studied as follows and completed the present invention.

  The inventors of the present invention can mask the bitterness of amino acids and obtain good-flavored granules by blending an acidulant such as citric acid into a granulation raw material containing a large amount of amino acids such as arginine with bitterness. I found. However, such a granule has poor granulation suitability and it has been difficult to continuously granulate the granule. It was considered that the cause of poor granulation suitability was a large amount of acidulant added for the purpose of improving the flavor. However, it was considered that when the amount of the sour agent was reduced, the bitterness increased and the flavor deteriorated.

  Therefore, the present inventors conducted further diligent studies, and granulated the amino acid-based granule and the acidulant-based granule separately, whereby each granule was granulated continuously and stably. Found that you can. Moreover, when these granule was mixed, it discovered that the bitterness of an amino acid was suppressed and the amino acid containing granule which is good in a mouth can be obtained.

  That is, this invention provides the amino acid containing granule containing the granule which has an amino acid as a main component, and the granule which has an acidulant as a main component.

  Further, in the present invention, the difference between the specific gravity of the granule mainly composed of amino acid and the specific gravity of the granule mainly composed of acidulant is 20% or less of the specific gravity of the granule mainly composed of amino acid. An amino acid-containing granule is provided.

  The present invention also provides an amino acid-containing granule, wherein the amino acid-containing granule contains at least one amino acid selected from the group consisting of arginine, lysine and ornithine.

  The present invention also provides an amino acid-containing granule, wherein the amino acid-containing granule contains arginine, valine and serine.

  The present invention also provides an amino acid-containing granule in which the amino acid content in the amino acid-containing granule is 25% by weight or more.

  The present invention also provides an amino acid-containing granule, wherein the content of the acidulant contained in the amino acid-containing granule is 5% by weight or more.

  Further, the present invention is a first step of granulating a composition containing amino acid as a main component, a second step of granulating a composition containing an acidulant as a main component, and the granules obtained in the first step and the second step. Provided is a method for producing an amino acid-containing granule, comprising a third step of mixing the granule obtained in the step.

  Moreover, this invention provides the manufacturing method of an amino acid containing granule whose content of the amino acid contained in the composition which has an amino acid as a main component in the said manufacturing method is 30 weight% or more.

  Moreover, this invention provides the manufacturing method of an amino acid containing granule whose content of the acidulant contained in the composition which has an acidulant as a main component in the said manufacturing method is 10 weight% or more.

  In addition, the present invention provides an amino acid-containing granule produced by any of the above production methods, which suppresses bitterness and has a good mouthfeel.

  If it is this invention, even when it contains a lot of amino acids with a bitterness, a bitterness can be reduced and the granule of favorable flavor can be obtained. Moreover, according to the present invention, the granules can be continuously and stably produced by separately granulating the granules mainly composed of amino acids and the granules mainly composed of acidulants.

[Amino acid-containing granules]
The present invention provides granules containing amino acids (amino acid-containing granules). The amino acid-containing granule of the present invention includes a granule mainly composed of an amino acid and a granule mainly composed of an acidulant.

  In the present specification, “granule” means a granule having an average particle size of 0.1 to 1.3 mm.

  In the present specification, the “main component” means a component having the largest content ratio (mass basis) among the respective components excluding the excipient contained in the granule or composition.

  A granule containing an amino acid as a main component can contain one type of amino acid or a plurality of types of amino acids as the main component. Examples of amino acids include, but are not limited to, arginine, lysine, ornithine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, valine, methionine, leucine, isoleucine, tryptophan, histidine, proline, cysteine, glutamic acid, asparagine, aspartic acid, serine, glutamine, citrulline, creatine, Methyllysine, acetyllysine, hydroxylysine, hydroxyproline, glycine, alanine, threonine, cystine and the like can be used.

  The amino acid-containing granule of the present invention can contain a bitter amino acid. Bitter amino acids include, for example, arginine, lysine, ornithine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, valine, methionine, leucine, isoleucine and tryptophan. Even when the amino acid-containing granule of the present invention contains a bitter amino acid, it can be suppressed (masked) by mixing it with a granule containing an acidulant as a main component.

