JP7500897B2 - Composition for improving intestinal flora - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a composition that has the effect of improving the intestinal flora.

It has been revealed that 99% or more of the human intestinal flora belongs to any one of the phyla Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, or Actinobacteria. In addition, it has been found that in healthy individuals, the phylum Firmicutes accounts for about 60% of the total, followed by the phylum Bacteroidetes, which accounts for about 20% of the total.
On the other hand, it is known that in obese individuals and obese mice, the ratio of the Firmicutes phylum increases and, in exchange, the ratio of the Bacteroidetes phylum decreases, and it is said that there is a positive correlation between BMI and the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio (see non-patent documents 1 and 2).
In addition, it has been pointed out that an increase in the proportion of Firmicutes in the intestinal flora can lead to abnormal fermentation in the intestines, continued constipation, and discomfort, and that if the intestinal flora continues to be dominated by Firmicutes for a long period of time, it can lead to problems such as the development of colon cancer. For this reason, improving the intestinal flora is considered important for maintaining health.

The improved state of the intestinal flora can be evaluated using as an indicator a decrease in the proportion of the Firmicutes phylum, or an increase in the proportion of lactic acid bacteria of the Lactobacillales order, known as good bacteria, or an increase in the proportion of bifidobacteria of the Bifidobacterium genus, known as bad bacteria, in the intestinal flora, and a decrease in the proportion of bacteria of the Clostridium genus, known as bad bacteria. In addition, various substances for improving the intestinal flora and methods for improving diet have been discovered using such changes in the intestinal flora as indicators.

Various compounds and compositions have been found to have an intestinal flora-improving effect. Representative examples include sugars such as oligosaccharides and polysaccharides (Patent Documents 1 to 3). Other examples include dietary fiber (Patent Documents 4 to 5), food-derived compounds (Patent Document 6), proteins and peptides (Patent Document 7), and microorganisms and their culture products (Patent Documents 8 to 9). Currently, the search for various substances and compositions that have an intestinal flora-improving effect is ongoing.

Acylated sterol glycosides are found in large quantities in grains such as brown rice, rice bran, soybeans, and corn, and are compounds in which a sugar or sugar chain is bound to a sterol skeleton, and an acyl group is further bound to this sugar or sugar chain. Acylated sterol glycosides is a general term for compounds with different sugars or sugar chains bound to sterols or different acyl groups, and acylated sterol glycosides obtained from natural products usually contain multiple components. Acylated sterol glycosides are known to have various physiological effects, and many proposals have been made (see Patent Documents 10 to 14).

JP 2019-94307 A International Publication No. 2018/193897 JP 2019-92469 A JP 2019-198281 A International Publication No. 2018/056284 JP 2018-12677 A International Publication No. 2017/142080 JP 2019-528763 A JP 2016-204355 A JP 2017-81841 A JP 2017-43544 A JP 2015-86153 A JP 2014-156432 A JP 2015-42627 A JP 2015-86151 A

Nature, Vol. 444, 1022-1023, 2006 Japanese Journal of Chemotherapy, Vol. 66, No. 1, 129-138, 2018 Obidai Research Bulletin. 10(1977): 507-514

The objective of the present invention is to provide a new composition for improving the intestinal flora.

The present inventors have been conducting research into acylated sterol glycosides contained in germinated brown rice and brown rice bran. During the course of their research, they discovered that compositions containing acylated sterol glycosides have an effect of improving the intestinal flora, leading to the completion of the present invention.

The present invention has the following configuration.
(1) A composition for improving the intestinal flora, comprising an acylated sterol glycoside as an active ingredient.
(2) A composition for improving the intestinal flora according to (1), which contains 0.1% by mass or more of an acylated sterol glycoside.

The present invention provides a new composition for improving the intestinal flora.

