JPH0838047A - Health food - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a health food having cell proliferation action on active T cells and activated natural killer cells, capable of enhancing activated natural killer cells, containing kefir granules capable of activating macrophage, etc., and promoting production of interleukin 12. CONSTITUTION:This health food contains kefir granules capable of activating macrophages or B cells or both, promoting production of interleukin 12 and producing interferon alpha, beta and gamma, a cultured solution of kefir or its extract. The health food can derive lymphokine activating kefir cell activity.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is intended to provide health foods utilizing various pharmacological actions of kefir.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It has been reported from ancient times that kefir has various pharmacological actions. In recent years, activation of macrophages (Oishi et al., The 76th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Pathology (198)
7)), antitumor effect (Oishi et al., Jpn. J. Dairy and Food Si
c., 37, 291 (1988)), antithrombotic action (Miyauchi et al., 80th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Animal Science (1987)), antistress action (Tani et al., 47th).
Annual Meeting of the Japan Society of Nutrition and Food Science (1993)) and immunological homeostatic effects (Hiranaka et al., Jpn. J. Dairy and Food Sci., 40, 22).
7 (1991)), and various effects that are thought to be caused by immune activation have been clarified.

Among them, Oishi et al. (The 76th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Pathology (1987)) have made clear from the beginning that various pharmacological effects of kefir are due to activation of macrophages. For details, there are many unclear points,
It wasn't enough.

[0004]

Therefore, the present inventors have added the interleukin-1 to the substance derived from kefir grains or the culture solution thereof.
In addition to the above, it was discovered that there is an action of promoting the production of interleukin 12, and the present invention was reached.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] Fermented milk and lactic acid bacteria have an action of enhancing the production of interferon α and β (H
aruki Kitazawa, Kazuki Matsumura, Takatoshi Itoh and
Takahiro Yamaguchi; Interferon Induction in Murine
Peritoneal Macrophage by Stimulation with Lactobac
illus acidophilus, Microbiol. Immunol., 36 (3), 311
-315, 1992.Custy F. Fernandes and Khem M Shabami; An
ticarcinomgenic and Immunological Properties of Die
tary Lactobacilli, J. Food Protection, 53 (8), 704-
710, 1990. Masakazu Kita, