JPH03280852A - Functional food containing chitin and its derivative - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the title food containing a chitin (derivative) and capable of lowering amounts of uric acid in urine and plasma and that of allantoin in urine without exerting influence on body weight. CONSTITUTION:The objective food containing a chitin (derivative) in an amount of e.g. 5%. Furthermore, the amount of chitins used is preferably 1-50g per day.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] No. 1 The present invention relates to foods containing chitin and its derivatives, and in particular to novel functional foods that have the function of suppressing the amount of uric acid in the blood by the addition of chitin and its derivatives. It is something.

11.I As is known from the expression, ``medicine and food have the same origin,'' unlike in the past when issues of food composition and nutrition were considered independently, now with the advancement of preventive medicine, food is actively considered. We are now living in an era where we are trying to prevent diseases and promote health through food by maximizing the functions of its ingredients. Among these, many studies have been conducted on the nutritional significance of dietary fiber intake, and the effects of suppressing blood cholesterol levels, blocking the toxicity of food dyes, and affecting the absorption of minerals have been revealed. However, regarding the effects of dietary fiber, there are
There are still many unclear points regarding the relationship between the functionality it provides to the living body, such as adsorption and ion exchange ability, and these physicochemical functional properties, and so far, the effects of dietary fiber on preventing some adult diseases have not been confirmed. Although the relationship between the effects of dietary fiber on the digestion and absorption of dietary nucleic acids, which contributes to hyperuricemia such as gout, and the effect of dietary fiber on uric acid metabolism, There were still many unknowns about this.

However, it is known that in vivo uric acid metabolism fluctuates depending on various physiological factors, and it has been shown that the uric acid pool increases due to excessive intake of dietary components such as nucleic acids, proteins, fructose, and alcohol. In particular, dietary nucleic acids are known to stimulate the production of uric acid via purine nucleotides, and dietary therapy that limits the intake of dietary nucleic acids and proteins has been adopted to treat and prevent hyperuricemia.

The present inventors have discovered that chitin, which is known as the integumentary skeletal tissue of crustaceans and insects, chitin, which is a component of the cell wall of fungi, and chitosan, which is induced by its deacetylation, can also be used in animal digestion.
It is a polysaccharide that cannot be broken down by just one vote, that is, it is one of the dietary fibers, and has different characteristics from many other dietary fibers.
In particular, it is of animal origin, and while other dietary fibers have a negative charge, chitin and chitosan contain anions derived from the constituent sugars N-acyl-D-glucosamine and D-glucosamine. Focusing on the fact that they have exchangeability, we will pave the way for the future use of chitin and other dietary fibers, clarify the effects of these on the absorption of dietary nucleic acids, and develop foods containing chitin and chitosan. It also attempts to measure the treatment and prevention of hyperuricemia through food and drink.

The present invention contains chitin and chitosan,
Foods that suppress the utilization of dietary nucleic acids and have the effect of suppressing and preventing increases in blood uric acid levels; Containing chitin and chitosan as raw materials or food additives, foods that limit the intake of dietary nucleic acids. Foods that have the effect of preventing the ingestion of nucleic acids in people with uricemia and food additive compositions that have this effect: Contains water-soluble substances derived from chitosan and chitin, and has the effect of suppressing increases in blood uric acid levels. and a beverage that has an anti-inflammatory effect: Furthermore, by containing water-soluble substances derived from chitosan and chitin, it has the effect of preventing the intake of nucleic acids in hyperuricemic patients whose intake of dietary nucleic acids is restricted. The chitin used in the present invention is a constituent sugar composed of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine and a β(1→4)-glycosidic bond. In the natural world, it is known as a component of crustaceans such as shrimp and crabs, and these marine wastes are used as the main raw material for chitin. When chitin is treated with high concentration alkali, N-
82 Along with acetylation, chitosan, a basic polysaccharide with free amino groups, is produced. Chitosan is a pale gray-white powder.
It is an odorless, tasteless, and extremely stable substance that is insoluble in water.The amino group forms a WI quaternary ammonium salt and is soluble in dilute organic acids. Examples of chitosan salts include mineral salts such as hydrochloric acid and formic acid;
There are 11WII salts such as acetic acid.

Examples of modifiers for the amino groups of chitosan include N-7 cetyl chitosan gel and N-propionyl chitosan gel. These chitins and related substances have already been put to practical use as flocculants, enzyme immobilization materials, etc., and are industrially produced. The amount of uric acid is approximately 50 g, and when mixed with food and ingested, the amount of uric acid is significantly reduced. Although it is still necessary to investigate whether such physiological effects of chitin are expressed through the same mechanism, the constituent sugars N-7 cetyl-D-glucosamine and D-
It is thought that low molecular weight nucleic acids and high molecular weight nucleic acids produced during the digestive process are adsorbed to the anion exchange properties of chitin and chitosan derived from glucosamine, and are excreted in feces.

Era 1 Examples of the present invention are shown below. In these examples, the experimental groups were divided into three categories: basic feed (cellulose), chitin-added feed, and chitosan-added feed, and the feed composition of each is shown in Table 1. It was as shown. The experimental animals used were 5-week-old twin star male rats, with 6 or 5 rats in each group, and the breeding method was 5-day bar and meal feeding, and the amount of food eaten was constant (20 g) for each group, and the body weight was adjusted daily. was measured.

Table 1 continued on next page The results of the comparative experiment of these three types of feed are shown in Table 2. During the fi @ helmet period, the body weight, feces, and urine conditions were observed, and urine was collected on the 2nd day. On the 5th day of feed administration, the animals were decapitated, blood was collected, and internal organs were discovered. Among the experimental items, urinary allantoin was measured along with plasma uric acid and urinary uric acid because in human rats, the final product of nucleic acid metabolism is uric acid, but rats have the enzyme uricase in their bodies that metabolizes uric acid to allantoin. At the same time, the excretion amount of 7lantoin was also measured.

As is known from the above examples, according to the present invention, the addition of chitin and chitosan to foods does not affect the average weight gain at all. The condition of the feces remains normal.
It can clearly reduce the amount of uric acid in urine, the amount of uric acid in plasma, and the amount of allantoin in urine.

Out teenager wish Reason Man Man Daisan Kasei Co., Ltd. Yuki Maruyama

Claims (1)

[Claims] A functional food characterized by having a function of suppressing blood uric acid level by containing chitin and/or its derivatives.