1 is a graph showing the results of measuring the weight of the cecal contents after 55 days of feeding in a control high fat diet (hereinafter referred to as "HF") group, a 0.5% acylated sterol glycoside (hereinafter referred to as "ASG") group, and a 1.0% ASG group. 1 is a graph showing the results of measuring the pH of the cecal contents in the HF administration group, the 0.5% ASG administration group, and the 1.0% ASG administration group after 55 days of rearing. 1 is a graph showing the occupancy rate of the Firmicutes phylum in the cecal flora of the HF-administered group, the 0.5% ASG-administered group, and the 1.0% ASG-administered group after 55 days of feeding. 1 is a graph showing the occupancy rate of the Bacteroidetes phylum in the cecal flora of the HF-administered group, the 0.5% ASG-administered group, and the 1.0% ASG-administered group after 55 days of feeding. 1 is a graph showing the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio in the cecal flora of the HF administration group, the ASG 0.5% administration group, and the ASG 1.0% administration group after 55 days of feeding. 1 is a graph showing the occupancy rate of bacteria classified into the order Lactobacillales in the cecal flora of the HF-administered group, the 0.5% ASG-administered group, and the 1.0% ASG-administered group after 55 days of feeding. 1 is a graph showing the occupancy rate of a bacterial group classified as Clostridium cluster XI in the cecal flora of the HF administration group, the ASG 0.5% administration group, and the ASG 1.0% administration group after 55 days of feeding. 1 is a graph showing the occupancy rate of a bacterial group classified as Clostridium subcluster XIVa in the cecal flora of the HF administration group, the ASG 0.5% administration group, and the ASG 1.0% administration group after 55 days of feeding. 1 is a graph showing the average body weight change (average gain) during the rearing period for each of the HF administration group, the ASG 0.5% administration group, and the ASG 1.0% administration group.

The present invention relates to a composition for improving intestinal flora, which contains an acylated sterol glycoside as an active ingredient.
In the present invention, improvement of the intestinal flora refers to decreasing the proportion of bacteria belonging to the Firmicutes phylum and increasing the proportion of bacteria belonging to the Bacteroidetes phylum among the microbial groups in the large intestine of a mammal, and/or increasing the proportion of bacteria belonging to the Lactobacillales order and decreasing the proportion of bacteria belonging to the Clostridium genus.
The intestinal flora-improving composition according to the present invention includes medicines, quasi-drugs, beverages, foods, health foods, and supplements.

The acylated sterol glycoside, which is an active ingredient contained in the intestinal flora-improving composition of the present invention, can be obtained from raw materials such as brown rice, rice bran, soybeans, and corn.
The term "acylated sterol glycoside" as used herein refers to a compound in which a sugar or sugar chain is bound to a sterol skeleton, and an acyl group is bound to the sugar or sugar chain. Furthermore, the term "acylated sterol glycoside" as used herein includes compounds in which the sugar or sugar chain bound to the sterol is different, and compounds in which the acyl group bound to the sugar or sugar chain is different. Extracts from natural products usually contain a plurality of different acylated sterol glycosides. The constituent sugar of acylated sterol glycosides is mainly glucose, but may be other monosaccharides or oligosaccharides. The constituent sterols are β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, and campesterol.
Acylated sterol glycosides are mainly acylated at the 6-position of glucose bound to sterol with fatty acids, and it has been revealed that the fatty acids are mainly linoleic acid, oleic acid, and palmitic acid (see non-patent document 3).

The acylated sterol glycosides used in the present invention are preferably extracted from natural products. Chemically synthesized products can also be used. Products extracted from natural products can be used as raw materials for the composition of the present invention as long as they contain 1% by mass or more of acylated sterols when analyzed. The form of the extract can be selected appropriately from any form suitable for incorporation into the composition of the present invention, such as liquid, solid, or powder.

Examples of methods for obtaining the acylated sterol glycoside, which is the active ingredient of the present invention, as an extract from grains such as brown rice, rice bran, soybeans, and corn include solvent extraction and supercritical extraction.

A method for obtaining acylated sterol glycosides from grains such as brown rice, rice bran, soybeans, and corn is outlined below.
The raw materials are cereals such as brown rice, rice bran, soybeans, and corn. At this time, foreign matter such as the outer skin contained in these raw materials is selected and removed, and then defatted using normal hexane. The obtained defatted bran is desolvated using a distillation apparatus, and further solvent extracted with a solvent such as normal hexane, acetone, ethanol, or water. The solvent extract thus obtained is desolvated using a desolvation apparatus to obtain germinated brown rice bran or an extract of brown rice bran containing the acylated sterol glycoside, which is the active ingredient of the present invention. This extract can be used as a raw material for the intestinal flora improving composition of the present invention.
Furthermore, the purity of the acylated sterol glycoside can be increased by repeating solvent extraction of this extract using a solvent such as chloroform or methanol. Alternatively, the acylated sterol glycoside can be purified to a higher purity using a preparative liquid chromatography device or column chromatography. The purified acylated sterol glycoside can be mixed with an excipient or the like to prepare a composition for improving the intestinal flora.

The content of acylated sterol glycosides can be measured by the following method.
(1) Weigh out an appropriate amount of the extract, add a chloroform/methanol mixture (chloroform:methanol=2:1), and dilute to volume in a measuring flask.
(2) The solution obtained in (1) is diluted appropriately depending on the component concentration to prepare a sample solution for analysis.
(3) Esterified Steryl Glycoside (Funakoshi) is used as a standard specimen of acylated sterol glycoside. The concentration of acylated sterol glycoside is calculated by high performance liquid chromatography.
(4) Analysis conditions by high performance liquid chromatography Analytical equipment: HPLC
Mobile phase A: methanol: water = 95: 5 (v/v)
Mobile phase B: Chloroform = 100 (v/v)
Pump: Model 582
Solvent delivery system
Analytical column: LiChrospher Si60 (5 μm)
HPLC-Cartridge (MERCK)
Detector: Charged particle detector (Corona Dionex)
Injection Volume: 20 μL
Column oven: 40°C (FLO model 502)
Analysis time: 40 min
Defoaming device: Uniflows Degasys
Ultimate DV 3003
Flow rate: 1 mL / min
Gradient conditions: 0-15 min. Mobile phase A: 1% → 25%, Mobile phase B: 99% → 75%
15-20 min Mobile phase A: 25% → 90%, Mobile phase B: 75% → 10%
20-25 min Mobile phase A: 90%, Mobile phase B: 10%
25-30 min Mobile phase A: 90% → 1%, Mobile phase B: 10% → 99%
30-40 min Mobile phase A: 1%, Mobile phase B: 99%

When the extract containing acylated sterol glycosides is hydrolyzed, it contains 20-30% by mass of linoleic acid, 24-37% by mass of oleic acid, and 11-17% by mass of palmitic acid, based on the mass before hydrolysis.

The amounts of linoleic acid, oleic acid and palmitic acid after the above-mentioned hydrolysis can be measured by the following method.
That is, the extract is saponified by adding methanol containing 0.5 mol/L sodium hydroxide, and then methyl esterified by adding a boron trifluoride-methanol complex methanol solution. Methyl esters of fatty acids are partitioned and extracted by adding hexane and saturated saline, and quantitatively analyzed by gas chromatography using a hydrogen flame ionization detector.

When the extract containing the acylated sterol glycoside, which is the active ingredient of the present invention, is hydrolyzed, it contains 1.7 to 2.6% by mass of plant sterols based on the mass before hydrolysis. The main components of plant sterols are β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, and campesterol.

The amount of plant sterol can be measured by the following method.
Extracts from raw materials such as brown rice, rice bran, soybeans, and corn are saponified by sequentially adding an aqueous solution of sodium chloride, a pyrogallol-ethanol solution, an aqueous solution of potassium hydroxide, and potassium hydroxide. An aqueous solution of sodium chloride and a mixture of hexane and ethyl acetate are added to perform partition extraction of the unsaponifiable matter. The plant sterol fraction is separated from the unsaponifiable matter using a silica cartridge column, and the amount of plant sterols in the plant sterol fraction can be measured by quantitatively analyzing the plant sterols in the plant sterol fraction by gas chromatography using a flame ionization detector.

The extracts from grains such as brown rice, rice bran, soybean and corn containing the acylated sterol glycoside according to the present invention, or the highly purified acylated sterol glycoside, can be formulated into any form together with an excipient by a known method to provide a dosage form for oral ingestion (administration). Specific dosage forms include capsules, tablets, granules, fine granules, powders and liquids.
When preparing food or drink, the additive can be added according to the manufacturing method of each food or drink.

The composition for improving intestinal flora of the present invention contains 0.1% by mass or more, preferably 0.3 to 10% by mass, and more preferably 0.5 to 3% by mass of an acylated sterol glycoside.
The dosage of the composition for improving intestinal flora of the present invention may vary depending on the administration method and the age, medical condition, general condition, etc. of the subject. For adults, it is usually appropriate to administer 0.1 to 500 mg, calculated as acylated sterol, per kg of body weight per day.