  The amino acid-containing granules of the present invention can contain amino acids with high hygroscopicity. Highly hygroscopic amino acids include, for example, arginine, lysine, ornithine, histidine, proline, cysteine and glutamic acid. Even when the amino acid-containing granule of the present invention contains a highly hygroscopic amino acid, it can be stably produced by producing it using the production method described later.

  The amino acid-containing granules of the present invention can contain amino acids that are bitter and highly hygroscopic. Bitter and highly hygroscopic amino acids include, for example, arginine, lysine and ornithine. The content of the bitter and highly hygroscopic amino acid in the amino acid-containing granule of the present invention may be, for example, 19 to 60% by weight, preferably 19 to 50% by weight, more preferably 19 to 45% by weight. . Even when the amino acid-containing granule of the present invention contains a large amount of an amino acid having bitterness and high hygroscopicity, it is possible to stably produce a granule that is suppressed in bitterness and has a good mouthfeel.

  The amino acid-containing granule of the present invention may contain a combination of a bitter amino acid and a highly hygroscopic amino acid. The total content of the bitter amino acid and the highly hygroscopic amino acid in the amino acid-containing granule of the present invention is, for example, 19 to 60% by weight, preferably 19 to 50% by weight, and more preferably 19 to 45% by weight. May be. Even when the amino acid-containing granule of the present invention contains a combination of a bitter amino acid and a highly hygroscopic amino acid, it is possible to stably produce a granule that is less bitter and has a good mouthfeel.

  The amino acid contained in the amino acid-containing granule of the present invention may be a natural product or a synthetic product, and a single amino acid or a mixture of a plurality of amino acids can be used. As the amino acids, not only free amino acids but also salts such as sodium salt, hydrochloride and acetate, and derivatives such as carnitine and ornithine can be used.

  As used herein, “amino acid” includes α-amino acids, β-amino acids and γ-amino acids. The amino acid may be either L-form or D-form.

  The content of amino acid contained in the granule mainly composed of amino acid may be 30% by weight or more, preferably 50% by weight or more, more preferably 70% by weight or more. Further, the content of amino acid in the granule mainly composed of amino acid is not particularly limited, but may be 90% by weight or less, and preferably 80% by weight or less.

  The content of all amino acids contained in the whole amino acid-containing granule of the present invention may be 25% by weight or more, preferably 30% by weight or more, more preferably 40% by weight or more, and further preferably 50% by weight or more. There may be. Further, the content of all amino acids contained in the whole amino acid-containing granule of the present invention is not particularly limited, but may be 90% by weight or less, preferably 80% by weight or less, more preferably 70% by weight or less, Preferably, it may be 60% by weight or less. According to the present invention, even when an amino acid is blended in such a large amount as described above, it is possible to stably produce a granule having a good flavor and suppressing the bitterness of the amino acid.

  The amino acid-containing granule of the present invention may contain arginine. The content of arginine in the amino acid-containing granule may be, for example, 15 to 60% by weight, preferably 16 to 50% by weight, more preferably 18 to 45% by weight. Moreover, the amino acid-containing granule of the present invention may contain valine. The content of valine in the amino acid-containing granule may be, for example, 10 to 42.5% by weight, preferably 11 to 28% by weight. Moreover, the amino acid-containing granule of the present invention may contain serine. The content of serine in the amino acid-containing granule may be, for example, 1 to 4% by weight, preferably 1 to 3% by weight. The amino acid-containing granule of the present invention may contain, for example, arginine, valine and serine.

  The granule mainly composed of amino acids may further contain components other than amino acids. Ingredients other than amino acids include, for example, sweeteners, excipients, binders, various nutritional ingredients, fragrances, stabilizers, preservatives, preservatives, fungicides, and antioxidants. As these components, those usually used in the production of foods and pharmaceuticals can be suitably used.

  The granule mainly composed of an amino acid may further contain a sour agent. When the granule containing an amino acid as a main component contains an acidulant, bitterness can be suppressed and the flavor can be improved. However, the amount of acidulant contained in the granule mainly composed of amino acids is preferably small from the viewpoint of granulation. The content of the acidulant in the granule mainly composed of amino acids is preferably 10% by weight or less, more preferably 9% by weight or less.

  The granule mainly containing a sour agent may contain only one kind of acidulant, or may contain two or more kinds. As the acidulant, any acidulant usually used in foods and pharmaceuticals can be used. The acidulant is not particularly limited, and includes, for example, acetic acid, citric acid, anhydrous citric acid, adipic acid, succinic acid, lactic acid, malic acid, phosphoric acid, gluconic acid, tartaric acid, and salts thereof. The present invention can suppress (masking) amino acid bitterness by including granules mainly composed of a sour agent.

  The content of the acidulant contained in the granule mainly composed of the acidulant is preferably 10% by weight or more, more preferably 20% by weight or more, further preferably 30% by weight or more, and even more preferably 40% by weight or more. There may be. Further, the content of the acidulant contained in the granule mainly containing the acidulant is not particularly limited, but may be 90% by weight or less, preferably 80% by weight or less, more preferably 70% by weight or less, More preferably, it may be 60% by weight or less.

  The content of the acidulant contained in the whole amino acid-containing granule of the present invention may be, for example, 5 to 33.5% by weight, preferably 6 to 27.5% by weight, more preferably 7 to 25% by weight. If the content of the acidulant is in such a range, the amino acid bitterness can be more effectively reduced.

  The granule mainly containing a sour agent may further contain components other than the sour agent. Ingredients other than acidulants include, for example, sweeteners, excipients, binders, various nutritional ingredients, flavors, stabilizers, preservatives, preservatives, fungicides, and antioxidants. As these components, those usually used in the production of foods and pharmaceuticals can be suitably used. Moreover, the granule which has an acidulant as a main component may further contain protein. The content of the protein in the granule mainly containing a sour agent may be, for example, 40% by weight or less, preferably 35% by weight or less.

  The difference between the specific gravity of the granule mainly composed of amino acid and the specific gravity of the granule mainly composed of acidulant may be 20% or less of the specific gravity of the granule mainly composed of amino acid. Further, the difference in specific gravity is preferably as small as possible, but may be, for example, 5% or more, 10% or more, or 15% or more. Thus, since the specific gravity of the granule mainly composed of an amino acid and the specific gravity of the granule mainly composed of an acidulant are substantially equal, classification due to a difference in specific gravity does not easily occur when mixing, and mixing can be performed evenly.

  The mixing ratio of the granule mainly composed of an amino acid and the granule mainly composed of an acidulant can be appropriately set according to the content of the amino acid and the acidulant in the entire granule.

  In the present invention, any sweetener commonly used in foods and pharmaceuticals can be used as the sweetener, and any of natural sweeteners and synthetic sweeteners may be used. The sweetener is not particularly limited. , Sucralose, acesulfame potassium and saccharin.

  In the present invention, any excipient that is usually used in foods and pharmaceuticals can be used as the excipient. Excipients are not particularly limited, but include, for example, sugars, sugar alcohols, starches, celluloses, inorganic excipients, and the like. Examples of the saccharide include lactose, sucrose, fructooligosaccharide, glucose, palatinose, reduced palatinose, maltose, reduced maltose, powdered sugar, powdered koji, fructose, isomerized lactose and honey sugar. Sugar alcohols include, for example, D-mannitol, erythritol, xylitol, maltitol, sorbitol, and the like. Examples of the starches include corn starch, potato starch, rice starch, partially pregelatinized starch and pregelatinized starch. Cellulose includes, for example, crystalline cellulose, powdered cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, carmellose, carmellose calcium, croscarmellose sodium and the like.

  The amino acid-containing granules of the present invention can be in the form of health foods for supplementing amino acids, foods for specified health use, nutritional functional foods, supplements, functional labeling foods, pharmaceuticals, and the like. Since the amino acid-containing granule of the present invention contains a large amount of amino acid, it is possible to reduce a single intake of the product. Moreover, since the amino acid containing granule of this invention has favorable flavor and physical property, it can be ingested easily by consumers.

[Method for producing amino acid-containing granules]
The present invention also provides a method for producing granules containing amino acids (amino acid-containing granules). The production method of the present invention comprises a first step of granulating a composition containing amino acid as a main component, a second step of granulating a composition containing an acidulant as a main component, and the granules obtained in the first step A third step of mixing the granules obtained in the two steps is included.

  The first step is a step of granulating a composition containing amino acid as a main component to obtain granules containing amino acid as a main component. In the first step, for example, granulation can be performed after adding ethanol to a composition mainly composed of amino acids. By adding ethanol, even when a large amount of amino acid is contained, ethanol can act as a binder, promote stable formation of granules, and improve mouthfeel. The amount of ethanol added is preferably 1 part by weight or more, more preferably 3 parts by weight or more, based on 100 parts by weight of the composition containing amino acid as a main component. Further, the amount of ethanol added may be 17 parts by weight or less, 15 parts by weight or less, 10 parts by weight or less, or 9 parts by weight or less based on 100 parts by weight of the composition containing amino acid as a main component. The concentration of ethanol is preferably 90% or more, more preferably 95% or more.

  The composition containing amino acid as the main component can contain each component that can be contained in the granule containing the amino acid as the main component. The content of amino acid contained in the composition containing amino acid as a main component may be 30% by weight or more, preferably 50% by weight or more, more preferably 70% by weight or more. The amino acid content is not particularly limited, but may be 90% by weight or less, and preferably 80% by weight or less.

  The second step is a step of granulating a composition containing an acidulant as a main component to obtain granules containing the acidulant as a main component. The second step can be granulated after adding ethanol to a composition containing, for example, a sour agent as a main component. By adding ethanol, even when a large amount of acidulant is contained, ethanol can act as a binder, promote stable formation of granules, and improve mouthfeel. The amount of ethanol added is preferably 1 part by weight or more, more preferably 3 parts by weight or more, with respect to 100 parts by weight of the composition mainly containing a sour agent. Further, the addition amount of ethanol may be 17 parts by weight or less, 15 parts by weight or less, 10 parts by weight or less, or 9 parts by weight or less with respect to 100 parts by weight of the composition mainly containing a sour agent.

  The composition containing the acidulant as a main component can include components that can be contained in the granule having the acidulant as a main component. The content of the acidulant contained in the composition containing the acidulant as a main component is preferably 10% by weight or more, more preferably 20% by weight or more, further preferably 30% by weight or more, and even more preferably 40% by weight or more. It may be. Further, the content of the acidulant contained in the composition containing the acidulant as a main component is not particularly limited, but may be 90% by weight or less, preferably 80% by weight or less, more preferably 70% by weight or less. Further, it may be 60% by weight or less.

  In the first step and the second step, as granulation methods, for example, transfer granulation method, fluidized bed granulation method, stirring granulation method, compression granulation method, extrusion granulation method, crush granulation method, melt granulation Publicly known methods such as spraying and spray granulation can be used, and extrusion granulation can be preferably used. Any extrusion granulation apparatus such as a basket type or a screw type can be used for the extrusion granulation method.

  The third step is a step of mixing the granule obtained in the first step (a granule mainly composed of an amino acid) and the granule obtained in the second step (a granule mainly composed of an acidulant). The method of mixing is not particularly limited, and a known method capable of mixing two or more granules can be used.

  The production method of the present invention can provide an amino acid-containing granule that suppresses bitterness and has good mouthfeel even when it contains a large amount of amino acid having bitterness. Moreover, a granule can be manufactured continuously and stably by granulating the granule mainly composed of an amino acid and the granule mainly composed of an acidulant. Therefore, by using the production method of the present invention, it is possible to provide granules having good production suitability (granulation suitability) and excellent both flavor and physical properties.

  In this specification, “good production (granulation suitability)” means that granules can be continuously produced by extrusion granulation for a certain period of time. For example, 20 kg or more of granules can be continuously produced by extrusion granulation. It means that it can be manufactured.

  In the present specification, “excellent in flavor” means that no bitterness due to amino acids is felt or weak in the oral cavity.

  In the present specification, “excellent in physical properties” means that the oral cavity has good mouth-feeling, that it dissolves quickly or does not feel rough.

〔Evaluation method〕
The evaluation method used in this example will be described below.
[Production suitability (granulation suitability)]
Manufacturability (granulation suitability) was evaluated in three stages, “3, 2, 1”. Specifically, when a granule can be continuously produced by extrusion granulation (for example, 20 kg or more), it was evaluated as “good” and indicated as “3” in the table. It is possible to continuously produce granules for a certain period of time by extrusion granulation, but if the state is not stable and the continuous production is limited (for example, less than 20 kg), it is evaluated as “normal”. In the table, it is represented by “2”. When continuous production was not possible, such as when the machine stopped immediately after the start of extrusion granulation, it was evaluated as “unsuitable” and indicated as “1” in the table.

[Physical properties (speech)]
The physical properties (speech) were evaluated in three stages of “3, 2, 1” by 5 expert panelists. Specifically, the granules did not become hard, and the mouth was good when put in the mouth, and when it melted quickly, it was evaluated as “good” and indicated as “3” in the table. When the granules were slightly hard and remained in the mouth for a while when dissolved in the mouth, they were evaluated as “normal” and indicated as “2” in the table. When the granule became hard, had a bad mouthfeel, and felt rough, it was evaluated as “bad” and indicated as “1” in the table.

[Flavor]
The flavor was evaluated by three specialist panelists in three stages, “3, 2, 1”. Specifically, when the bitterness was not felt or weak when put in the mouth, it was evaluated as “good” and indicated as “3” in the table. Although it felt bitter, it was judged as “ordinary” when it was judged that it was possible to eat, and expressed as “2” in the table. When bitterness was felt strongly, it was evaluated as “bad (bitter)” and expressed as “1” in the table.

[Comparative Examples 1 to 7: Granules containing 3000 mg of amino acid]
A granule in which 3000 g of amino acid (arginine 1800 mg, valine 1100 mg, serine 100 mg) was mixed with 4.0 g of 1 package (1 meal) was produced. As shown in Table 1, arginine (manufactured by Kyowa Hakko Bio), valine (manufactured by Kyowa Hakko Bio), serine (manufactured by Kyowa Hakko Bio), calcium stearate (manufactured by San Ace), and reduced palatinose as shown in Table 1 (Mitsui Sugar Co., Ltd.), citric anhydride (Iwata Chemical Co., Ltd.), pineapple fragrance (Nagaoka Fragrance Co., Ltd., Ogawa Fragrance Co.) as a fragrance, stevia (Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd.), sucralose (Saneigen F) as a sweetener -The thing which mix | blended F eye company) and acesulfame K (MC food specialties company) was used.

  After mixing each material at the mixing ratio shown in Table 1, add 99% ethanol, mix with a stirrer (manufactured by Hata Kogyo, HG-300V-II), and extrude the resulting powder. Granules were produced by subjecting to a granulator and extrusion granulation. The resulting granules were dried in a fluid bed granulator to remove ethanol.

  About each obtained sample, manufacturing aptitude (granulation aptitude), physical property (smoothness), and flavor (weakness of bitterness) were evaluated using the evaluation method mentioned above. The evaluation results are shown in Table 1.

  In Comparative Examples 1 to 5, since the amount of arginine, which is a bitter amino acid, was large, 21.6% anhydrous citric acid was blended and extrusion granulation was performed for the purpose of improving the flavor. As a result, the bitterness was suppressed and bitterness was good, but the granulation suitability was poor at any ethanol addition amount of 3.0, 6.0, 8.0, 10.0, and 15.0%, and the product was continuously produced. It was difficult to do. The cause of poor granulation aptitude was thought to be the large amount of citric anhydride added for the purpose of improving the flavor.

  Therefore, in Comparative Example 6, granulation was carried out with the anhydrous citric acid amount being half that of Comparative Examples 1-5. As a result, the granulation suitability was slightly improved, but the bitterness of arginine was strong due to the small amount of anhydrous citric acid, and the flavor was not good.

  From the above results, in Comparative Examples 1 to 6, it was difficult to produce the granules with 4.0 g per packet (one meal) from both sides of extrusion granulation suitability and flavor.

  Next, granules were produced in the same manner as in Comparative Examples 1 to 6, with the amount of one packet being 4.7 g and the composition and blending ratio shown in Table 2.

  In Comparative Example 7, immediately after the start of extrusion granulation, granules could be produced without any problem. However, after 1 minute to 2 minutes from the start of granulation, the granules to be produced suddenly increased in hardness, and eventually the load on the machine increased and the machine itself stopped, making it difficult to produce. It is considered that the cause of poor granulation suitability is a large amount of anhydrous citric acid. In order to improve the granulation aptitude, it is conceivable to reduce the amount of anhydrous citric acid, but if the amount of anhydrous citric acid is suppressed, the bitterness will increase and the flavor will deteriorate.

  From the above results, it was confirmed that it was difficult to continuously produce granules containing both amino acids and anhydrous citric acid by extrusion granulation.

[Examples 1 to 6: granules containing 3000 mg of amino acid]
A granule mainly composed of amino acids (granule A) and a granule mainly composed of anhydrous citric acid (granule B) were produced separately, and the effects on production suitability and flavor when these were mixed were investigated. The amount of amino acid blended was designed to be 3000 mg by mixing 4.7 g of one packet (1 meal), 85% of granule A and 15% of granule B.

(Granule A)
As shown in Table 3, the material of granule A includes amino acids (arginine (manufactured by Kyowa Hakko Bio), valine (manufactured by Kyowa Hakko Bio), serine (manufactured by Kyowa Hakko Bio), erythritol (product food science company) ), Citric anhydride (manufactured by Iwata Chemical Co., Ltd.), hydroxypropyl cellulose (manufactured by Nippon Soda Co., Ltd.), riboflavin (manufactured by BASF) as a pigment, pineapple flavor (manufactured by Ogawa Fragrance Co., Ltd., Nagaoka Fragrance Co., Ltd.) and sweetener Stevia (manufactured by Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd.), sucralose (manufactured by Saneigen FFI Co., Ltd.) and acesulfame K (manufactured by MC Food Specialties Co., Ltd.) were blended.

  After mixing the materials at the blending ratio shown in Table 3, 99% ethanol was added, and stirring and mixing and extrusion granulation were performed in the same manner as in Comparative Examples 1 to 6.

  About each obtained sample, manufacturing suitability (granulation suitability) and physical property (sucking) were evaluated using the evaluation method mentioned above. As shown in Table 3, Examples 1 and 2 have the same amount of ethanol added, but differ in the amount of hydroxypropylcellulose that dissolves in ethanol and serves as a binder. In both Examples 1 and 2, granulation of about 20 kg could be performed as usual, and the granulation suitability was good. This is presumably because the amount of anhydrous citric acid was significantly less than in Comparative Examples 1-7. However, in Examples 1 and 2, the physical properties (smoothness) of the granules were slightly hard at the end of granulation of about 20 kg.

  Next, in Example 3, granulation was performed with an ethanol amount (12.5%) lower than that in Example 1. The continuous granulation suitability was the same as in Example 1.

  In Example 4, the amount of hydroxypropylcellulose was reduced to 0.3% for granulation. In Example 4, continuous granulation of 75 kg was possible, and the obtained granules had good mouthfeel. Since 75 kg of continuous granulation was possible, it was suggested that the composition of Example 4 enables continuous production in a large amount (for example, 100 kg level). That is, it was suggested that when hydroxypropylcellulose is used as the binder, the preferred amount of hydroxypropylcellulose is 0.5% or less, more preferably 0.3% or less.

(Granule B)
As shown in Table 4, valine (manufactured by Kyowa Hakko Bio), erythritol (manufactured by Food Science Co., Ltd.) and citric anhydride (manufactured by Iwata Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.) were used as the material of the granule B.

  After mixing the materials in the amounts shown in Table 4, 99% ethanol was added, and stirring and mixing and extrusion granulation were performed in the same manner as in Comparative Examples 1 to 6.

  In the granule B, 30% L-valine was blended for the purpose of bringing the specific gravity close to that of the granule A. About each obtained sample, manufacturing suitability (granulation suitability) and physical property (sucking) were evaluated using the evaluation method mentioned above. As shown in Table 4, Example 5 (ethanol addition amount 8.5%) and Example 6 (ethanol addition amount 9.0%) both had good granulation suitability. In addition, the granules of Examples 5 and 6 had very good mouthfeel.

  The resulting granules B had a bulk specific gravity of 0.49 g / ml (Example 5) and 0.44 g / ml (Example 6), respectively. On the other hand, the bulk specific gravity of Granule A of Example 4 was 0.46 g / ml. Therefore, it was shown that the obtained granules A and granules B have almost the same specific gravity.

(Mixed granule)
About the mixed granule which mixed the granule A of Example 4 and the granule B of Example 5 by granule A: granule B = 85: 15, it was favorable when the flavor was evaluated using the evaluation method mentioned above. . Therefore, it was shown that by mixing the granule A mainly composed of amino acid and the granule B mainly composed of citric acid, the bitterness of arginine can be masked and a granule having a good flavor can be produced. Moreover, since the specific gravity of the granule A and the granule B was almost the same, classification by the specific gravity difference did not occur easily and it was confirmed that they were mixed uniformly.

[Comparative Example 8: Granules containing 1300 mg of amino acid]
A granule in which 1300 mg of amino acid (780 mg of arginine, 477 mg of valine, 43 mg of serine) was mixed with 4.0 g of 1 package (1 meal) was produced. As shown in Table 5, arginine (manufactured by Kyowa Hakko Bio), valine (manufactured by Kyowa Hakko Bio), serine (manufactured by Kyowa Hakko Bio), powder reduced maltose starch syrup (Mitsubishi Corporation Foodtech) ), Erythritol (manufactured by Food Science Co., Ltd.), anhydrous citric acid (manufactured by Iwata Chemical Co., Ltd.), riboflavin (manufactured by BASF) as a pigment, grapefruit fragrance (manufactured by Takasago Fragrance Co.) as a flavor, and stevia (Japanese paper) Sucralose (manufactured by Saneigen FFI Co., Ltd.) and acesulfame K (manufactured by MC Food Specialties Co., Ltd.).

  After mixing the materials at the blending ratio shown in Table 5, 99% ethanol was added, and stirring and mixing and extrusion granulation were performed in the same manner as in Comparative Examples 1 to 6.

  About the obtained sample, manufacturing aptitude (granulation aptitude), physical property (smoothness), and flavor (weakness of bitterness) were evaluated using the evaluation method described above.

  Although the flavor of Comparative Example 8 was good, since the granules became hard during granulation, continuous productivity was low and mass production was difficult. The cause of poor granulation suitability was thought to be the large amount of citric anhydride added, as in the production of granules containing 3000 mg of amino acids (Comparative Examples 1 to 7).

