JP4592668B2 - Sheet-like food composition and method for improving oral hygiene - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention includes a hyaluronic acid and / or a salt thereof to improve the feel of the tongue surface and to effectively maintain an oral hygiene improving component, and by using the same. The present invention relates to a method for improving oral hygiene.

  Hyaluronic acid and / or a salt thereof is a substance that is rich in hydrophilicity in terms of molecular structure and excellent in water retention ability. Applying that action to the skin surface, it is expected to retain moisture and prevent transpiration, and is incorporated into many cosmetics. In addition, it is applied to many medical applications such as an eyeball shape-retaining agent in ophthalmic surgery or as a joint function improving agent. The present applicant discovered a skin improvement effect by eating hyaluronic acid and / or a salt thereof, applied for a patent (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-229808), and put on the market many foods containing the substance. .

  On the other hand, as for sheet-like foods, products containing mint and the like are marketed particularly for the purpose of enhancing the refreshing feeling in the oral cavity. As a sheet food composition technique, JP-A-10-179045 (Patent Document 1) discloses blending water-soluble polysaccharides such as pullulan, gelatin, gum and cellulose as a binder. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-222663 (Patent Document 2) discloses a technique for applying a water-soluble polymer such as gelatin, carrageenan, gum, processed starch, proteins, etc. on a film support and attaching a supplement component. US Pat. No. 5,948,430 (Patent Document 3) discloses a technique using a water-soluble polymer such as a cellulose derivative. However, in any document, there is no description of a technique for blending hyaluronic acid and / or a salt thereof, or a method for improving the feel of the tongue surface and effectively releasing oral hygiene improver. Absent.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-179045 JP 2004-222663 A United State Patent 5948430

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide hyaluronic acid and / or a salt thereof to improve the feel on the surface of the tongue and effectively maintain the oral hygiene improving component, and the same. The present invention provides a method for improving oral hygiene by using.

  As a result of intensive studies to achieve the above object, the present inventor unexpectedly found that when using a hyaluronic acid and / or a salt thereof in the preparation of a sheet food composition, It was found that the surface of the tongue was improved and the oral hygiene improving component was effectively maintained, and the present invention was finally completed.

That is, the present invention
(1) A sheet-like food composition containing hyaluronic acid and / or a salt thereof,
(2) The sheet-like food composition according to (1), wherein a content of the hyaluronic acid and / or a salt thereof is 0.01 to 20% with respect to a product,
(3) A sheet-like food composition according to (1) or (2), comprising one or more selected from a fragrance containing menthol, polyphenol, xylitol, and cyclodextrin,
(4) By adding hyaluronic acid and / or a salt thereof to a sheet-like food composition containing one or more selected from a menthol-containing fragrance, polyphenol, xylitol, and cyclodextrin, A sustained release in the oral cavity to maintain the physiological effect of the substance,
It is.

  Hyaluronic acid is a useful material for medical use and food use. According to the present invention, new demand for hyaluronic acid can be expanded. In addition, the present invention can spread an effective method for improving oral hygiene.

  Hereinafter, the sheet-like food composition of the present invention will be described in detail. In the present invention, “%” means “mass%” and “part” means “part by mass”.

  The sheet-like food composition of the present invention is a food composition made into a sheet or film containing hyaluronic acid and / or a salt thereof. Because it is in the form of a sheet or film, it can be placed on the tongue when ingested, so that it can be softened or melted without chewing, so that the contained hyaluronic acid and / or salt thereof can be absorbed into the tongue or oral cavity. It can be expected that the surface of the tongue or the oral cavity will have a moist feel peculiar to hyaluronic acid. In addition, due to the physical properties unique to hyaluronic acid and / or its salts, the time for staying on the surface of the tongue or oral cavity is maintained, which is effective in maintaining a moist feel. Furthermore, hyaluron is blended into the sheet-shaped food composition of the present invention by blending one or more selected from substances that are useful in oral hygiene, such as a fragrance containing menthol, polyphenol, xylitol, and cyclodextrin. Due to the physical properties unique to the acid, the substance retains the time to stay on the tongue surface or in the oral cavity and is gradually released, so that the physiological effect of the substance can be maintained.

  The size of the sheet-like food composition of the present invention is not particularly specified, but the final form prepared to be eaten is a size that can be eaten by a bite, specifically 1 cm square or more. It is preferably 5 cm square or less, and more preferably 1.5 cm square or more and 3 cm square or less in consideration of being placed on the tongue. If it is larger than this, it is necessary to fold when eating, and the above effect may not be sufficiently expected. If it is smaller than this, hyaluronic acid and / or a salt thereof or an active ingredient may not be sufficiently blended. Although the thickness is not particularly defined, it is 1000 μm or less, preferably 200 μm or less, more preferably 100 μm or less, which can be said to be a sheet shape. If it is thicker than this, it takes time to soften and melt on the tongue surface, and there are cases where the effect of the present invention cannot be expected immediately after eating.

  The hyaluronic acid and / or salt thereof to be blended in the sheet-like food composition of the present invention is a high molecular compound classified into a polysaccharide having disaccharides of glucuronic acid and N-acetylglucosamine as repeating structural units and / or its Salt. When the average molecular weight of hyaluronic acid is too small, it is difficult to obtain the effects of the invention, and when it is too large, it takes time to soften and melt on the tongue surface when eaten, so preferably 1 to 2 million, more preferably 1 to 1.5 million, particularly preferably 1 to 1.2 million.

  The content of hyaluronic acid and / or a salt thereof blended in the sheet-like food composition of the present invention is preferably 0.01 to 20% based on the product. 0.1 to 10% is more preferable, and 0.5 to 10% is more preferable. If it is less than this, the effect of hyaluronic acid may not be exhibited. If it is more than this, the viscosity becomes high and the texture at the time of eating may be impaired. The proper blending amount is affected by the molecular weight of hyaluronic acid. If it is a low molecular weight hyaluronic acid and / or a salt thereof, a relatively high content can be blended. In the case of a polymer, the effect of hyaluronic acid may be exhibited even with a relatively low content.

  The average molecular weight of hyaluronic acid used in the present invention is defined as a value determined by the following method.

  Measure the specific viscosity at 30.0 ± 0.1 ° C (formula (1)) according to the viscosity measurement method of the Japanese Pharmacopoeia (14th revision) general test method (Method 1 Capillary Viscosity Measurement Method). The reduced viscosity is calculated (formula (2)). A graph is drawn with the reduced viscosity on the vertical axis and the concentration (g / 100 ml) on the horizontal axis, and the intrinsic viscosity is determined from the intersection of the straight line connecting the points and the vertical axis. The intrinsic viscosity obtained here is substituted into Laurent's formula (formula (3)) to calculate the average molecular weight.

  Examples of the salt of hyaluronic acid include sodium salt, potassium salt, calcium salt, zinc salt, magnesium salt, ammonium salt and the like. The salt of hyaluronic acid can be produced by a known method.

  The hyaluronic acid used in the present invention can be a commercially available product, but can also be produced according to the following production methods 1 to 3.

<Manufacturing method 1 (extraction from chicken crown)>
The chicken crown is heat-treated in hot water, and after heating, the chicken crown is made into a paste. The pasted chicken crown is acid-treated or alkali-treated to reduce the molecular weight of hyaluronic acid and adjust the molecular weight to a desired level. Protease is added to the raw material of which molecular weight is adjusted, and protease treatment is performed. Hyaluronic acid is fractionated from the obtained protease-treated product to obtain crude hyaluronic acid, and then the hyaluronic acid having a purity of 90% or more and an average molecular weight of 600,000 to 1,200,000 is obtained by purifying the hyaluronic acid. .

  Here, the fractionation and purification of hyaluronic acid can be performed according to a conventional method. For example, first, the protease-treated raw material is filtered to remove solids to obtain a filtrate containing crude hyaluronic acid. Then, ethanol is added to the obtained filtrate to precipitate hyaluronic acid, and the precipitate is collected. Thereafter, hydrous ethanol having an ethanol concentration of about 80 to 95% by volume is added to the precipitate, washed with a homogenizer, and the precipitate is collected. Hyaluronic acid used in the present invention can be obtained by repeating this washing with hydrous ethanol about 2 to 10 times and drying the collected precipitate.

<Production Method 2 (Microbial Fermentation Method)>
Activated charcoal is added to the culture solution of the hyaluronic acid producing Streptococcus genus (Streptococcus Zooepidemicus), followed by deodorization and decolorization treatment, followed by filtration treatment. Ethanol is added to the obtained filtrate to precipitate hyaluronic acid, and the precipitate is collected. Thereafter, hydrous ethanol having an ethanol concentration of about 80 to 95% by volume is added to the precipitate, washed with a homogenizer, and the precipitate is collected. Hyaluronic acid (average molecular weight of 200 to 600,000) that can be used in the present invention can be obtained by repeating the washing with hydrous ethanol about 2 to 10 times and drying the collected precipitate.

<Production Method 3 (Production of Hyaluronic Acid)>
The hyaluronic acid produced by the aforementioned production method 1 is redissolved in water to prepare a 2% by mass aqueous solution of hyaluronic acid. Hydrochloric acid is added to this aqueous solution so that the concentration after addition is 4% by mass. The resulting mixture is stirred at 50 ° C. for 1-2 hours and neutralized with an aqueous sodium hydroxide solution. After neutralization, ethanol is added to the reaction solution to precipitate hyaluronic acid, and the precipitate is collected. Thereafter, hydrous ethanol having an ethanol concentration of about 80 to 95% by volume is added to the precipitate, washed with a homogenizer, and the precipitate is collected. Hyaluronic acid (average molecular weight 2 to 200,000) that can be used in the present invention can be obtained by repeating the washing with hydrous ethanol about 2 to 10 times and drying the collected precipitate.

  In addition, the purity of the hyaluronic acid used in the present invention may be a level that can be used in foods, and preferably 90% or more. The purity is defined as a value obtained by removing impurities other than hyaluronic acid from 100% in terms of dry matter. Here, examples of the impurities include protein degradation products, fat (crude fat), chondroitin sulfate, and the like.

  Among the raw materials used in the sheet-like food composition of the present invention, starch obtained from natural products such as corn, potato, rice, tapioca as a base material, or esterified by acting acetic anhydride and adipic anhydride on these starches Acetylated adipic acid cross-linked starch, acetylated phosphoric acid cross-linked starch that reacts with phosphorus oxychloride or sodium trimetaphosphate on starch and acetic anhydride or vinyl acetate on the starch, sodium hypochlorite and acetic anhydride on starch Acetylated oxidized starch that is esterified by the action of starch, sodium octenyl succinate that is esterified by the action of octenyl succinic anhydride on starch, starch acetate that is esterified by the action of acetic anhydride or vinyl acetate on starch, hypoacetic acid on starch Oxidized starch that causes sodium chlorate to act, and propylene oxide to act on starch Hydroxypropyl starch to be etherified, etherified by allowing propylene oxide to act on starch, and further hydroxypropylated phosphate cross-linked starch to be esterified by acting phosphorous oxychloride or sodium trimetaphosphate, acting phosphorous oxychloride or sodium trimetaphosphate on starch And then phosphoric acid monoesterified phosphoric acid cross-linked starch, which is esterified by the action of orthophosphoric acid or its potassium salt, sodium salt, sodium tripolyphosphate, and orthophosphoric acid or its potassium salt, sodium salt, sodium tripolyphosphate. Phosphorylated starch that acts and esterifies, modified starch such as phosphoric acid cross-linked starch that acts on starch by phosphoric oxychloride or sodium trimetaphosphate, carrageenan, pectin, xanthan gum, guar gum Tamarind gum, sodium alginate, gellan gum, can be used thickening polysaccharides such as locust bean gum, gelatin, collagen, casein, gluten, soy protein isolate, egg proteins, zein and the like proteins, or degradation products thereof or the like.

  In addition, sweeteners such as sucralose, glycerin, fragrances, colorants, emulsifiers such as lecithin, stabilizers, acidulants such as citric acid, pH adjusters, and other additives that can be used in foods, if necessary Auxiliaries can be used.

  For example, extracts from citrus fruits such as grapefruit and citrus, herbal extracts such as rose fragrances, chamomile, lavender and lemongrass, and materials that have a calming effect such as theanine and foods that contain a large amount thereof can be blended. . Thereby, the sheet-like food composition which provides a relaxation effect can be obtained.

  Thus, by selecting and blending a food material having a physiological effect, a sheet-like food composition according to the purpose can be prepared.

  Furthermore, in order to improve the effectiveness of the product of the present invention, a component contributing to oral hygiene can be blended. For example, a fragrance containing menthol can be blended to impart a refreshing feeling or a refreshing stimulus. Moreover, polyphenol can be mix | blended in anticipation of the bacteriostatic effect in an oral cavity. By adding xylitol, dental caries resistance can be imparted. By blending cyclodextrin, a bad breath prevention effect can be expected. Since these components are materials that can be expected to have physiological effects useful for oral hygiene, they can be blended alone or in combination of two or more materials.

  The fragrance containing menthol used in the present invention refers to a food material containing menthol to such an extent that a unique refreshing feeling can be expected. Menthol is a cyclic monoterpene and alcohol, which are essential oil components contained in plants belonging to the same genus such as Labiatae or mint.

  The polyphenol used in the present invention is a general term for plant components having a plurality of phenolic hydroxy groups in the molecule. The types of polyphenols include flavonoids such as tea catechins and anthocyanins, phenolic acids such as chlorogenic acid contained in coffee, ellagic acid contained in strawberries, lignans contained in sesame such as sesamin, curcumin contained in turmeric, parsley Coumarins and the like contained in The physiological effects of polyphenols are known to be antioxidant and whitening. In particular, flavonoids represented by tea catechin have a bacteriostatic action and are highly useful in terms of oral hygiene.

  Xylitol used in the present invention is a kind of sugar alcohol synthesized from xylose, and is a natural sweetener produced from birch and oak. It is known to have anti-cariogenic properties because there is almost no acid production by bacteria in the oral cavity and the acid production ability of bacteria incorporating xylitol is reduced.

  The cyclodextrin used in the present invention is a cyclic oligosaccharide obtained by allowing cyclodextrin glucanotransferase to act on starch. A structure in which 6 glucoses are linked in a cyclic manner (α-CD), 7 (β-CD), and 8 (γ-CD) are known. Since the outside of the ring structure is hydrophilic and the inside is oleophilic, for example, inclusion of essential oil components including menthol contributes to the maintenance of the effect of menthol. Moreover, a bad breath prevention effect can be expected by including a component that causes bad breath in the oral cavity.

In addition to the above physiological functional materials, vitamins such as vitamin B group, C, E, etc., egg white lysozyme, egg white hydrolyzate, eggshell membrane hydrolysate, eggshell fine powder, kojic acid, ceramide, Co-enzyme Q ₁₀ etc. Various physiological functional materials can be appropriately blended according to the use.

  Hereinafter, the sheet-like food composition containing hyaluronic acid and / or a salt thereof according to the present invention will be specifically described based on Examples and the like. In addition, this invention is not limited to these.