The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to examples.
<Test to improve the deterioration of intestinal flora caused by high-fat diet intake>
It is known, as described in the prior art, that when a high-fat diet is ingested for a long period of time, the ratio of the so-called "good bacteria" Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium groups in the intestinal flora decreases, and the "bad bacteria" Clostridium group increases. This test was conducted to confirm that acylated sterol glycosides improve such changes (deterioration) in the intestinal flora caused by the continuous intake of a high-fat diet.

1. Preparation of high-purity acylated sterol glycosides for animal testing
Brown rice bran distributed on the market was selected, and brown rice bran from which contaminating endosperm and foreign matter had been removed was obtained. 10 kg of the obtained selected brown rice bran was defatted using 50 L of normal hexane in a conventional manner. This degreasing process was repeated once more to obtain defatted brown rice bran. The obtained defatted brown rice bran was subjected to a distillation apparatus to remove the solvent.
8 kg of this defatted brown rice bran was extracted with 50 L of ethanol at 70±3° C. for 1 hour under reflux. This was repeated three times, and the ethanol was removed from the resulting extract using a solvent remover. The above extraction procedure was carried out based on the method disclosed in Patent Document 15.
The content of acylated sterol glycosides in this brown rice bran extract was 3.4% by mass.

The brown rice bran extract (hereinafter "extract") containing the acylated sterol glycosides (hereinafter "acylated sterol glycosides" will be abbreviated as "ASG") was subjected to solvent extraction and column chromatography again, and the solvent was removed to obtain a white grease-like substance with an ASG purity of 91% by mass. As a specific method, 90 mL of a 1:1 volumetric ratio hexane-chloroform mixture (hereinafter "hexane") was mixed homogeneously with 142 g of the extract, and then centrifuged at 25°C and 5000 rpm for 10 min. to obtain the supernatant as a purified sample. A glass open column with a diameter of 100 mm was used for purification. 700 g of silica gel was used as the column alone, and was mixed homogeneously with 1 L of hexane, and then packed into the column. After filling, the column was left to stand for about 60 minutes, and the entire amount of the purified sample was applied. After application, 2.2 L of hexachloro, 3.2 L of chloroform, and 3 L of a chloroform-methanol mixture (hereafter referred to as "chrometa"), a homogeneous mixture of chloroform and methanol in a volume ratio of 9:1, were passed through in that order, and the ASG fraction was separated between the first and second brown pigments (ring-shaped) eluted when chrometa was passed through. The solution containing the separated ASG fraction was concentrated in an evaporator and then freeze-dried for 24 hours to obtain a purified product with an ASG purity of 91% by mass. This was used as the sample for the following animal tests.

2. Animal testing
1. Test animals Seven-week-old C57BL/6J male mice (Japan SLC Co., Ltd.) were used in the test. After being introduced by a breeder, the mice were fed MF feed (Oriental Yeast Co., Ltd.) and drinking water (tap water) ad libitum and were pre-bred for 7 days. After that, the mice were divided into three groups of eight healthy animals each.

2. Breeding Conditions The animal breeding room was maintained under the following conditions: room temperature 24° C., humidity 55%, and a 12-hour light/dark cycle (light period 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM, dark period 7:00 PM to 7:00 AM).

3. Test period (breeding period)
In this study, the ASG administration period was set to 55 days, and the animal study was performed.

4. Preparation of test feed Test feed was prepared to confirm the effect of ASG on the intestinal flora.
The ASG used in the test feed was the above-mentioned highly purified ASG (purity 91%).
The test diet was prepared by adding 0.5% (0.5% ASG) or 1.0% (1.0% ASG) ASG to a high fat diet (HF) containing 30% lard.
The control high-fat diet (hereinafter abbreviated as "HF") was based on the composition of the commercially available standard feed AIN93G (Oriental Yeast Co., Ltd.), which was modified to have a high-fat composition. This HF and the above test feeds were prepared by the present inventors.
In preparing this HF, 20 parts by mass of casein (milk casein: Nippon Formula Feed Co., Ltd.), 0.3 parts by mass of L-cystine (Fujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.), 13 parts by mass of sucrose (Daiichi Sugar Co., Ltd.), 17.1986 parts by mass of dextrin (Sansho Co., Ltd.), 10 parts by mass of corn oil (vitamin E free (Tama Biochemical Co., Ltd.)), 30 parts by mass of lard (ADEKA Corporation), 5 parts by mass of cellulose powder (Oriental Yeast Co., Ltd.), 3.5 parts by mass of AIN-93G mineral mix (Oriental Yeast Co., Ltd.), 1 part by mass of AIN-93 vitamin choline (Oriental Yeast Co., Ltd.), and 0.0014 parts by mass of tert-butylhydroquinone (Fujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.) were used per 100 parts by mass of feed, and the ingredients were placed in a stirrer and thoroughly stirred and mixed to prepare the feed. The 0.5% ASG feed was prepared by adding 0.55 parts by mass of the refined product and reducing the amount of corn oil to 9.45 parts by mass. The 1.0% ASG feed was similarly prepared by reducing the amount of refined ASG to 1.11 parts by mass and corn oil to 8.89 parts by mass. The amounts of raw materials used in each feed are shown in Table 1 below.

