JP2020045368A - Oral composition for improving juvenile learning ability, and functional food, and method for improving juvenile learning ability - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an oral composition having the effect of improving a juvenile learning ability.SOLUTION: An oral composition for improving a juvenile learning ability contains a processed product of at least one site selected from the rhizome, leaf part and stem part of Panax ginseng. The processed product is preferably a ground product or extract of a dried product of steamed rhizome.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

  The present invention relates to a composition having an effect of improving brain function of a young person and contributing to improvement of learning ability.

With the aging society, the number of dementia patients is increasing rapidly, and the search for substances having a cerebral function improving effect is being actively conducted.
Ginseng (Korean ginseng) extract has also been reported to improve brain function. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a brain-activating composition containing a ginseng berry extract as an active ingredient. Patent Document 2 discloses a herbal composition for treating ischemic cerebrovascular disease and senile dementia, which contains a carrot extract, a ginkgo leaf extract, an extract of saffron stigma, and a soybean extract. . Patent Literature 3 discloses a pharmaceutical composition for improving learning ability and improving memory, which contains ginseng-derived sugar lipoprotein gintonin as an active ingredient. Patent Literature 4 discloses that an aqueous solution of a ginsenoside Rg3 medicinal composition derived from ginseng is used as a drug for improving memory.

JP-T-2006-516611A JP 2012-214500 A JP 2014-532048 A Japanese Patent No. 5525814

On the other hand, in recent years, it has been desired to improve brain function and enhance learning ability and memory ability not only for the elderly but also for teenagers.
However, many of the substances known to have an effect of improving brain function are aimed at preventing and improving dementia in the elderly, and even if they have the effect of improving dementia, etc. The fact is that it is unclear whether or not a young person who is in a childhood has a cerebral function improving effect. The ginseng extract disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 4 has not been evaluated as to whether or not it shows a cerebral function improving effect on young people.

  Under such circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an oral composition having an effect of improving the learning ability of young people.

  The present inventors have conducted intensive studies to solve the above-mentioned problems, and as a result, have found that the following inventions meet the above objects, and have reached the present invention.

That is, the present invention relates to the following inventions.
<1> An oral composition for improving learning ability of young people, comprising as an active ingredient a processed product of a site selected from one or more of rhizomes, leaves and stems of ginseng (Panax ginseng).
<2> The oral composition according to <1>, wherein the processed product is a pulverized product or an extract of a dried steamed rhizome.
<3> The oral composition according to <1> or <2>, which is in the form of a tablet, a powder, a liquid, a granule, or a capsule.
<4> The oral composition according to <3>, which contains an extract of a dried steamed rhizome and glucose and is granular.
<5> A functional food containing the oral composition according to any one of <1> to <4>.

<1A> A method for improving the learning ability by orally administering the oral composition according to any one of <1> to <4> to a young person (however, excluding medical practice for humans).
<2A> The method according to <1A>, wherein the target young person is 10 to 20 years old.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the oral composition which the learning ability improvement effect with respect to a young person is recognized is provided.

It is an illustration example of a Benton visual memorization inspection. The average score before and after ingestion in the Benton visual memorization test. It is an example of a paper for Uchida Kleberin test. It is the average number of correct answers before and after ingestion in the calculation task of the Uchida-Kleberin test. There are six problem areas of the TK Tanaka AB intelligence test. It is the average intelligence deviation value before and after ingestion in the TK Tanaka AB intelligence test.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples and the like. However, the present invention is not limited to the following examples and the like, and can be arbitrarily modified and implemented without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  The present invention relates to an oral composition for improving learning ability of young people, comprising a processed product of a site selected from one or more of rhizomes, leaves and stems of ginseng (Panax ginseng) as an active ingredient ( Hereinafter, it is referred to as “the oral composition of the present invention”.).