[Examples 7 to 8: Granules containing 1300 mg of amino acid]
As for granules containing 1300 mg of amino acid, similar to granules containing 3000 mg of amino acid (Examples 1 to 6), granules mainly composed of amino acids (Granule C) and granules mainly composed of anhydrous citric acid (Granule B) are produced separately. Then, we considered mixing them. Regarding the granules mainly composed of anhydrous citric acid, it was decided to use Granule B (Examples 5 to 6) used in the granules containing 3000 mg of amino acid. The amount of amino acid blended was designed to be 1300 mg by making the amount of one packet (one meal) 4.0 g, mixing granules C at 92%, and granules B at 8%.

(Granule C)
As shown in Table 6, the materials of Granule C include amino acids (arginine (manufactured by Kyowa Hakko Bio), valine (manufactured by Kyowa Hakko Bio), serine (manufactured by Kyowa Hakko Bio), powdered maltose starch syrup (Mitsubishi). Shoji Foodtech Co., Ltd., erythritol (manufactured by Food Science Co., Ltd.), citric anhydride (manufactured by Iwata Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.), riboflavin (manufactured by BASF) as a pigment, grapefruit fragrance (manufactured by Takasago Fragrance Co., Ltd.), and sweetener Stevia (manufactured by Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd.), sucralose (manufactured by Saneigen FFI Co., Ltd.) and acesulfame K (manufactured by MC Food Specialties Co., Ltd.) were used.

  After mixing the materials at the blending ratio shown in Table 6, 99% ethanol was added, and stirring and mixing and extrusion granulation were performed in the same manner as in Comparative Examples 1 to 6.

  About the obtained sample, manufacturing aptitude (granulation aptitude) and physical property (sucking) were evaluated using the evaluation method mentioned above. As shown in Table 5, in Examples 7 and 8, the granulation suitability was improved as compared with Comparative Example 8. This is considered to be due to the fact that the amount of citric anhydride added is smaller in Examples 7 and 8 than in Comparative Example 8. Further, when continuous granulation of 75 kg was carried out in Example 8, the way the granules emerged was stable throughout. Therefore, as in Example 4, it was suggested that a large amount of continuous production is possible.

(Mixed granule)
About the mixed granule which mixed the granule C of Example 8 and the granule B of Example 5 by granule C: granule B = 92: 8, it was favorable when the flavor was evaluated using the evaluation method mentioned above. . Therefore, it was shown that by mixing the granule C mainly composed of amino acid and the granule B mainly composed of citric acid, the bitterness of arginine can be masked and a granule having a good flavor can be produced.

  Since the present invention can provide amino acid-containing granules containing a large amount of amino acids and having excellent flavor and physical properties, health foods for supplementing amino acids, foods for specified health use, nutritional functional foods, supplements, functional indication foods and pharmaceuticals It is possible to use it.

Claims (10)

  An amino acid-containing granule comprising granules containing an amino acid as a main component and granules containing an acidulant as a main component.   The difference between the specific gravity of the granule mainly composed of the amino acid and the specific gravity of the granule mainly composed of the acidulant is 20% or less of the specific gravity of the granule mainly composed of the amino acid. Amino acid-containing granules.   3. The amino acid-containing granule according to claim 1, wherein the granule mainly composed of amino acid contains at least one amino acid selected from the group consisting of arginine, lysine and ornithine.   3. The amino acid-containing granule according to claim 1, wherein the granule mainly composed of amino acid contains arginine, valine and serine.   The amino acid-containing granule according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the amino acid content in the amino acid-containing granule is 25% by weight or more.   The amino acid-containing granule according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the content of the acidulant contained in the amino acid-containing granule is 5% by weight or more. A first step of granulating a composition based on amino acids;
A method for producing an amino acid-containing granule comprising a second step of granulating a composition mainly comprising a sour agent and a third step of mixing the granule obtained in the first step and the granule obtained in the second step .   8. The production method according to claim 7, wherein the content of the amino acid contained in the composition containing the amino acid as a main component is 30% by weight or more.   9. The production method according to claim 7, wherein the content of the acidulant contained in the composition containing the acidulant as a main component is 10% by weight or more. An amino acid-containing granule produced by the production method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein bitterness is suppressed and mouthfeel is good.