JP4508958B2 - Method for producing γ-aminobutyric acid-containing composition - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for producing a γ-aminobutyric acid-containing composition from asparagus.

  γ-aminobutyric acid (hereinafter abbreviated as GABA) is a non-protein-constituting amino acid that exists widely in the living world, but is known to act as a neurotransmitter in the brain in humans. GABA as a food material has effective physiological effects for modern people with high health maintenance awareness, such as blood pressure lowering action, tranquilizing action, brain function improving action, climacteric symptom mitigating action, neutral fat increase suppressing action, etc. . In addition, GABA has no side effects even when taken in large quantities by humans, so it is advantageous in terms of safety, and development that is added to food as an ingredient to prevent lifestyle-related diseases, particularly hypertension, where diet is effective. There have been many.

  As such, technologies for producing GABA-enriched grains using the action of enzymes originally contained in rice germ, rice bran, wheat germ, etc. (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2), tomatoes, pumpkins Technology for producing a GABA-enriched composition using the action of an enzyme contained in vegetables such as vegetables (see, for example, Patent Documents 3 to 5), technology for producing GABA in microorganisms such as lactic acid bacteria and koji molds (for example, Patent Documents 6 to 8), and a technique for producing tea leaves having a high GABA content by anaerobic treatment of tea leaves (for example, see Patent Document 9) has been reported.

  Industrially, it is produced by amination of γ-halobutyric acid or hydrolysis of pyrrolidone. In addition, a method of converting glutamic acid into GABA by glutamic acid decarboxylase using a starting material is also disclosed.

  On the other hand, asparagus is a vegetable that is rich in fiber and low in calories, and about 28,000 tons are harvested annually throughout the country, and imports from overseas are also popular. Prefectures with high yields in Japan include Nagano Prefecture, Hokkaido, Saga Prefecture, Fukushima Prefecture, Kagawa Prefecture, Nagasaki Prefecture, and Akita Prefecture. Until now, it has been known that asparagus contains many useful components such as aspartic acid, vitamin U (methylmethionine), rutin, folic acid, and saponins in addition to dietary fiber.

  Under such circumstances, it has not been known that asparagus contains GABA, but it has been found that asparagus contains a very large amount of GABA even when compared with other vegetables. Have already reported (Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-301557).

Further, it has also been found that glutamic acid and / or glutamate can be effectively converted to GABA by utilizing an endogenous enzyme of asparagus, and the present inventors have already reported (Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-164107).
Japanese Patent No. 2590423 JP 2004-159617 A Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 7-12296 Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-14333 JP 2001-252091 A JP 2001-352940 A JP 2003-70462 A JP-A-11-103825 Japanese Patent No. 3038373

  However, in order to obtain the above effects by ingesting GABA, it is said that it is necessary for adults to ingest about 26 mg of GABA per day. However, it has been difficult to ingest such a large amount of GABA in the past. there were. For example, Patent Document 6 discloses a technique for increasing the GABA content in rice germ to 350 to 400 mg / 100 g, but the amount of rice germ relative to the whole rice is 2 to 3%. Then, it will be only 12-13 mg / 100g. Rice is a high-calorie food, and if you want to eat GABA, if you consume a lot of germ rice, you may become obese or diabetic due to excessive intake of calories.

In addition, since the production of germinated brown rice includes a step of immersing brown rice in water for a long time, the propagation of germs becomes a problem, and the number of germs is said to be 10 ⁸ / ml or more during production. For this reason, a great deal of cost and labor has been required to maintain cleanliness and sterilization.

  In addition, in the anaerobic treatment of tea leaves disclosed in Patent Document 9, the increase rate of GABA was only 2 to 3 times at most.

  The GABA content of asparagus is much higher than that of the raw materials as described above, but there is still a problem that the asparagus itself has a high commercial value and a high cost because it is not sufficiently high.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a composition containing GABA by an efficient, simple and economical operation.

As a result of intensive studies on the above-mentioned problems, the present inventors have found that a large amount of GABA is present at a portion 25 cm or more away from the tip of the asparagus young shoot compared to the tip portion and the central portion, and this portion is used as a raw material. As a result, it was found that a composition containing a high GABA content was obtained, and the present invention was completed.

That is, the present invention is characterized in that, in the method for obtaining a γ-aminobutyric acid-containing composition by treating asparagus, at least 50% by mass is used as the asparagus at a portion 25 cm or more away from the tip of the young asparagus stem. The gist of the method for producing a γ-aminobutyric acid-containing composition.

  According to the present invention, a GABA-containing composition can be easily obtained efficiently and economically. In addition, the GABA-containing composition obtained by the method of the present invention can be contained in food and drink, so that the action of GABA reduces blood pressure, relaxes, relieves stress, improves menopausal symptoms, improves insomnia, diuresis, improves renal function In addition, effects such as improvement of liver function can be expected. In addition to the effects as described above, effects such as fatigue recovery, fat burning, and skin beautification can be expected by the action of amino acids contained in the GABA-containing composition.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.

  The asparagus used in the present invention may be any as long as it does not impair the effects of the present invention. Asparagus is green asparagus grown under sunlight, white asparagus cultivated while shading with soil, etc., mini asparagus that cuts in a thin and short period, and purple asparagus that is different from green asparagus. and so on. Among these, green asparagus and murasakia paragas are preferable, and green asparagus is particularly preferable. The production area is not particularly limited, and it may be domestically produced or imported from overseas. Variety is diverse, but not particularly limited, for example, Welcome, Mary Washington, North Sea 100, Marathon, Zenyu, UC157, Green Tower, Vitre, Candle, Niagara, UC800, Paul Tom, Heidel, Flute, Franklin, Gainrim, Seto Green, Hiroshima Green, Green Frecce and the like are preferable, and Welcome, Mary Washington, Green Tower, Niagara and Gain Rim are particularly preferable. The part to be used is preferably a young stem, and particularly the root part is preferred because of its high GABA content. Asparagus used in the present invention may be one kind of asparagus as described above, or two or more kinds may be used in combination. Asparagus may be used as it is, or may be used after processing such as crushing, cutting, freeze-drying and dehydration.

In the present invention, as asparagus, at least 50% by mass of a portion 25 cm or more away from the tip of the young asparagus stem is used. In the present invention, the asparagus stalk is a part that is generally edible and refers to a sprout that extends from the underground stalk.

In addition, the portion 25 cm or more away from the tip of the asparagus young shoot in the present invention is a portion that becomes a cut residue that is discharged when the asparagus young shoot is generally cut for food and the length is adjusted as a product. General asparagus young shoots are cut at the root part 25cm to 40cm away from the tip at the time of harvesting, and then cut to a length of 22cm to 32cm from the tip according to the product standards of the local agricultural cooperatives. Has become customary. After being trimmed to the length of the product, a large amount of this root portion is discharged, and the GABA content is much higher than that of the tip portion. Therefore, it is suitable as a raw material for the GABA-containing composition of the present invention. Moreover, in the case of short asparagus like mini asparagus, since it differs from said specification, it is -3-10 cm from a ground surface, Preferably it is 0-5 cm, More preferably, it is 0-3 cm.

In the present invention, it is essential to use at least 50% by mass of the portion 25 cm or more away from the tip of the asparagus young shoot described above. It is preferably 75% by mass or more, more preferably 90% by mass or more. As for the parts other than the part that is 25 cm or more away from the tip of the asparagus young shoot, among the parts that are more than 25 cm away from the tip , among other things, use the young stem that has been selected due to bending, slenderness, bad color, opening of the tip, etc. It is preferable from the viewpoint of manufacturing cost. When the proportion of raw material in the asparagus that is 25 cm or more away from the tip of the asparagus young stem is less than 50% by mass, the content of the extracted GABA is reduced and the tip of the young stem with commercial value is used. Then, since manufacturing cost becomes high, it cannot employ | adopt.

In the production method of the present invention, GABA is extracted by using at least 50% by mass or more of a portion 25 cm or more away from the tip of the above-mentioned asparagus young shoot, and as a method for extracting GABA, water extraction, solvent extraction, pressing , Enzymatic degradation, supercritical extraction and the like.

  In the above-described operation for taking out GABA, asparagus may be used as it is, or asparagus that has been shredded in advance may be used. Shredding is a method of physically crushing asparagus finely, and any apparatus, device, method, etc. may be used as long as the effects of the present invention are not impaired. Asparagus shredding may be performed manually using a knife, cutter knife, scissors, or the like, but an apparatus is used to process a large amount of asparagus in a short time. Examples of such an apparatus include a mixer, a blender, a mill, a hammer-type pulverizer, and a vegetable shredder.

  Asparagus to be shredded may be placed at room temperature or frozen, but when using a device without a cooling function, it should be frozen or cooled to prevent decomposition of the active ingredient. preferable.

  The size of the chopped asparagus is not particularly limited, but is preferably 2 cm or less, and more preferably 5 mm or less.

  Next, an operation for extracting GABA from the above asparagus will be described.

  Water extraction is a method in which water is added to elute components. The amount of water to be added is not particularly limited, but is preferably 0.01 to 100 times, more preferably 0.5 to 5 times the amount of asparagus (weight including water). When the amount of water is less than 0.01 times, the extraction efficiency is lowered, and when it is more than 100 times, only a thin extract can be obtained and a concentration operation may be required later. Moreover, 0 to 100 degreeC is preferable and the temperature of the water to be used has more preferable 10 to 80 degreeC. When the temperature of water is lower than 0 ° C, the extraction efficiency tends to decrease, and when the extraction temperature is higher than 100 ° C, there is a possibility that useful components are decomposed. The water may be distilled water, deionized water, clean water or the like, or may be a solution in which a certain amount of salt is dissolved or a buffer solution. The kind of salt at this time is not particularly limited as long as it can be added to food and does not impair the effects of the present invention, but preferably sodium chloride, ammonium chloride, potassium chloride, calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, ammonium carbonate , Sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, sodium acetate, ammonium acetate, ammonium sulfate, sodium sulfate, magnesium sulfate, disodium hydrogen phosphate, sodium dihydrogen phosphate, dipotassium hydrogen phosphate, dihydrogen phosphate Potassium, ammonium dihydrogen phosphate, ammonium dihydrogen phosphate, sodium benzoate, 1 potassium citrate, 3 potassium citrate, 3 sodium citrate, 1 sodium succinate, 2 sodium succinate, sodium lactate, malic acid Thorium, sodium glutamate, potassium glutamate, sodium aspartate, such as lysine hydrochloride salts. As the buffer solution, trizma base, phosphate buffer solution, acetate buffer solution, citrate buffer solution, succinate buffer solution and the like are preferable, and the pH to be adjusted is preferably 2.0 to 11.0, and 3.0 to 8. 0 is more preferable. Further, the salt and buffer concentrations are preferably 0.01% to 50%, more preferably 0.1% to 20%. If it is lower than this range, the effects of salt and buffer may not be expected. If it is higher than this range, extraction efficiency and taste may be reduced.

  Solvent extraction is a method of extraction using an organic solvent such as alcohols, hydrocarbons and lipids, and the organic solvent to be used is not particularly limited, and may be used alone or mixed with other solvents. May be used in combination with water. Examples of preferred organic solvents include ethanol, methanol, propanol, butanol, hexane, acetone, glycerin, propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, propylene glycol fatty acid ester, polyethylene glycol fatty acid ester, ethyl ether, methyl ethyl ketone, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO ), N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF), N, N-dimethylacetamide (DMAC), and more preferably ethanol, hexane, acetone, DMSO, and glycerin. The amount of the organic solvent to be added is not particularly limited by the type of the organic solvent, but is preferably 0.01 to 100 times, more preferably 0.5 to 5 times the amount of asparagus. When the amount of the organic solvent is less than 0.01 times, the extraction efficiency is lowered, and when it is more than 100 times, only a thin extract can be obtained and a concentration operation may be required later. Moreover, the temperature of the organic solvent to be used is preferably -20 ° C to 200 ° C, more preferably 0 ° C to 120 ° C. When the temperature of the organic solvent is lower than −20 ° C., the extraction efficiency tends to decrease, and when the extraction temperature is higher than 200 ° C., the active ingredient may be decomposed.

  The time for performing the extraction with water or an organic solvent is not particularly limited, and it is preferably 1 minute to 48 hours, more preferably 5 minutes to 4 hours. If the extraction time is shorter than this range, there is a tendency that active ingredients such as GABA cannot be sufficiently extracted. Even if the extraction time is longer than this range, an increase in the extraction amount cannot be expected, and the risk of proliferation of germs increases. Only.

  Squeezing is a method in which physical pressure is applied to asparagus to squeeze the liquid and transfer GABA to the juice. The pressure may be applied only in one direction, may be applied from two or more directions, and may be accompanied by a shearing force. Although the operation of pressing is easy if a commercially available pressing machine is used, it may be performed by a method that does not use a machine such as hand pressing or stepping. At this time, water or hot water may be added to asparagus and squeezed. The amount of water or hot water to be added is preferably 0.01 to 100 times, more preferably 0.5 to 5 times the amount of asparagus. When the amount of water is less than 0.01 times, the extraction efficiency is lowered, and when it is more than 100 times, only a thin extract can be obtained and a concentration operation may be required later. Moreover, 30 to 100 degreeC is preferable and the temperature of hot water has more preferable 40 to 80 degreeC.

  Enzymatic decomposition is a method in which an enzyme is allowed to act on asparagus and then separated into solid and liquid to transfer GABA to a filtrate. Here, the enzyme is not particularly limited as long as the effect of the present invention is not impaired, but an enzyme that can be used for food is preferable in consideration of use for food. The type of enzyme is not particularly limited, but cellulase, hemicellulase, pectinase, xylanase, arabinase, arabanase, amylase, glucanase, etc. in order to decompose GABA, pectin, polysaccharides, etc. In order for dextranase to degrade proteins and recover many free amino acids, protease, peptidase, etc. to convert glutamic acid to GABA, glutamic acid decarboxylase, etc. to convert glutamine to glutamic acid Glutaminase and the like can be used. In the enzymatic degradation in the present invention, only one kind of the above-described enzymes may be used, or two or more kinds may be used simultaneously or successively.

  By performing enzymatic degradation, inherently insoluble fiber is degraded and can be recovered as water-soluble dietary fiber, tissue can be crushed by degrading the fiber, GABA and amino acids can be recovered more efficiently, The effect of increasing the recovery rate of amino acids by decomposition, the recovery rate of glutamic acid being increased, the effect of increasing the recovery rate of GABA converted from glutamic acid, and the action of enzymes such as glutaminase and glutamate decarboxylase The effect of increasing the GABA recovery rate can be obtained.

  Examples of cellulases include Sumiteam AC, Sumiteam AC-LIQUID, Sumiteam AC, Cellulosin AC50, Cellulosin AL, Cellulosin T2, and Amano Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., manufactured by Shin Nippon Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. Cellulase A “Amano” 3, Cellulase T “Amano” 4, Cellulase “Onozuka” R-10, Yakult Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Cellulase “Onozuka” RS, Enchilon CM, Enchiron, manufactured by Toto Kasei Kogyo Co., Ltd. Among them, Sumiteam AC, cellulosin T2, and enchilon MCH are preferable, and cellulosin T2 and enchilon MCH are particularly preferable.

  As hemicellulase, for example, Sumiteam ACH, Sumiteam ACH-LIQUID, Sumiteam X, manufactured by Shin Nippon Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., hemicellulase “Amano” 90G manufactured by Amano Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and the like can be mentioned.

  Examples of pectinase include Sumiteam PX, Sumiteam AP2, LIQUID, Sumiteam PMAC, Sumiteam CXC, Sumiteam LC, Sumiteam MC, Sumiteam SPC, Sumiteam PTE, Neutral pectinase, H.B. Cellulosine PC5, cellulosin PE60, cellulosin PEL, cellulosin ME, soluble pectinase manufactured by I Co., Ltd., pectinase A “Amano”, pectinase G “Amano”, pectinase GL “Amano”, pectinase PL “manufactured by Amano Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.” Amano ”, Macero Team R-10 manufactured by Yakult Yakuhin Kogyo Co., Ltd., Pectinex Ultra PC-L manufactured by Novozyme, etc., among them, Sumiteam PX, Cellulosin PC5, Pectinase Preferably "Amano" Sumizyme PX is particularly preferred.

  As the arabinase, Sumiteam ARS manufactured by Shin Nippon Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., arabinase manufactured by Megazyme, cellulosin TP25, cellulosin HC100, cellulosin HC manufactured by HB I Co., Ltd. as xylanase, and New Japan as amylase Sumiteam AS, Sumiteam L, Sumiteam L-L, Sumiteam A10, Sumiteam AH, liquefied enzyme T, liquefase L45, Fuctamirase 50, orientase AO10, Hymaltocin G, manufactured by Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. Glutase 6000 is Amylase AD “Amano” manufactured by Amano Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Biozyme A, Biozyme F10SD, Gluczyme AF6, Silvalase, Biozyme M, Christa, Kokugen, Kokugen T manufactured by Daiwa Kasei Co., Ltd. Susease HS, Spytase M, β-amylase L, etc. manufactured by Se Seikagaku Co., Ltd., tunicase manufactured by Daiwa Kasei Co., Ltd. as glucanase, and dextranase 2F manufactured by Sankyo Co., Ltd. as dextranase Is mentioned.

  The protease may be any of acidic protease, neutral protease, and basic protease. For example, proteinase K, Sumiteam MMR, Sumiteam AP, Sumiteam RP, Sumiteam MP, Sumiteam LP50, and Sumiteam LPL manufactured by Shin Nippon Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. , Sumiteam P, Sumiteam CP, Sumiteam TP, orientase 20A, orientase 90N, orientase 10NL, manufactured by HBI Eye Co., Ltd., Nucleicin, orientase ONS, orientase 22BF, Ummamizyme manufactured by Amano Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. , Neucellase F, Papain W-40, Pancreatin F, Protease A “Amano” G, Protease M “Amano”, Protease N “Amano”, Protease S “Amano”, Bromelain F, Yamato Kasei ( Thermoase of), Protin A, Protin P, Desukin C and the like, among these Sumiteam LPL, sumizyme OP, Orientase synthetase 20A, Papain W-40 are preferred.

  Examples of the peptidase include Sumiteam FP manufactured by Shin Nippon Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. and peptidase R manufactured by Amano Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

  Examples of the glutaminase include Sumiteam OP manufactured by Shin Nippon Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., Glutaminase F “Amano” 100 manufactured by Amano Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and Glutaminase Daiwa 300S manufactured by Daiwa Kasei Co., Ltd. There are few commercially available glutamate decarboxylases, and even if they are genetically modified, they are difficult to use for food applications or expensive, so glutamate decarboxylase is highly produced. It can be used by separating and purifying from microorganisms such as lactic acid bacteria, yeast, and koji molds, or by separating and purifying from rice germ, rice bran and the like.

  In the present invention, the amount of the enzyme used for the enzymatic decomposition is preferably 0.0001% by mass to 20% by mass, more preferably 0.001% by mass to 5 mass% is more preferable. If it is less than this range, there is a problem that sufficient enzymatic degradation cannot be expected, and if it is more than this range, an increase in enzymatic degradation can no longer be expected, and there is a problem that changes the taste quality due to enzymes in the product. is there.

  The temperature during the enzymatic decomposition is preferably 0 ° C to 80 ° C, more preferably 10 ° C to 60 ° C. If it is lower than this range, the progress of the enzyme reaction tends to be slow, and it takes a long time to extract the active ingredient. If it is higher than this range, the enzyme may be deactivated.

  The time for performing the enzymatic decomposition is not particularly limited as long as the effect of the present invention is not impaired, but is preferably 10 minutes to 48 hours, and more preferably 30 minutes to 24 hours. If it is shorter than this range, there is a tendency that the enzymatic degradation does not proceed sufficiently, and even if it is longer than this range, the amount of active ingredient extracted no longer increases. Moreover, in order to perform enzyme decomposition more effectively, you may perform stirring, shaking, etc.

  In supercritical extraction, carbon dioxide or water is brought to a pressure and temperature above the gas-liquid critical point to make it a supercritical fluid with active molecular motion, and this is used as an extraction solvent. In the present invention, the supercritical fluid is preferably carbon dioxide.

  The temperature during supercritical extraction is preferably 31 ° C to 150 ° C, more preferably 31 ° C to 100 ° C. When the temperature is higher than this range, there is a possibility that useful components are decomposed. When the temperature is lower than this range, there is a problem that the extraction efficiency is lowered.

  Moreover, the pressure at the time of performing supercritical extraction is preferably 7 MPa to 50 MPa, and more preferably 7 MPa to 30 MPa. When the pressure is higher than this range, there is a problem in decomposition of useful components, high cost, and safety, and when the pressure is lower than this range, the extraction efficiency tends to decrease.

  As described above, the operations of water extraction, solvent extraction, squeezing, enzymatic decomposition and supercritical extraction for extracting GABA from asparagus described above can be performed alone or in combination of two or more operations. Preferred combinations include a combination of water extraction and / or squeezing and enzymatic degradation, which may be performed simultaneously, water extraction and / or squeezing followed by enzymatic degradation, or water extraction and / or squeezing after enzymatic degradation. You can go. Furthermore, a method of combining water extraction and enzymatic degradation simultaneously is desirable from the viewpoint of improving extraction efficiency.

  Moreover, in this invention, when taking out GABA from asparagus, you may perform the process which enriches GABA by the effect | action of the enzyme which exists in asparagus. GABA is produced from glutamic acid by glutamic acid decarboxylase in vivo, and attempts to utilize the action of this enzyme inherent in asparagus.

  In order to enrich GABA with an endogenous enzyme of asparagus, it is preferable to take a method in which asparagus and / or asparagus extract is placed in an environment where the endogenous enzyme can act for a certain period of time. The temperature in such an environment is preferably 10 ° C to 50 ° C, more preferably 20 ° C to 35 ° C. If the temperature is higher than this range, the endogenous enzyme may be inactivated. If the temperature is lower than this range, there is a problem that the endogenous enzyme does not work effectively.

  Moreover, pH becomes like this. Preferably it is 2.0-10.0, More preferably, it is 2.5-8.5. If it is out of this range, the endogenous enzyme may not work effectively. In order to adjust pH, a buffer solution can also be used. As the buffer solution, trizma base, phosphate buffer solution, acetate buffer solution, citrate buffer solution, succinate buffer solution and the like are preferable, and phosphate buffer solution and acetate buffer solution are particularly preferable.

  The time for performing the enrichment treatment is not particularly limited, but is preferably 1 hour to 10 days, and more preferably 6 hours to 5 days. Even if processing is performed for a longer time, an increase in GABA can no longer be expected, and if the time is shorter than this, there is a problem that the GABA does not increase sufficiently.

  The environment for performing the enrichment process may be either an aerobic environment or an anaerobic environment, but it is preferable to perform the environment in an anaerobic environment. As an anaerobic environment, the state filled with gas, such as nitrogen, a carbon dioxide, helium, argon, is preferable, and it is especially preferable to carry out in the environment filled with nitrogen among these.

  When performing the enrichment treatment, glutamic acid or a salt thereof can be added as a raw material for GABA. Among glutamate salts, sodium salt is particularly preferable. Since glutamic acid or a salt thereof is converted to GABA by the action of glutamic acid decarboxylase, the content of GABA can be remarkably increased by adding glutamic acid or a salt thereof. The amount of glutamic acid or a salt thereof to be added is not particularly limited, but is preferably 0.1% by mass to 100% by mass and more preferably 1% by mass to 30% by mass with respect to the raw material asparagus. If it is less than this range, the GABA content increases but remains in a very small amount.

  When performing the enrichment treatment, pyridoxal phosphate or a salt thereof, or pyridoxine hydrochloride can be added as a coenzyme for glutamate decarboxylase. Among pyridoxal phosphates, sodium salt is particularly preferable. Since pyridoxal phosphate or a salt thereof or pyridoxine hydrochloride acts as a coenzyme for glutamate decarboxylase, the enzyme reaction can be effectively advanced and the GABA content can be increased. The amount of pyridoxal phosphoric acid or a salt thereof or pyridoxine hydrochloride to be added is not particularly limited, but is preferably 0.001% by mass to 20% by mass, and more preferably 0.005% by mass to 5% by mass with respect to the raw material asparagus. If it is less than this range, the effect of adding a coenzyme can hardly be expected, and if it exceeds this range, no further increase in GABA content can be expected.

  When performing the enrichment process, an enzyme can be added. As the enzyme, pectinase, cellulase, hemicellulase, xylanase, arabanase, amylase, glucanase, dextranase, protease, peptidase, glutaminase, glutamate decarboxylase and the like can be used. If pectinase, cellulase, hemicellulase, xylanase, arabanase, amylase, glucanase, dextranase and the like are used, a large amount of soluble oligosaccharides and monosaccharides are recovered, and an increase in functional carbohydrates and an improvement in taste can be achieved. If protease, peptidase, etc. are used, the amount of amino acids and peptides increases, the amount of glutamic acid used as a raw material increases, and the GABA content can be increased. If glutaminase is used, glutamine is converted to glutamic acid, so that the GABA content can be increased. If glutamic acid decarboxylase is used, GABA production can be expected more effectively in the form of supplementing what is contained in the endogenous enzyme, and the GABA content can be increased. In the present invention, only one type of the above-described enzyme may be used, or two or more types may be used simultaneously or in separate steps. The amount of the enzyme used is preferably 0.001% by mass to 10% by mass and more preferably 0.01% by mass to 5% by mass with respect to the raw material asparagus. If it is less than this range, the effect of adding an enzyme can hardly be expected, and if it exceeds this range, no further effect can be expected.

  After the enrichment process is completed, the process for commercialization can be continued. Here, if necessary, inactivation treatment and sterilization treatment at high temperatures can be performed. The temperature at this time is preferably 60 ° C to 121 ° C, more preferably 70 ° C to 110 ° C. If it is lower than this temperature range, there is a problem that the effect of deactivation and sterilization becomes insufficient, and if it is higher than this temperature range, there is a problem that active ingredients such as GABA are decomposed.

  After performing the operation of taking out GABA as described above, it can be used as it is without performing solid-liquid separation, but the liquid can be separated by a conventionally known separation method. As a separation method, for example, any conventionally known methods such as filter filtration, squeeze filtration, centrifugation, and decantation can be used. In order to obtain a clear composition, it is preferable to perform filter filtration using a filter aid such as diatomaceous earth. Moreover, when obtaining a clearer liquid or removing microorganisms, it is preferable to further filter this with a membrane filter having a pore diameter of less than 1 μm.

  The GABA-containing composition obtained by the above-described method contains a large amount of GABA contained in asparagus, and in addition to them, amino acids and water-soluble dietary fiber. As amino acids, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, valine, leucine, isoleucine, lysine, alanine, serine, proline and the like are relatively contained. In particular, valine, leucine and isoleucine are called branched chain amino acids (BCAA) and occupy about 35% of essential amino acids in human muscle. These amino acids are particularly attracting attention because they have recently been shown to improve athletic ability, recover from fatigue, and improve muscle strength. Since the GABA-containing composition obtained by the present invention uses asparagus as a raw material, it is characterized by containing a large amount of highly functional amino acids as described above.

  In the present invention, in order to increase the GABA content contained in the GABA-containing composition and respond to various purposes of use, an operation of removing polysaccharides, dietary fibers, proteins, etc. having a large molecular weight can be included. The GABA-containing composition that has undergone manipulation contains amino acids having a low molecular weight, GABA, peptides, monosaccharides, and oligosaccharides. Such operations include, for example, separation by gel filtration using a resin, Cellulofine series manufactured by Seikagaku Corporation, and fractionation at a predetermined molecular weight using an ultrafiltration membrane (UF membrane). The method etc. to do can be adopted.

  The GABA-containing composition thus obtained may be used as it is, or further diluted or concentrated to a predetermined concentration. Dilution is not limited to water, and alcohol, oil, and the like can also be used. At this time, an emulsifier and salts can be added as necessary. Concentration may be performed by any method such as concentration under reduced pressure, concentration by heating, or concentration using a filtration membrane, but it is preferable to perform concentration under reduced pressure in the range of 20 ° C to 60 ° C. For the concentration under reduced pressure, a general evaporator apparatus, “Evapol” manufactured by Okawara Seisakusho, “Wall Wetter” manufactured by Kansai Chemical Machinery Co., Ltd., or the like can be used.

  The GABA-containing composition obtained by the method of the present invention contains 0.001 to 99% by mass of GABA, and can provide a composition having an optimum content according to the purpose of use. 0.005 mass% to 50 mass% can be prepared.

In the present invention, GABA and amino acid contents are values determined by the following method. That is, it measured on the following conditions by the high performance liquid chromatography method (HPLC method), and detected using the fluorescence detector.
HPLC: Shimadzu Corporation LC-9A
Column: Shim-pack ISC-07 / S1504
Mobile phase: 0.2 N sodium citrate buffer (pH 2.2)
Flow rate: 0.3 ml / min Temperature: 55 ° C
Reaction solution: ortho-phthalaldehyde Detection wavelength: excitation wavelength 348 nm, fluorescence wavelength 450 nm
The form of the GABA-containing composition obtained by the method of the present invention is not limited as long as the effects of the present invention are not impaired, and examples thereof include aqueous solutions, creams, suspensions, gels, powders, tablets, and capsules. . Among these, aqueous solutions and powders are particularly preferable. The aqueous solution preferably contains 0.01 to 70% by mass of solid content, and may be produced from asparagus itself, or may be diluted and concentrated. The powder may be directly powdered from a liquid composition produced from asparagus, or may be powdered by adding an excipient such as dextrin or lactose. The powdering method is not particularly limited, but pulverizers such as mortars, blenders, feather mills, hammer mills, power mills, mill mixers, etc. may be used after drying using freeze drying, spray drying, vacuum drying or the like. What is necessary is just to grind using. Further, creams, tablets, gels and the like may be produced from these aqueous solutions and powders by operations such as emulsification, tableting and gelation. In addition, the GABA-containing composition obtained by the method of the present invention may be seasoned with sugars such as sugar, fructose, glucose, oligosaccharides, honey and the like, salts such as salt and bittern, dashi, ajinomoto and amino acids. .

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, the GABA and amino acid contents in this example were measured by the methods described above.

Example 1
It cut | disconnected in the position of 25 cm and 30 cm from the tip of a green asparagus young shoot, 100 ml of water was introduce | transduced into the part (root part) between them, and it crushed with the mixer. Extraction was performed at 50 ° C. for 16 hours using a shaking incubator, and the obtained treatment liquid was subjected to suction filtration using filter paper (ADVANTEC Toyo No. 5C) using diatomaceous earth as a filter aid. The obtained extract was 183 g and yellowish green. Table 1 shows the contents of GABA and amino acids.

Example 2
It cut | disconnected in the position of 25 cm and 30 cm from the tip of a green asparagus young shoot, 100 ml of water was introduce | transduced into the part (root part) between them, and it crushed with the mixer. This was shaken at 25 ° C. for 24 hours using a shaking incubator, and GABA enrichment treatment was performed. The obtained treatment liquid was subjected to suction filtration using filter paper (ADVANTEC Toyo No. 5C) using diatomaceous earth as a filter aid to obtain 180 g of a yellow-green composition. Table 1 shows the contents of GABA and amino acids.

Example 3
It cut | disconnected in the position of 25 cm and 30 cm from the tip of a green asparagus young stalk, 100 ml of water was introduce | transduced into 100 g of the part (root part) which exists in the meantime, and it crushed with the mixer. To this was added 5 g of sodium glutamate and 0.1 g of pyridoxal phosphate, and the mixture was shaken for 24 hours at 25 ° C. using a shaking incubator to enrich the GABA to obtain 182 g of a yellow-green composition. Table 1 shows the contents of GABA and amino acids.

Example 4
Cut at 25cm and 30cm from the tip of the green asparagus young shoot, and 85g of the portion (root portion) existing between them, and the green asparagus young shoot bent, slender, discolored, the opening of the tip, etc. The young shoots 15 g were mixed, 100 ml of water was introduced, and crushed with a mixer. Extraction was performed at 50 ° C. for 16 hours using a shaking incubator, and the obtained treatment liquid was subjected to suction filtration using filter paper (ADVANTEC Toyo No. 5C) using diatomaceous earth as a filter aid. The obtained extract was 181 g and yellowish green. Table 1 shows the contents of GABA and amino acids.

Comparative Example 1
100 ml of water was introduced into 100 g of a green asparagus young shoot (parts cut to a length of 25 cm from the tip) and crushed with a mixer. Extraction was performed at 50 ° C. for 16 hours using a shaking incubator, and the obtained treatment liquid was subjected to suction filtration using filter paper (ADVANTEC Toyo No. 5C) using diatomaceous earth as a filter aid. The obtained extract was 179 g and yellowish green. Table 1 shows the contents of GABA and amino acids. The amount of GABA recovered was lower than that obtained in the same extraction conditions using a portion of 25-30 cm from the tip (Example 1).

Claims (1)

In a method for obtaining a γ-aminobutyric acid-containing composition by treating asparagus, the portion that is 25 cm or more away from the tip of the asparagus young shoot is used as asparagus at least 50% by mass. A method for producing the composition.