  The raw material of the oral composition of the present invention is a rhizome, a leaf or a stem of Panax ginseng, which is a perennial rhizome of the araliaceae family. Ginseng may be a natural product or artificially cultivated. The leaves and stems of ginseng, which are normally discarded, can also be used effectively, but rhizomes (particularly, six-year roots) are preferably used.

  The site of use of ginseng (rhizome, leaf or stem) can be used as it is without pretreatment, or can be used after pretreatment such as shredding.

In the present invention, the “processed product” means a product obtained by subjecting a used portion (rhizome, leaf or stem) of ginseng to any processing.
As the optional processing, any one can be selected as long as it does not impair the effects of the present invention, and examples thereof include steaming, drying, heating, and extraction. These processes can be performed in an appropriate combination.

  The steaming treatment is a treatment in which a target raw material plant (the site where ginseng is used) is heated in the presence of steam. The steam heating may be performed at normal pressure of a steamer or the like, or may be performed in a pressurized state using a pressure cooker or the like. The temperature and time for steaming may be appropriately determined in consideration of the site of use of ginseng, the treatment method in the subsequent step, and the like. 15 hours.

  Specifically, the drying treatment is obtained by drying a target raw material plant (the site where ginseng is used) by a known drying method such as solar drying, heat drying, freeze drying, and vacuum drying. The dried product is usually pulverized and powdered from the viewpoint of usability, and used as a dried and pulverized product. The pulverizing method is not particularly limited, and a conventionally known pulverizer may be used. The particle size of the powder is appropriately determined depending on the use mode.

  The heating method can be a known method, and the heating conditions are arbitrary as long as the action of the components of ginseng is not impaired, and the target raw material plant (use site of ginseng) or, if necessary, other (Pulverization, shredding, drying, etc.) is heated by any method.

  Extraction treatment is the target raw material plant (use site of ginseng) or, if necessary, crushing, shredding, drying, heat treatment, squeezing or solvent extraction, etc., This is a general concept of providing a form in which the content of the active ingredient is increased. Specifically, the extract includes an extract obtained by using a ginseng use site as an extraction raw material, a diluent or a concentrate of the extract, or any of a crude product or a purified product thereof. Note that a dried product obtained by drying the extract is also considered to be an extract.

  Specific examples of the extraction solvent used in the extraction treatment include water, lower aliphatic alcohols such as methanol, ethanol, and propanol. These extraction solvents can be used alone or as a mixture of two or more of them. When a mixture of two or more solvents is used as the extraction solvent, the mixing ratio can be appropriately adjusted.

  The extraction solvent may contain an additive within a range that does not impair the effects of the present invention. For example, a pH adjuster, a viscosity adjuster and the like can be mentioned.

  The method for extracting the extract from the raw material plant is not particularly limited, and the extraction is performed according to a conventional method. For example, there is a method in which a raw material plant is immersed in an extraction solvent, and room temperature or heating is performed to extract a soluble component contained in the raw material plant. Further, in order to remove the residue contained in the extract, filtration or centrifugation may be performed. The obtained extract may be used as it is, or may be subjected to ripening, dilution, concentration, drying, purification, etc. according to a conventional method.

  The processed products of ginseng may be used alone, or may be used as a mixture with other components. Further, those that have been subjected to different processing (for example, a dried product and an extract) may be used as a mixture.

  In the present invention, suitable processed ginseng products include pulverized or extracted dried steamed rhizomes. By steaming and drying, the components contained in the rhizome are condensed. In particular, a pulverized product or extract (extract) obtained by pulverizing a dried product (so-called red ginseng) after steaming the rhizome (preferably 6-year root) with the skin on it is preferable. The extraction solvent for the extract is preferably ethanol or a mixed solvent of ethanol and water.

  A preferred embodiment of the oral composition of the present invention is a granular oral composition containing an extract of dried steamed rhizome and glucose. In such an embodiment, it can be easily dissolved in water or hot water, and can be regularly consumed as a tea-like beverage.

  The processed product of the used part of ginseng has an effect of improving the learning ability of young people. Therefore, the processed product can be used as an active ingredient of the oral composition of the present invention.

  As used herein, the term "young person" as a subject of the oral composition of the present invention means a man and a woman of 10 to 20 years old. More preferred subjects are men and women between 13 and 18 years of age.

Further, “improvement of learning ability” means improvement of brain functions involved in learning and / or memory. Actions of the brain involved in learning and / or memory include, but are not limited to, attention, information acquisition, information processing, operational memory, memory retrieval, decision making, and the like.
In the present invention, the improvement of the learning ability depends on whether a significant difference is recognized in any of Benton visual memorization test, Uchida Kleberin test, and TK Tanaka AB intelligence test (particularly, Benton visual memorization test). Shall be evaluated. Specifically, this will be described in Examples.

  The oral composition of the present invention contains, in addition to the above-mentioned ginseng-derived components, components that contribute to improvement of brain function (for example, improvement of concentration and attention) as long as the object of the present invention is not impaired. May be.

The form of the oral composition of the present invention is not particularly limited and can be appropriately selected depending on the intended use. Specifically, dosage forms such as powder, granule, capsule, tablet, gummy, gum, candy, pill, tablet, stick, plate, liquid, cream, ointment, sheet, etc.・ It can take the form. Among these, a tablet, powder, liquid, granule or capsule form is preferred.
In the case of formulation, a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or any other auxiliary agent can be added to facilitate storage and handling.

  The intake of the oral composition of the present invention may be appropriately determined depending on the site of use of ginseng, the processing method, the form of the oral composition, and individual differences such as the age and gender of the subject. One example of the intake is usually about 2 to 100 mg per day in terms of the amount of ginsenoside (Rg1 + Rb1 + Rg3) contained.

  Since the oral composition of the present invention is derived from a safe plant, it is safe and excellent in taste. Therefore, it is easy to ingest for a long time by mixing it with various foods and drinks to make a functional food so that it is easily taken orally on a daily basis. The term "functional food" as used herein means, in addition to general foods, health foods, dietary supplements, nutritional functional foods, nutritional health foods, and other foods and / or beverages taken for the purpose of maintaining health. I have. When commercialized as functional foods, various additives used in foods, specifically, coloring agents, preservatives, thickening stabilizers, antioxidants, bleaching agents, fungicides and fungicides , Acidulants, seasonings, emulsifiers, strengthening agents, manufacturing agents, flavors and the like may be added.

  Foods and beverages that are targets of the functional food of the present invention are not particularly limited. For example, as the food, for example, processed cereals such as confectionery and bread are exemplified. In addition, examples of the beverage include various teas, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, and energy drinks. The oral composition of the present invention can be easily taken orally by adding it to such foods and beverages.

  The oral composition of the present invention can also be applied to animals other than humans. Therefore, it may be used as an oral composition for animals, or may be added to functional foods for animals such as pet food.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to Examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

<1. Preparation of sample>
The ginseng rhizome (6-year root) was washed as a raw material, and then steamed at 95 ° C. for 10 hours under normal pressure and in the presence of steam. Next, a drying treatment (ventilation drying) was performed at room temperature for 30 hours. The rhizome after the drying treatment was put into a predetermined tank, extracted with heated ethanol, and impurities were removed by filtration to obtain an extract (extract). This operation was repeated, and the obtained extracts were mixed to obtain the desired ginseng extract (named “ONG-90HN”). This ginseng extract was blended with a base (a mixture of glucose, lactose and vitamin C) so as to be 17% by weight to obtain a sample (granular) of the example.

  As a placebo product, a sample (granular) consisting of a base containing no was prepared.

<2. Evaluation>
In order to verify the effect of the sample of the example, a double-blind randomized parallel group comparison test was performed.
For 40 healthy males and females (13 to 18 years old), 20 subjects taking the sample of the comparative example (placebo tea) were taken as a placebo group, and 20 people taking the sample of the example were taken as a test group. Evaluation was made using the Benton visual memorization test, the Uchida-Kraepelin test (calculation task), and the TK Tanaka AB-type intelligence test before assignment, before ingestion, and 28 days (4 weeks) after ingestion.
Details are as follows.

Assignments were made by a person unrelated to the study, using a random sampling method based on age and gender, to 20 persons in the placebo group and 20 persons in the test article group.
Placebo group 20 (average age 15.6 years: 4 boys, 16 girls)
Test group 20 (average age 15.9 years: 4 boys, 16 girls)

  In the test group, one sample (3 g) of the sample of the above example was dissolved in water (about 100 mL) per day and orally taken (test group). In the placebo group, one sample (3 g) of the sample of the comparative example was dissolved in water (about 100 mL) per day, and the sample was taken orally (the placebo group). The ingestion period was 28 days (4 weeks) for both the test article group and the placebo group.

<Test results>
(Analyzer)
Of the 40 test article groups and the placebo group, 3 were excluded from the test article group due to withdrawal halfway, and 37 were analyzed. The intake rate calculated using the number of intake days was 91.3% (n = 20) in the placebo group and 94.7% (n = 17) in the test substance group.

(Evaluation 1) Benton visual memorization inspection Benton visual memorization inspection is a visual memory inspection. The subject was shown a card with several meaningless figures drawn on it (see the example in Fig. 1) for 10 seconds and remembered, then turned down the card and made the shape, position and size of the figure on white paper as much as possible. Instructed to draw accurately. There were 10 cards, and if they were drawn with almost no errors, they were awarded one point, and scored a total of ten points. Three sets of tests (A, B, and C, respectively) set at the same level are prepared, and by performing A before intake and B after intake, the effect of practice by each test is eliminated as much as possible. .
Table 1 shows the results of comparing the scores in the Benton visual memorization test before and after ingestion of each group. No significant difference was observed in the placebo group before and after ingestion. On the other hand, in the test article group, scores after ingestion tended to be significantly higher than before ingestion (p <0.1).
Table 2 shows the results of comparison between the placebo group and the test article group. No significant difference was observed between the placebo group and the test article group (FIG. 2).

  In the Benton visual memorization test, no significant difference was observed in the placebo group before and after ingestion. On the other hand, in the test article group, the scores after ingestion tended to be significantly higher than before ingestion. In addition, the placebo group showed a decrease in average score of 0.40 after ingestion, and the test article group showed an increase of 0.71 after ingestion. Therefore, ingestion of the sample of Example 1 improves memory ability. It was suggested that it might be effective.

(Evaluation 2) Calculation tasks using Uchida-Kraepelin test paper Using a Uchida-Kraepelin test paper (see the example in Fig. 3), perform a simple one-digit addition for 10 minutes, and calculate the number of correct answers before and after ingestion Was compared.
Table 3 shows the results of comparing the number of correct answers in the calculation task using the Uchida-Kraepelin test paper before and after ingestion of each group. Both the placebo group and the test article group had significantly higher scores after ingestion than before ingestion (p <0.01).
Table 4 shows the results of comparing the number of correct answers between the placebo group and the test article group. In the comparison between the placebo group and the test article group, the test article group tended to be significantly higher both before and after ingestion (p <0.1, FIG. 4).

  In the calculation task using the Uchida-Kraepelin test sheet, the scores after ingestion of both the placebo group and the test article group were significantly higher than before ingestion. In the placebo group, the average score increased by 66.05 after ingestion, and in the test group, the average score increased by 80.36 after ingestion. The rise in scores after ingestion in both groups may indicate that they may have become accustomed to the problem. However, numerically, the increase in score was greater in the test group than in the placebo group, suggesting that ingestion of the test sample might have a positive effect on computational ability.