5. Testing The test food was randomly assigned to three groups of mice. To ensure that each group had the same daily calorie intake, the food was administered by pair-feeding based on the HF group. Water was available ad libitum.
The rats were fed the test diet as described above for 55 days, and their body weight was measured once a week.
After the rearing period, the test animals were killed by cardiac bleed under isoflurane inhalation anesthesia. The carcasses were dissected, and the cecum was removed and weighed. The cecal contents were then collected and weighed for intestinal flora analysis.

6. Analysis method of intestinal bacterial flora The collected cecal contents were suspended in 15 ml of physiological saline, and the pH was measured. Furthermore, this suspension was used as a sample for bacterial group analysis of the intestinal bacterial flora.
The intestinal flora was analyzed by the Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (T-RFLP) method (Techno Suruga Lab., Inc.).
The bacterial groups analyzed were classified into two phyla, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, at the taxonomic phylum level, Lactobacillales at the order level, and Clostridium cluster XI, Clostridium subcluster XIVa, Clostridium cluster XVIII, and Clostridium cluster XIVIII, all of which are classified into the Clostridium genus, according to the classification provided by the T-RFLP method. IV. Bifidobacterium (a group of bacteria classified as Bifidobacterium, a group of bacteria classified as Prevotella, and a group of bacteria classified as Bacteroides were selected as the analysis subjects. In addition, the 16S rDNA portion of DNA extracted from the specimen was amplified by PCR, and DNA cleaved with restriction enzymes whose length did not correspond to the above bacterial groups was analyzed as "other."

For the analysis, the 16SrDNA portion of DNA extracted from the samples was amplified by PCR, and DNA cleaved with restriction enzymes was grouped into groups with similar lengths. The number of bacteria per species was converted to the total number of bacteria to determine the percentage of the intestinal flora, and the composition of the bacterial community was analyzed. The results were tested for significance using Tukey's multiple comparison test. Significance was evaluated at two levels: p<0.05 and P<0.01.

7. Analysis Results (1) Cecal Content Weight The results of measuring the cecal content weight are shown in Figure 1.
In both the 0.5% and 1.0% ASG groups, the cecal content weight was significantly increased compared to the HF group.

(2) pH of cecal contents
The pH of the cecal contents is shown in FIG.
The pH of the cecal contents was significantly decreased in the 1.0% ASG group compared to the HF group.

(3) Firmicutes phylum The occupancy rate of the Firmicutes phylum relative to the total bacterial count is shown in Figure 3. Compared with the HF administration group, the occupancy rate of the Firmicutes phylum was clearly significantly decreased in both the ASG 0.5% administration group and the ASG 1.0% administration group.

(4) Bacteroidetes phylum The occupancy rate of the Bacteroidetes phylum relative to the total bacterial count is shown in Figure 4. Compared with the HF administration group, the occupancy rate of the Bacteroidetes phylum in the 0.5% ASG administration group was clearly significantly increased.

(5) Ratio of Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes As an index of changes in the intestinal flora, it is important to look at the ratio of the occupancy rate of the Firmicutes phylum to the occupancy rate of the Bacteroidetes phylum, that is, the ratio of the Firmicutes phylum/Bacteroidetes phylum. The ratio of the Firmicutes phylum/Bacteroidetes phylum is shown in FIG. 5.
5, it was revealed that the ratio of Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes phylum was significantly decreased in both the 0.5% and 1.0% ASG groups compared to the HF group. That is, in the ASG group, the bacterial flora in the mouse cecum decreased in the Firmicutes phylum and increased in the Bacteroidetes phylum.
By examining the respective occupancy rates of the Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes phyla in the cecum and the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, it became clear that ASG reduced the Firmicutes phylum and increased the Bacteroidetes phylum in the intestinal flora induced by a high-fat diet.