  The raw materials were mixed according to the formulation shown in Table 1, and water equivalent to twice the total amount was added and mixed homogeneously to obtain a mixed solution of each example. The obtained mixed solution was applied to the surface of a 25 μm polystyrene terephthalate (PET) film laminated on kraft paper, and the coating film was dried and peeled from the PET film to obtain an edible film having a thickness of 50 μm.

  As the hyaluronic acid used as a raw material, one having an average molecular weight of 200,000 obtained by the production method 2 described above was used. The peppermint extract is "Peppermint extract" containing l-menthol, the green tea extract is "Polyphenone" made by Mitsui Norin Co., which contains 40% polyphenol, Xylitol is made by Towa Kasei Co., Ltd. “K-100” (total CD: 97% or more, α-CD: 70% or more) was used.

  When eating about Examples 1-5 among the obtained sheet-like food composition, it was rich in the touch in which the surface of the tongue was coated, and the touch in which the surface of the tongue was smooth and smooth continued. Compared with this, in Comparative Example 1, it immediately dissolved on the tongue, the surface of the tongue was coated, and the feeling of smoothness was poor.

[Test Example 1]
In order to statistically verify the above effect, the food obtained in Example 2 as a hyaluronic acid-containing sheet-like food composition, and the sheet-like food composition of Comparative Example 1 as an example in which hyaluronic acid is not added will be described later. The method was tested.

  The sheet-like food composition obtained in Example 2 and Comparative Example 1 was cut into a 23 mm × 33 mm rectangle to prepare a sample. One sheet-like food composition of Example 2 contains 50 mg of hyaluronic acid. A panel of 16 trained panelists sampled the sheet-like food composition on the surface of the tongue and conducted a questionnaire on its feel. The results shown in Table 2 were obtained.

  From these results, it was found that by blending hyaluronic acid, when the sheet-like food composition was eaten, it was rich in the feeling of coating the surface of the tongue, and it was possible to maintain the smooth feel by staying. It was confirmed by the survey results.

[Test Example 2]
Next, by confirming the change of starch, which is the main component of the sheet-like food composition, a test was conducted on the improvement of the retention property by blending with hyaluronic acid.
First, sandwich a film in gauze, moisten it with 1 mL of distilled water, place it in a funnel, add 3 mL of distilled water so that the gauze is connected, and take it into a test tube. Add 3 mL of distilled water and take into a new test tube. Repeat 20-30 times. Add 1 drop of 0.1 mol / L iodine solution to the collected test tube, and confirm the color derived from starch.
Select the final test tube that can be visually confirmed to have a bluish purple color due to the iodine starch reaction. For example, if the final test tube is n-th, the amount of distilled water required to elute starch from the sheet-like food composition is n × 3 mL, and this large amount means that the substances contained in the sheet-like food composition A large amount of water, that is, saliva, is required for elution, and the retention effect on the tongue is high.

  As a sample, in the formulation of Example 2, only the blending ratio of hyaluronic acid was changed to 0.5%, and Example 6 was changed to 1.0%, and the retention effect was evaluated by the above method. Table 3 shows the result of the test.

  By increasing the blending amount of hyaluronic acid from Table 3, the amount of distilled water required to elute starch from the sheet-like food composition increases, and the retention effect on the tongue of the substance contained in the sheet-like food composition is increased. It is suggested that it tends to improve.

Accordingly, the sheet-like food composition containing the hyaluronic acid and / or salt thereof according to the present invention contains one or more selected from fragrances containing menthol, polyphenols, xylitol, and cyclodextrins. It is possible to maintain the effect by gradually releasing the components into the oral cavity.

Claims (2)

A sheet-like food composition containing one or more selected from hyaluronic acid and / or a salt thereof, and a fragrance containing menthol, polyphenol, xylitol, and cyclodextrin. The sheet-shaped food composition according to claim 1, wherein the content of the hyaluronic acid and / or a salt thereof is 0.01 to 20% based on the product.