JP6900162B2 - Beverages containing activated carbon and alcohol - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a beverage containing activated carbon and an alcohol having 2 or 3 carbon atoms, and more particularly to a beverage having excellent ease of drinking.

The percentage of people who are concerned about bad breath and other odors generated from the body is increasing year by year. Under these circumstances, techniques for reducing or eliminating bad breath have been developed. For example, a deodorant using an ethanol solution containing catechins, vitamins, sugars and enzymes (Patent Document 1), α-cyclodextrin, a water-soluble plant extract, and a composition containing a plant aromatic component. A beverage containing reduced mouth odor (Patent Document 2) is known.

Activated carbon is used as an adsorbent because it has a large specific surface area and high adsorptive capacity. On the other hand, activated carbon has been avoided for oral administration in terms of graininess, taste and color. Therefore, the oral administration is not positively performed, and there are only limited use cases such as a renal disease treatment or preventive agent (Patent Document 3) that adsorbs a toxic substance.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-35439 JP-A-2009-195185 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-143736

The present inventors have found that activated carbon can be used in beverages as a substance for reducing bad breath. However, in the process of examining the use of activated carbon in beverages, the present inventors have noticed that beverages containing activated carbon are not easy to drink. In particular, the present inventors have noticed that the dispersibility of activated carbon is not good in a beverage, and that the beverage feels uncomfortable as a throat.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a beverage containing activated carbon, which is excellent in ease of drinking from the viewpoint of dispersibility of activated carbon in the beverage and / or from the viewpoint of throatiness when drinking the beverage. ..

As a result of diligent studies to solve the above problems, the present inventors have found that the dispersibility of activated carbon in a beverage is improved by blending alcohol having 2 or 3 carbon atoms in combination with activated carbon. It was. The present inventors have also found that alcohol having 2 or 3 carbon atoms has an effect of improving the throatiness of beverages containing activated carbon. As a result, the present inventors have found that the use of alcohol having 2 or 3 carbon atoms improves the drinkability of beverages containing activated carbon. Based on such findings, the present inventors have completed the present invention.

The present invention includes, but is not limited to:
(1) A beverage containing activated carbon and an alcohol having 2 or 3 carbon atoms.
(2) The beverage according to (1), wherein the content of activated carbon is 0.01 w / v% or more.
(3) The beverage according to (2), wherein the content of activated carbon is 0.2 to 5 w / v%.
(4) The beverage according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the content of the alcohol having 2 or 3 carbon atoms is 0.001 to 2 v / v%.
(5) The beverage according to any one of (1) to (4), which is a packaged beverage.
(6) The method for improving the ease of drinking of a beverage containing activated carbon, which comprises a step of blending an alcohol having 2 or 3 carbon atoms into the beverage.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an activated carbon-containing beverage having excellent ease of drinking. Here, the term "easy to drink" as used herein means that the beverage (specifically, an ingredient contained in the beverage) is less likely to get caught in the throat when drinking the beverage, and the "easy to drink". "Sa" is evaluated by either the dispersibility of activated carbon in the beverage, or the sensation of throat when actually drinking the beverage, or both. Therefore, the beverage of the present invention is characterized in that either or both of the dispersibility of the activated carbon in the beverage and the sensation of throatiness are good. By increasing the ease of drinking the beverage, it is expected that activated carbon can be ingested comfortably and that the effects of activated carbon such as suppression of bad breath are fully exhibited.

Further, according to the present invention, the dispersibility of the activated carbon in the beverage is improved, so that the sedimentation of the activated carbon in the beverage can be suppressed. As a result, it is possible to eliminate the need for stirring the beverage before drinking and prevent the activated carbon from remaining in the container after drinking. Further, since the sedimentation of the activated carbon is suppressed and the necessary and sufficient amount of the activated carbon can be ingested, it is expected that the effect of the activated carbon such as the suppression of bad breath is further enhanced.

One aspect of the present invention is a beverage containing activated carbon and an alcohol having 2 or 3 carbon atoms.

(Activated carbon)
Activated carbon is a porous, carbon-based substance produced from a carbon substance such as coconut shell through an activation reaction at a high temperature.

The form of the activated carbon used in the present invention is not limited, but it is preferably powdered activated carbon in order to facilitate its intake. The particle size of the powdered activated carbon can be measured by a laser diffraction type particle size distribution measuring device, but the particle size is preferably 0.1 to 30 μm for 90% or more of all the particles, and does not cause a sense of discomfort when ingested. Therefore, it is more preferable that the 50% particle size is 7 μm or less (half of all particles have a particle size of 7 μm or less).

Further, the activated carbon powder used for the purpose of the present invention preferably has a specific surface area (m ² / g) per weight of 500 or more, preferably 1000 or more, from the viewpoint of more efficiently adsorbing odorous components. More preferred. From the same viewpoint, the average pore diameter is preferably 0.3 to 10 nm, preferably 0.5 to 2.5 nm. The specific surface area and average pore diameter can be measured by an automatic specific surface area / pore distribution measuring device (Shimadzu Corporation, Tristar II-3020).

The origin of the activated carbon used in the present invention is not particularly limited, and for example, it can be selected from coconut shell-derived activated carbon, wood-derived activated carbon, bamboo-derived activated carbon, rice husk-derived activated carbon, and the like. Of these, rice husk-derived activated carbon, coconut shell-derived activated carbon, or bamboo-derived activated carbon is preferable. Only one type of activated carbon may be used, or two or more types may be used in combination.

The content of activated carbon in the beverage of the present invention is not particularly limited, but is, for example, 0.01 w / v% or more, preferably 0.2 w / v% or more, more preferably 0.5 w / v% or more, still more preferable. Is 1 w / v% or more. When the content of activated carbon is 0.01 w / v% or more, it tends to make the throat worse when drinking a beverage. The upper limit of the content of activated carbon in the beverage of the present invention is not particularly limited, but is, for example, 5 w / v% or less, preferably 4 w / v% or less, more preferably 3 w / v% or less, and further. It is preferably 2.5 w / v%. When the content exceeds 5 w / v%, the taste and texture (texture) of the activated carbon itself in the beverage tends to deteriorate. The content of activated carbon in the beverage of the present invention is typically 0.01 to 5 w / v%, preferably 0.2 to 4 w / v%, more preferably 0.5 to 3 w / v%, even more preferably. Is 1 to 2.5 w / v%.

(alcohol)
The beverage of the present invention contains an alcohol having 2 or 3 carbon atoms. Examples of the alcohol having 2 or 3 carbon atoms used in the present invention include, but are not limited to, ethanol, propanol, isopropanol, glycerin, propylene glycol and the like. In the beverage of the present invention, only one alcohol having 2 or 3 carbon atoms may be used alone, or two or more alcohols may be used in combination. Ethanol is preferable as the alcohol having 2 or 3 carbon atoms.

The content of alcohol having 2 or 3 carbon atoms in the beverage of the present invention is, for example, 0.001 to 2 v / v%. If the content is less than 0.001 v / v%, the ease of drinking of the beverage may not be sufficiently improved, while if the content exceeds 2 v / v%, the alcohol may be used. The resulting off-flavor can impair the taste of the beverage. When two or more alcohols are used in the beverage of the present invention, the content of the above alcohols is defined as the total content thereof. The content of the alcohol having 2 or 3 carbon atoms in the beverage of the present invention is preferably 0.01 to 1.5 v / v%, more preferably 0.05 to 1 v / v%, and even more preferably. It is 0.1 to 0.5 v / v%.

The content of alcohol having 2 or 3 carbon atoms in the beverage of the present invention can be measured by a method known to those skilled in the art. For example, the content of the alcohol can be measured by using a spectroscopic method such as an HPLC method, an LC-MS method, a GC-MS method, an LC method, a GC method, or a near infrared method. More specifically, the beverage can be filtered using a filter having a pore size corresponding to the particle size of the activated carbon, and the content of the alcohol can be measured using the filtrate.

The ratio of the volume of alcohol having 2 or 3 carbon atoms to the weight of the activated carbon contained in the beverage of the present invention (alcohol / activated carbon having 2 or 3 carbon atoms, v / w) is, for example, 0.0001 to 150. , It is preferably 0.001 to 100, and more preferably 0.01 to 10, 0.05 to 5, 0.1 to 5, or 0.1 to 1. When the ratio of both is within the above range, the ease of drinking the beverage can be improved particularly effectively.