(6) Lactobacillales The occupancy rate of Lactobacillales relative to the total number of bacteria is shown in FIG. 6. Compared with the HF administration group, the occupancy rate of the ASG 1.0% administration group was significantly increased. Lactobacillales includes the lactic acid bacteria group classified as so-called "good bacteria". It is clear that ASG has the effect of increasing good bacteria.

(7) Clostridium cluster XI
The occupancy rate of Clostridium cluster XI relative to the total bacterial count is shown in Figure 7. Compared with the HF administration group, the occupancy rate of Clostridium cluster XI relative to the total bacterial count in the intestine was clearly significantly decreased in the ASG 0.5% administration group and the ASG 1.0% administration group.

(8) Clostridium subcluster XIVa
The occupancy rate of Clostridium subcluster XIVa relative to the total bacterial count is shown in Figure 8. Compared with the HF administration group, the occupancy rate of Clostridium subcluster XIVa relative to the total bacterial count in the intestine was clearly significantly decreased in the ASG 0.5% administration group and the ASG 1.0% administration group.

(9) Weight change (weight gain)
FIG. 9 shows the time course of changes in body weight (body weight gain) for each test animal group from the start of the test.
Compared with the weight gain in the HF group, the weight gain in the 0.5% and 1.0% ASG groups from the start of administration onwards was significantly suppressed.

8. Summary of the analysis results The weight of the cecal contents increased with the administration of ASG compared to the HF group, and the pH of the cecal contents also decreased. From this, it was considered that the administration of ASG enhanced the production of short-chain fatty acids and fermentation products derived from intestinal bacteria in the cecum, and the weight of the cecal contents increased. It was speculated that this was due to a change in the intestinal flora.

Analysis of the intestinal flora confirmed that the Firmicutes phylum was increased by HF administration. This increase in the Firmicutes phylum was confirmed to be reduced by ASG administration. Furthermore, the ratio of the occupancy rate of the Firmicutes phylum to the occupancy rate of the Bacteroidetes phylum, i.e., the ratio of the Firmicutes phylum/Bacteroidetes phylum, was reduced, and it was clear that the intestinal flora was improved.
The Bacteroidetes phylum also increased in the ASG-administered group compared to the HF-administered group, and the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, reflecting this result, was significantly decreased by ASG administration. This data supports the physiological intestinal flora improving effect of ASG. That is, as described in the prior art, in obese individuals and obese mice, the occupancy ratio of the Firmicutes phylum increased, and the Bacteroidetes phylum increased, which is considered to have suppressed the weight gain caused by the intake of a high-fat diet (HF) as shown in Figure 9.
The effect of ASG in improving the intestinal flora was previously unknown and completely unexpected.

Furthermore, detailed analysis of the occupancy rate of the bacterial group at the order and genus levels confirmed that the occupancy rate of the Lactobacillales order, which is known as a good bacterium, increased with ASG administration. In addition, the occupancy rate of Clostridium cluster XI and Clostridium subcluster XIVa in the Clostridium genus was significantly reduced with ASG administration. Clostridium sordellii and Clostridium scindens, which belong to Clostridium cluster XI and Clostridium subcluster XIVa, produce deoxycholic acid and are generally understood to be bad bacteria, and it was revealed that ASG has the effect of reducing these bad bacteria. In other words, it was revealed that ASG has the effect of increasing good bacteria and decreasing bad bacteria.
In other words, ASG is considered to be extremely useful as an agent for improving the intestinal flora.

Claims (2)

A composition for decreasing the bacterial occupancy rate of the Firmicutes phylum and increasing the bacterial occupancy rate of the Bacteroidetes phylum in the intestinal flora, comprising an acylated sterol glycoside as an active ingredient.
(However, this does not include VLDL secretion inhibitors containing a rice bran extract containing 2.7 to 4.1% by mass of acylated sterol glycosides and 0.6% by mass or 1.4 to 2.1% by mass of γ-oryzanol). 2. A composition for reducing the bacterial occupancy rate of Firmicutes and increasing the bacterial occupancy rate of Bacteroidetes in intestinal bacteria according to claim 1, comprising 0.1% by mass or more of an acylated sterol glycoside.

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