JP7067961B2 - Bifidobacterium growth promoter - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a bifidobacteria growth promoter.

Bifidobacterium is a good bacterium that is abundant in the human intestine and is one of the preferred species in the intestinal flora. Bifidobacterium uses sugar and dietary fiber in the intestine to produce organic acids such as lactic acid, acetic acid, and butyric acid, and suppresses the growth of bad bacteria to normalize the intestinal flora. Are known. In addition, it has been reported that it exerts a regulatory function for intestinal immunity and that the number of bifidobacteria decreases under the influence of aging, eating habits, and stress, so that humans can maintain their health. It is important to maintain the predominance of bifidobacteria.

As compounds and materials that promote the growth of bifidobacteria, many have been known for a long time, such as fructo-oligosaccharides, galactooligosaccharides, isomaltooligosaccharides, cyclodextrins, konjak mannan, soy milk, etc. In addition to these, for example, broccoli, Bifidobacterium, Kale, Nazuna, Suzushiro, Hatazao, Tagara, Taisei, Obata Netsukibana, Yamagarashi, Oranagarashi, Takana, Karashina, Wasabi, Yuri Wasabi, Hinona, Immediate Bifidobacterium growth promoter (Patent Document 1), sweet basil, oregano containing one or more selected from the group consisting of na, kabu, oila, cabbage, spinach, komatsuna, celery, parsley, lettuce and apple. Bifidobacterium growth promoter (patented) containing one or more selected from the group consisting of lettuce, bitter melon, oyster, kiku, snow-white body vegetable, mizuna, rukkora, okahijiki, scampo, buckwheat, tsurumurasaki and peach. A composition for growing bifidobacteria for growing at least one bifidobacteria selected from Document 2), Bifidobacterium longum, and Bifidobacterium addresscentis. Further, a composition for growing bifidobacteria (Patent Document 3) and the like, which comprises a crushed barley stem and / or a leaf and / or a dry powder thereof, are known.

Under such circumstances, there is a demand for a new material that can promote the growth of bifidobacteria.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-266860 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-333837 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-147990

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel material capable of promoting the growth of bifidobacteria.

As a result of diligent studies on the above-mentioned problems, the present inventors have found that processed wakame seaweed products and proteins derived from wakame seaweed promote the growth of bifidobacteria, and based on this finding, the present invention was made. ..

That is, the present invention
(1) A bifidobacteria growth-promoting agent characterized by containing processed wakame seaweed as an active ingredient.
(2) A bifidobacteria growth-promoting agent characterized by containing a protein derived from wakame seaweed as an active ingredient.
(3) A bifidobacteria growth-promoting agent characterized by containing a peptide derived from wakame seaweed as an active ingredient.
(4) The bifidobacteria growth promoter according to any one of (1) to (3) above, wherein the target bifidobacteria is Bifidobacterium longum.
It consists of.

The bifidobacteria growth promoter of the present invention can promote the growth of bifidobacteria.

Wakame seaweed as referred to in the present invention is a seaweed that belongs to the genus Wakame of the family Alaria crassifolia in the order of Kelp. Types of wakame seaweed include wakame seaweed (Undaria pinnatifida), undaria undarioides, and seaweed (U. peterseniana), all of which are preferably used in the present invention. Further, the site of wakame seaweed used in the present invention is not particularly limited, and any of leaves, bud turnips and the like may be used.

The bifidobacteria growth promoter of the present invention contains a processed wakame seaweed product, a protein derived from wakame seaweed, or a peptide derived from wakame seaweed as an active ingredient.

The processed wakame seaweed used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is a processed wakame seaweed and can be ingested as food. Boiled salted wakame seaweed, salted wakame seaweed, desalted wakame seaweed, dietary fiber-removed wakame seaweed and the like can be mentioned. Here, the desalted wakame seaweed is obtained by washing wakame seaweed, dried wakame seaweed, boiled salted wakame seaweed, salted wakame seaweed, etc. with a hydrous ethanol solution to perform desalting treatment. The dietary fiber-removed wakame seaweed is obtained by removing dietary fiber from wakame seaweed, dried wakame seaweed, boiled salted wakame seaweed, salted wakame seaweed, desalted wakame seaweed, and the like. The outline of the method for producing unsalted wakame seaweed and dietary fiber-removed wakame seaweed is shown below.