(Heat treatment)
The beverage of the present invention may be a heat-treated beverage. The heating temperature in the heat treatment is 60 ° C. or higher, preferably 65 ° C. or higher, more preferably 80 ° C. or higher, and more preferably 90 ° C. or higher. Although there is no upper limit of the heating temperature in relation to the effect of the present invention, the heating temperature is preferably 140 ° C. or lower. The heating temperature is more preferably less than 100 ° C. because the treatment becomes difficult when the water evaporates significantly, and the pressure becomes high when the water is heated at 100 ° C. or higher. In addition, the temperature described about the heat treatment in this specification means a liquid temperature.

The heating time in the heat treatment is a condition that satisfies the formula (1) Y ≧ −0.24X + 66 (where X> 0 and Y> 60) when the heating time (minutes) is X and the heating temperature (° C.) is Y. Anything is acceptable, but it is preferably 1 minute or longer. There is no upper limit for the heating time, but the heating time is preferably 1 hour or less, more preferably less than 30 minutes, more preferably 15 minutes or less.

(Other ingredients)
In addition to the above-mentioned various ingredients, the beverage of the present invention contains flavors, antioxidants, preservatives, pH adjusters, quality stabilizers and the like used in ordinary beverages as long as the effects of the present invention are not impaired. can do.

(Beverage)
The type of the beverage of the present invention is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include non-alcoholic beverages such as soft drinks and alcoholic beverages. The beverage of the present invention may or may not contain carbon dioxide. Examples of beverages that do not contain carbon dioxide include coffee beverages, green tea, oolong tea, black tea, blended tea, grain tea, herbal tea, mate tea, barley tea, and other tea beverages.

Here, the coffee beverage refers to a beverage product produced by using coffee as a raw material and undergoing a heat sterilization process. The type of product is not particularly limited, but mainly includes "coffee", "coffee beverage", and "soft drink with coffee", which are defined in the "Fair Competition Code for Labeling of Coffee Beverages" approved in 1977. .. In addition, even among beverages made from coffee, those with a milk solid content of 3.0% by weight or more are treated as "milk beverages" under the application of the "Fair Competition Code for Labeling of Drinking Milk". Also, in the present specification, it is a coffee beverage.

Further, the tea beverage is typically a tea beverage produced using a tea raw material containing mainly caffeine such as leaves and stems of a tea tree (scientific name: Camellia sinensis), and is, for example, green tea, black tea, oolong tea. , And mate tea, but blended tea, grain tea, herb tea, barley tea and the like are also suitable tea beverages.

Other aspects of the beverage of the present invention that do not contain carbon dioxide include, but are not limited to, beverages that are not coffee beverages, beverages that are not tea beverages, such as fruit juice beverages, milk beverages, sports drinks, and the like.

Examples of beverages containing carbon dioxide include, but are not limited to, cola, diet cola, ginger ale, cider, and carbonated water imparted with fruit juice flavor.

The pH of the beverage of the present invention is not particularly limited, but may be 3.0 to 8.0, 3.0 or more and less than 4.5, or 4.5 to 7.0. When the beverage of the present invention is an acidic beverage, the pH of the beverage of the present invention is typically 3.0 or more and less than 4.5. When the beverage of the present invention is a neutral beverage, the pH of the beverage of the present invention is typically 4.5-7.0.

When the beverage of the present invention is an acidic beverage, the content of activated carbon in the beverage is not particularly limited, but is, for example, 0.01 to 5 w / v%, preferably 0.2 to 4 w / v%, and more preferably 0. .5 to 3 w / v%, more preferably 1 to 2.5 w / v%. When the beverage of the present invention is a neutral beverage, the content of activated carbon in the beverage is not particularly limited, but is, for example, 0.01 to 5 w / v%, preferably 0.2 to 4 w / v%. It is preferably 0.5 to 3 w / v%, more preferably 1 to 2.5 w / v%.

The beverage of the present invention is preferably provided in the form of a container. The form of the container includes, but is not limited to, a metal container such as a can, a PET bottle, a paper pack, a bottle, a pouch, and the like. The beverage of the present invention may be provided in the form of an easily soluble capsule in which the capsule dissolves immediately after ingestion and the internal solution is rapidly released, which can be considered as a kind of packaged beverage.

The volume of the beverage filled in the container may be a single intake amount, or may be filled in a plurality of times, for example, 10 times. In such a case, at the time of ingestion, the intake amount can be adjusted by arbitrarily changing the volume according to the degree of the effect of activated carbon such as halitosis suppression.