(Evaluation 3) TK-type Tanaka AB-type intelligence test This is an intelligence test in which intelligence can be measured comprehensively by using both linguistic (A) and non-linguistic (B) expressions. This test consists of six problem areas (see FIG. 5), and consists of a wide range of problems, from easy to difficult. In addition, since the array in question is of a spiral type, the inspection has a small measurement error. This inspection was performed for 25 minutes.
Table 5 shows the results of comparison of the intelligence deviation values in the TK Tanaka AB intelligence test before and after ingestion of each group. In both the placebo group and the test article group, scores of the intelligence deviation after ingestion were significantly higher than before ingestion (p <0.01, FIG. 6).

  Table 6 shows the results of comparing the rough score for each problem area before and after ingestion. In the placebo group, scores were significantly higher after ingestion in questions A, B, C, D and E than before ingestion (p <0.01), but in question F (mathematical ability) before and after ingestion No significant difference was found. In the test article group, the scores of the questions A, B, C, D, and E were significantly higher after ingestion than before ingestion (p <0.01). Question F (mathematical ability) also scored significantly higher after ingestion than before ingestion (p <0.05).

Table 7 shows the results of comparing the intelligence deviation values between the placebo group and the test article group. No significant difference was found in the comparison of the intelligence deviation between the placebo group and the test article group.
Table 8 shows the results of comparison of the rough points in each problem area between the placebo group and the test article group. The test group scored significantly lower in Question C (linguistic relationship understanding) before ingestion (p <0.05). There was no significant difference between the placebo group and the test article group after ingestion in all problems.

  In the TK Tanaka AB intelligence test, the intellectual deviation after ingestion of both the placebo group and the test article group was significantly higher than before ingestion. The placebo group showed an increase in intelligence deviation of 9.05 after ingestion, and the test group showed an increase of 11.18 after ingestion. The rise in scores after ingestion in both groups may indicate that they may have become accustomed to the problem. However, numerically, the increase in intelligence deviation was greater in the test group than in the placebo group, suggesting that ingestion of the test sample might have a positive effect on the intelligence test problem. . Comparing the rough scores of the problem areas before and after ingestion, the scores in the placebo group and the test article group in the questions A, B, C, D, and E were significantly higher after ingestion than before ingestion. Regarding question F (mathematical ability), no significant difference was observed before and after ingestion in the placebo group, but in the test group, the score was significantly higher after ingestion than before ingestion. This suggests that ingestion of the test article may have a positive effect especially on mathematical performance. When the placebo group and the test article group were compared according to the problem area, the placebo group had a significantly higher score in question C (linguistic relationship understanding) before ingestion, but no significant difference was observed after ingestion. .

As described above, in the test group of the Benton visual memorization test, a significant increase in the score after ingestion was confirmed. In the test groups of the Uchida-Kraepelin test and the TK-type Tanaka AB-type intelligence test, a significant increase in the score after ingestion was also confirmed.
From the above results, it is considered that the ingestion of ginseng extract by young people has an effect of improving learning ability.

  Ingestion of the oral composition of the present invention improves the learning ability of young people, and is therefore industrially promising.

Claims (7)

  An oral composition for improving the learning ability of young people, comprising as an active ingredient a processed product of a site selected from at least one of rhizomes, leaves and stems of ginseng (Panax ginseng).   The oral composition according to claim 1, wherein the processed product is a pulverized product or an extract of a dried steamed rhizome.   The oral composition according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the form is a tablet, a powder, a liquid, a granule or a capsule.   The oral composition according to claim 3, wherein the oral composition contains a dried extract of steamed rhizome and glucose, and is in the form of granules.   A functional food containing the oral composition according to claim 1.   A method for improving the learning ability by orally administering the oral composition according to any one of claims 1 to 4 to a young person (however, excluding medical practice for humans).   The method according to claim 6, wherein the target young person is 10 to 20 years old.