<Manufacturing method of desalted wakame seaweed>
First, the wakame seaweed is washed with hydrous ethanol having a concentration of 10 to 60% (v / v). The cleaning method is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a method of immersing wakame seaweed in hydrous ethanol and stirring it, a method of treating with ultrasonic waves, and the like. Further, the shape of the wakame seaweed to be washed is not particularly limited, but from the viewpoint of the efficiency of the washing process, those cut into chips are preferable. The cleaning time may be appropriately set according to the cleaning method, the shape of the wakame seaweed, etc. For example, if the method is to immerse the wakame seaweed cut into chips in hydrous ethanol and stir it, it should be 5 to 60 minutes. Can be done. The cleaning temperature may be set to such an extent that it does not affect the outflow of the active ingredient contained in wakame seaweed, and is preferably 0 to 30 ° C., for example. Further, after washing, the operation of washing the filtered wakame seaweed again with hydrous ethanol may be carried out once to three times. Further, after washing, the filtered wakame seaweed may be dried and pulverized by a method known per se.

<Manufacturing method of dietary fiber removal wakame seaweed>
First, water is added to the desalted wakame seaweed and stirred, and the obtained mixture is centrifuged to discard the supernatant and collect the precipitate. The shape of the desalted wakame seaweed is not particularly limited, but from the viewpoint of the efficiency of removing dietary fiber, it is preferably pulverized into powder. The stirring condition can be 80 to 100 ° C. for 5 minutes to 10 hours.
Next, the recovered precipitate is brought into contact with the alkali metal salt. As the alkali metal salt, for example, an alkali metal salt of an organic acid is preferable, and an alkali metal salt of citric acid (for example, sodium citrate, etc.) is more preferable. The amount of the alkali metal salt with respect to the precipitate varies depending on the type of the alkali metal salt and the like, but for example, when trisodium citrate is used, 100 to 3000 parts by mass is preferable with respect to 100 parts by mass of the solid content of the precipitate. Is 200 to 1500 parts by mass. As a contact method, for example, it is preferable to prepare an aqueous solution of an alkali metal salt, add it to the precipitate, and stir. The stirring conditions can be room temperature (0 to 30 ° C.) to 50 ° C. for 2 minutes to 4 hours.
After contacting, the obtained mixture is centrifuged, the supernatant is discarded, and the precipitate is collected, whereby a dietary fiber-removed wakame seaweed is obtained. The obtained dietary fiber-removed wakame seaweed may be dried and pulverized by a method known per se.

In the process of producing a processed wakame seaweed product (for example, wakame seaweed from which dietary fiber has been removed), a water-soluble extract (hereinafter referred to as "water-soluble wakame seaweed extract") may be obtained as a by-product. Since this water-soluble wakame extract does not fully exert its effect as an active ingredient of the bifidobacteria growth promoter, it is not included in the processed wakame product used in the present invention.

The wakame-derived protein used in the present invention (hereinafter, also referred to as “wakame protein”) is not particularly limited as long as it is a protein separated from wakame seaweed. The outline of the method for producing wakame protein is shown below.

<Manufacturing method of wakame protein>
The wakame protein can be produced by separating the protein from wakame seaweed or a processed wakame seaweed product by a protein separation method known per se. As a protein separation method, for example, (1) the tissue is softened by immersing it in a buffer solution having a pH of 3.0 to 5.0, and after elution and removal of saccharides, dyes and the like, the protein is dissolved with an alkali. A method including an acid precipitation step of adding an acid to adjust the pH to 4.5 to 5.0 and recovering as a precipitate, (2) Extracting with an aqueous extractant having a pH higher than the isoelectric point, and the protein extract. Isoelectric point precipitation method, (3) ion exchanger adsorption method, (4) membrane separation method, (5) alginate lyase, etc. The mucilage polysaccharide is removed by treating with the enzyme of the above, centrifuging the supernatant, discarding the supernatant, and collecting the precipitate. The precipitate is washed with ethanol to remove pigments, lipids, etc. A method of separating the protein by removing it can be mentioned. Above all, in the present invention, the method (5) is preferable because the method (5) can be easily carried out and a wakame seaweed protein having a good flavor can be obtained. The wakame seaweed protein separated by the method (5) is insoluble. Insoluble means insoluble in any of water, ethanol and oil.

In the above method for producing wakame seaweed, it is preferable to use unsalted wakame seaweed as a raw material for wakame seaweed because the protein extraction rate is increased and the wakame protein having a reduced odor peculiar to seaweed can be obtained. Further, in the above method for producing wakame protein, it is preferable to remove water-soluble components such as cellulose by treating with an enzyme such as cellulase because the extraction rate of wakame protein increases. The temperature and pH of the enzyme treatment with lyase alginate, cellulase, etc. may be within the range that is generally accepted, but the optimum temperature and pH of the enzyme can shorten the reaction time and the enzyme. Desirable for stability.

Here, the purity of the wakame protein is determined by the Kjeldahl method (edited by the New Food Analysis Method Editorial Committee of the Japan Society for Food Science and Technology, "New Food Analysis Method", Korin, published on November 30, 1996, p.33-38. ), And the total nitrogen content of the sample is measured and multiplied by a coefficient of 6.25 to obtain the protein content.

The peptide derived from wakame seaweed (hereinafter, also referred to as “wakame seaweed peptide”) used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is a peptide obtained by decomposing a wakame seaweed protein, for example. The outline of the method for producing wakame peptide is shown below.

<Manufacturing method of wakame peptide>
The wakame peptide is produced, for example, by separating the wakame protein from a processed product obtained by treating it with a proteolytic enzyme. Examples of the proteolytic enzyme include protease, trypsin, pancreatin, chymotrypsin, pepsin, papain and the like, and protease is preferably used. The amount of the proteolytic enzyme used, the temperature and pH of the treatment with the proteolytic enzyme may be within the range that is generally accepted, but the optimum amount of the enzyme, the optimum temperature and the optimum pH should be used. It is desirable to shorten the reaction time and stabilize the enzyme. The method for separating the peptide from the treated product obtained by the treatment with a proteolytic enzyme is not particularly limited. For example, the treated product is centrifuged, the undegraded protein is removed to obtain a supernatant, and then the peptide is obtained. Examples thereof include a method of treating the supernatant with an ultrafiltration membrane to obtain a peptide having a molecular weight of 10,000 or less.

Here, the wakame peptide obtained by the above method contains a plurality of specific types of dipeptides as described in JP-A-2003-128694, and at least Val-Tyr, Ile-Tyr and Ph- It contains a hydrophobic amino acid such as Tyr-tyrosine.

The bifidus bacterium growth promoter of the present invention may contain the above-mentioned processed wakame product, wakame protein or wakame peptide as it is, or pharmaceutically acceptable additives, food materials, food raw materials, and if necessary, food additives. It is appropriately mixed and manufactured according to a conventional method, for example, as a pharmaceutical product, a non-medicinal product, or a food or drink (including a health food, a food for specified health use, or a food with a functional claim) for the purpose of promoting the growth of Bifidus bacteria. Examples of the drug or quasi-drug include oral forms such as powders, granules, tablets, microcapsules, soft capsules, hard capsules, syrups, and elixirs. The food and drink can take any food form such as a solid food, a creamy or jam-like semi-solid food, a gel-like food, and a beverage. Specific examples thereof include soft drinks, dairy drinks, supplements, cookies, puddings, jelly sweets, candies, drops, chewing gum, chocolate, yogurt, ice cream, margarine, shortening, mayonnaise or dressings.

Examples of additives, food materials, food raw materials or food additives used in the production of the above-mentioned pharmaceuticals, non-pharmaceutical products or foods and drinks include excipients (lactose, malt sugar, dextrin, corn starch, crystalline cellulose, etc.) and slips. Sapants (magnesium stearate, sucrose fatty acid ester, glycerin fatty acid ester, etc.), disintegrants (calcium carboxymethyl cellulose, anhydrous calcium hydrogen phosphate, calcium carbonate, etc.), binders (starch paste solution, hydroxypropyl cellulose solution, Arabic gum) Liquids, etc.), solubilizers (Arabic gum, polysorbate 80, etc.), sweeteners (sugar, fructose, glucose liquid sugar, honey, aspartame, etc.), coloring agents (β-carotene, edible tar pigments, riboflavin, etc.), preservatives (Sorbic acid, methyl paraoxybenzoate, sodium sulfite, etc.), thickeners (sodium alginate, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, sodium polyacrylate, etc.), antioxidants (BHT, BHA, ascorbic acid, tocopherol, etc.), fragrances (hakka) , Strawberry fragrance, etc.), acidulants (citric acid, lactose, DL-apple acid, etc.), seasonings (DL-alanine, 5'-sodium inosinate, L-sodium glutamate, etc.), emulsifiers (glycerin fatty acid ester, sucrose, etc.) Examples include fatty acid esters), pH adjusters (citric acid, trisodium citrate, etc.), vitamins, minerals, amino acids, etc.

When the bifidus bacterium growth promoter of the present invention is used as a drug, quasi-drug or food and drink, in addition to the above-mentioned additives, food materials, food raw materials or food additives, it is pharmacologically or food hygienic. Other acceptable materials may be added and mixed as appropriate by a conventional method. Such things are not particularly limited, and examples thereof include coating agents, absorption promoters, stabilizers, and Chinese herbal medicines (herbal extracts).

The bifidobacteria growth-promoting agent of the present invention has the effect of growing various bifidobacteria inhabiting the human intestinal tract, especially bifidobacteria beneficial to humans, and maintaining and improving the intestinal flora when taken orally. Can be expected. The active ingredient of the bifidobacteria growth promoter of the present invention is derived from wakame seaweed, which is widely eaten as a food, and is highly safe for oral ingestion.

Further, the bifidobacteria growth promoter of the present invention can be added during the production of fermented foods and drinks (for example, yogurt, dairy beverages, etc.) produced by fermentation of bifidobacteria to promote the growth of bifidobacteria during the production process. It can be used for the purpose of promoting fermentation by bifidobacteria. Furthermore, the bifidobacteria growth promoter of the present invention can be used for the purpose of increasing the culture efficiency of bifidobacteria by adding it to the culture medium for bifidobacteria strain culture.

The bifidobacteria species whose growth is promoted by the bifidobacteria growth promoter of the present invention are not particularly limited, and for example, Bifidobacterium longum, Bifidobacterium lactis, and Bifido. Bifidobacterium infantis, Bifidobacterium addresscentis, Bifidobacterium bleve, Bifidobacterium bifidobacterium, Bifidobacterium bifid. Examples thereof include Bifidobacterium longum, preferably Bifidobacterium longum.

The dose of the bifidobacteria growth-promoting agent of the present invention to a living body varies depending on the composition of the bifidobacteria growth-promoting agent, the purpose of administration, the route of administration, etc. It is in the range of 10000 mg, and when the wakame protein is orally administered, it is in the range of 2 to 2000 mg per day for adults, and when the wakame peptide is orally administered, it is in the range of 2 to 2000 mg per adult.

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

[Manufacturing of desalted seaweed]
4000 mL of 25% (v / v) hydrous ethanol was added to 200 g of dried wakame seaweed, and this was stirred at a speed of "3" for 60 minutes using a three-one motor (model: BLh600; manufactured by Shinto Kagaku Co., Ltd.) and washed. After washing, the liquid part was removed by filtration, 4000 mL of 25% (v / v) water-containing ethanol was added to the solid part, and further washing was performed under the same conditions. Then, the liquid part was removed by filtration, and the solid part was vacuum dried and pulverized to obtain about 146.4 g of powdered desalted wakame seaweed. The above operation was repeated twice to obtain about 293 g of powdered desalted wakame seaweed (prototype 1).

[Manufacturing of dietary fiber-removed wakame seaweed]
To 50 g of desalted wakame seaweed (prototype 1), 15,000 mL of tap water was added, and the mixture was stirred at 95 ° C. for 60 minutes, and the obtained mixture was cooled to room temperature. This mixture was centrifuged at 10000 × g at 15 ° C. for 10 minutes, and the supernatant and the precipitate were recovered, respectively (the supernatant recovered here was used in “Producing a water-soluble wakame extract” described later. ). 5000 mL of a 2% trisodium citrate aqueous solution was added to the obtained precipitate, and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 30 minutes, centrifuged at 10000 × g at 15 ° C. for 10 minutes, the supernatant was discarded, and the precipitate was recovered. .. The obtained precipitate was freeze-dried and pulverized to obtain 15.5 g of powdered dietary fiber-removed wakame seaweed (prototype 2).

[Manufacturing of wakame protein]
160 g of trisodium citrate dihydrate, 1.6 g of anhydrous citric acid, 40 mg of alginate lyase (product name: alginate lyase S; 28000units / g; manufactured by Amanoenzyme) and desalted wakame (prototype 1) in 8000 mL of tap water. 201.5 g was added and treated at 45 ° C. for 4 hours with stirring. The treated product was centrifuged at 5000 × g at 15 ° C. for 5 minutes, the supernatant was discarded, and the precipitate was collected.
To the obtained precipitate, 6000 mL of tap water, 80 g of trisodium citrate dihydrate, 0.8 g of anhydrous citric acid and 40 mg of alginate lyase (product name: arginate lyase S; 28,000 units / g; manufactured by Amano Enzyme) were added. The treatment was carried out at 45 ° C. for 17 hours with stirring. The treated product was centrifuged at 5000 × g at 15 ° C. for 5 minutes, the supernatant was discarded, and the precipitate was collected. The precipitate was washed by adding 3000 mL of ultrapure water to the obtained precipitate, stirring the mixture, centrifuging at 5000 × g at 15 ° C. for 5 minutes, and repeating the operation of collecting the precipitate four times. After washing, the precipitate was freeze-dried and pulverized to obtain 72.6 g of the pulverized product. The operation of adding 700 mL of 100% ethanol to the obtained pulverized product, stirring for 10 minutes, filtering to remove the liquid part, and collecting the solid part was repeated 6 times.
The obtained solid portion was vacuum dried at 40 ° C. for 24 hours to obtain 61.9 g of a dried product. Of the obtained dried product, 1500 mL of tap water was added to 61.0 g, and 1N hydrochloric acid was added thereto to adjust the pH to 4.8, and then 2 g of cellulase (product name: cellulase T "Amano"4; manufactured by Amano Enzyme) was added. In addition, the mixture was stirred at 45 ° C. for 5 hours. The treated product was centrifuged at 5000 × g at 15 ° C. for 5 minutes, the supernatant was discarded, and the precipitate was collected.
After adding 1200 mL of ultrapure water to the obtained precipitate and stirring the mixture, the precipitate was centrifuged at 5000 × g at 15 ° C. for 5 minutes, and the operation of collecting the precipitate was repeated 3 times to wash the precipitate.
The precipitate was further washed by adding 1000 mL of 50% ethanol to the washed precipitate, stirring the mixture, centrifuging at 5000 × g at 15 ° C. for 5 minutes, and repeating the operation of collecting the precipitate four times. After adding 1000 mL of 100% ethanol to the washed precipitate and stirring, the precipitate was further washed by centrifuging at 5000 × g at 15 ° C. for 5 minutes and repeating the operation of collecting the precipitate twice.
After washing, the precipitate was vacuum dried and pulverized to obtain 50.2 g of powdered wakame seaweed protein (prototype 3; purity of about 80%).

[Manufacturing of wakame peptide]
Add 2000 mL of 0.1 M citric acid buffer to 100 g of dried wakame seaweed to adjust the pH to 7.0, add 100 U of alginate lyase (trade name: alginate lyase S; manufactured by Nagase ChemteX), and then 45 ° C. Was treated for 3 hours. Then, the obtained treated product was centrifuged at 3000 × g for 5 minutes, the supernatant was discarded, and the precipitate was collected to obtain 35 g of a composition containing the protein separated from wakame seaweed.
Next, 1500 g of distilled water was added to the above composition for homogenization, and then 10,000 U of protease (trade name: Protease S "Amano"; manufactured by Amano Enzyme) was added to adjust the pH to 8.0. , 72 ° C. for 18 hours. Then, the supernatant was collected by centrifugation at 3000 × g for 5 minutes. The collected supernatant is ultrafiltered with an ultrafiltration membrane (trade name: FB02-FC-FUS0181; manufactured by Daizen Membrane Systems), and after collecting the permeate, it is freeze-dried and crushed into a powder. About 10 g of wakame seaweed peptide (prototype 4) was obtained.

[Manufacturing of water-soluble wakame extract]
A water-soluble wakame extract was produced using the supernatant liquid recovered in the above-mentioned "Production of dietary fiber-removed wakame". That is, the supernatant was concentrated by a rotary evaporator, freeze-dried and pulverized to obtain 22.0 g of a powdery water-soluble wakame extract (prototype 5).

[Bifidobacterium growth test]

(1) Bifidobacterium culture As a test strain, Bifidobacterium longum subsp. The longum JCM1217 strain was inoculated into BL medium (manufactured by Nissui Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) containing 5% horse blood (manufactured by Kojin Bio Co., Ltd.) and anaerobically cultured at 37 ° C. for 48 hours (H ₂ : 10%, CO 2: CO ₂ : 10%, N ₂ : 80%). The obtained cells were appropriately diluted with physiological saline, smeared on each test medium in the plate in an amount containing 2.0 × 10 ³ cfu, and anaerobically cultured at 37 ° C. for 7 days (H ₂ : 10%). , CO ₂ : 10%, N ₂ : 80%).
As the test medium, MRS agar medium (manufactured by Oxoid UK), desalted wakame seaweed (prototype 1), dietary fiber-removed wakame seaweed (prototype 2), wakame protein (prototype 3), wakame peptide (prototype 4) or A water-soluble wakame extract (prototype 5) was added in an amount of 0.8% by mass and heat-sterilized at 121 ° C. for 15 minutes. Further, as a negative control test medium, an MRS agar medium to which none of the prototypes 1 to 5 was added was similarly prepared. Further, as a positive control test medium, a TOS propionic acid agar medium (manufactured by Yakult Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) to which none of the prototypes 1 to 5 was added was prepared in the same manner.
The composition per 1 L of the MRS agar medium is 10.0 g of peptone, 8.0 g of laburemco powder, 4.0 g of yeast extract, 20.0 g of glucose, 1.0 mL of sorbitan monooleate, and 2.0 g of dipotassium hydrogen phosphate. , Sodium acetate trihydrate 5.0 g, Triammonium citrate 2.0 g, Magnesium sulfate heptahydrate 0.2 g, Manganese sulfate tetrahydrate 0.05 g, Manganese sulfate tetrahydrate 0.05 g, Agar It is 10.0 g. The composition of the TOS propionic acid agar medium per 1 L is 10.0 g of peptone, 1.0 g of yeast extract, 3.0 g of potassium dihydrogen phosphate, 4.8 g of dipotassium monohydrogen phosphate, 3.0 g of ammonium sulfate, and sulfuric acid. 0.2 g of magnesium heptahydrate, 0.5 g of L-cysteine hydrochloride monohydrate, 15.0 g of sodium propionate, 10 g of galactooligosaccharide, and 15.0 g of agar.

(2) Evaluation of the growth promoting effect of bifidobacteria Image analysis software ImageJ (version 1.4.3.67; National Institutes of Health; http: // rsbweb) was obtained by photographing the test medium after culturing. .Nih.gov/ij) was used to determine the growth area of bifidobacteria grown on each test medium. Then, the ratio of the growth area of each test medium when the growth area of the bifidobacteria grown on the TOS propionic acid agar medium suitable for the growth of the bifidobacteria was 100% was defined as the growth promotion rate (%) of the bifidobacteria. .. The results are shown in Table 1.

From the results in Table 1, it was confirmed that the MRS agar medium to which prototypes 1 to 4 were added had an effect of promoting the growth of bifidobacteria. In particular, those to which the prototypes 2 and 4 were added had a growth promoting effect superior to that of the positive control suitable for culturing bifidobacteria. On the other hand, in the MRS agar medium to which the prototype 5 was added, the growth promoting effect of bifidobacteria was negligible, which was almost the same as the negative control unsuitable for culturing bifidobacteria. Therefore, it was found that desalted wakame seaweed, dietary fiber-removed wakame seaweed, wakame seaweed protein and wakame seaweed peptide (particularly, dietary fiber-removed wakame seaweed and wakame seaweed peptide) are useful as active ingredients of a bifidus bacterium growth promoter.

[Prescription example of bifidobacteria growth promoter]
Below, a bifidus growth promoter (capsule) containing unsalted wakame seaweed (prototype 1), dietary fiber-removed wakame seaweed (prototype 2), wakame protein (prototype 3) and wakame seaweed peptide (prototype 4) as active ingredients. An example of prescription when preparing an agent and a tablet) is shown.

Prescription Example 1: Capsule containing desalted seaweed Desalted seaweed (prototype 1) 99% by mass
Triglycerin fatty acid ester 1% by mass

Formulation Example 2: Tablets containing dietary fiber-removed wakame Dietary fiber-removed wakame (prototype 2) 55% by mass
Crystalline cellulose 20% by mass
Reduced maltose 20% by mass
Triglycerin fatty acid ester 5% by mass

Prescription Example 3: Tablets containing wakame protein Wakame protein (prototype 3) 78% by mass
Crystalline cellulose 20% by mass
Triglycerin fatty acid ester 2% by mass

Prescription Example 4: Tablets containing wakame peptide Wakame peptide (prototype 4) 82% by mass
Reduced maltose 15% by mass
Triglycerin fatty acid ester 3% by mass

Claims (3)

A method for producing a bifidobacteria growth-promoting agent containing the precipitate recovered in the following (C) as an active ingredient, which comprises the steps of sequentially carrying out the following (A) to (C) (provided, a protease treatment step). Except for those containing).
(A): Water is added to the desalted wakame seaweed and stirred, and the obtained mixture is centrifuged to discard the supernatant and collect the precipitate.
(B): The precipitate recovered in (A) is brought into contact with the alkali metal salt.
(C): After the contact of (B), the obtained mixture is centrifuged to discard the supernatant and collect the precipitate. A method for producing a bifidobacteria growth-promoting agent containing the protein separated in the following (B) as an active ingredient, which comprises the steps of sequentially carrying out the following (A) and (B) (provided that the protease treatment step is performed. Except for those that include).
(A): Wakame seaweed or processed wakame seaweed is treated with alginate lyase, which is centrifuged to discard the supernatant and collect the precipitate.
(B): The precipitate recovered in (A) is washed with ethanol to separate proteins that are insoluble in water, ethanol or oil. The method for producing a bifidobacteria growth-promoting agent according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the target bifidobacteria is Bifidobacterium longum.