The beverage of the present invention can be produced by appropriately blending the above-mentioned components. In addition, the beverage of the present invention is made into a packaged beverage after undergoing steps such as sterilization as necessary. For example, a sterilized packaged beverage can be produced by a method of filling a container with a beverage and then performing heat sterilization or the like, or a method of sterilizing the beverage and then filling the container in a sterile environment.

(How to improve the ease of drinking)
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of improving the drinkability of a beverage containing activated carbon. The method of the present invention is a method for improving the ease of drinking of a beverage containing activated carbon, which comprises a step of blending an alcohol having 2 or 3 carbon atoms into the beverage.

In the method of the present invention, the activated carbon and the alcohol having 2 or 3 carbon atoms can be blended in the beverage so that the content in the beverage is the amount shown above, although not particularly limited. The blending order of the activated carbon and the alcohol is not particularly limited, and the activated carbon may be blended first, then the alcohol may be blended, or vice versa, or the activated carbon and the alcohol may be blended at the same time. May be done. In addition, the method of the present invention can also include a step of blending the above-mentioned components and materials and a step of adjusting their contents. In the method of the present invention, various factors such as the type of the component in the beverage and its content are as described above for the beverage of the present invention, or are obvious from them.

(Numerical range)
For the sake of clarity, the numerical range represented by the lower and upper limits in the present specification, that is, "lower limit to upper limit" includes those lower limit and upper limit. For example, the range represented by "1-2" includes 1 and 2.

The present invention will be described below based on examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

Bamboo-derived powdered activated carbon (90% or more of the total particles have a particle size of 0.1 to 30 μm) and ethanol are added to water so as to have the contents shown in the table below, and a beverage sample (capacity 100 mL) is added. Prepared. The pH of various beverage samples was adjusted using citric acid and trisodium citrate, and the pH of prototypes 1 to 12 was set to 6.0, and the pH of prototypes 13 to 15 was set to 3.5. All beverage samples were heat treated at 85 ° C. for 10 minutes.

The dispersibility of activated carbon was visually evaluated for beverage samples. The dispersibility of the activated carbon was evaluated based on the amount of activated carbon adhering to the bottom surface of the container when the beverage sample that had been allowed to stand was turned upside down. The dispersibility of activated carbon was evaluated by trained panelists on a 4-point scale with a score of 0 to 3 based on the following criteria.
Score 0: Activated carbon has settled on the bottom of the container and does not disperse just by shaking the container lightly.
Score 1: Compared with score 0, the amount of activated carbon precipitated on the bottom of the container was slightly smaller.
Score 2: Compared with score 0, the amount of activated carbon settled on the bottom surface of the container was reduced.
Score 3: Compared with score 0, the amount of activated carbon settled on the bottom surface of the container was very small.

In addition, a sensory evaluation of the throat was performed on the beverage sample. Beverage ease of drinking was assessed by trained panelists on a three-point scale based on the following criteria:
◯: Good throat.
Δ: Slightly smooth throat.
×: I have a bad throat.

The table below shows the evaluation results for the dispersibility and smoothness of activated carbon.

As shown in Table 1, prototypes 2, 8, 10, 11 and 12 showed the best results in both dispersibility score and sensory score due to the addition of ethanol. Although no results are shown, dispersibility evaluation and sensory evaluation were performed on those prepared with the same amount of activated carbon and ethanol and only pH of 3.5 as in these samples, and all of them were the same evaluation.

Comparing prototypes 5, 6 and 9 with prototypes 13, 14 and 15, respectively, it was found that the dispersibility and sensory evaluation scores were improved in prototypes 5 and 9, respectively.

Claims (3)

Containing activated carbon and ethanol, a 2 w / v% content 0.01 of activated carbon, the content of ethanol is 0.01 ~1v / v% der is, the volume of ethanol on the weight of the activated carbon A heat-treated packaged beverage having a ratio (ethanol / activated carbon, v / w) of 0.05 to 150. pH is 3.0 to 8.0, beverage according to claim 1. A method for improving the ease of drinking of a heat-treated packaged beverage containing activated carbon, which is a step of adding ethanol to the beverage, a step of adjusting the content of activated carbon to 0.01 to 2 w / v%, and the like. And the step of adjusting the content of ethanol to 0.01 to 1 v / v% , and the step of adjusting the ratio of the volume of ethanol to the weight of activated carbon (ethanol / activated carbon, v / w) to 0.05 to 150. , Said method.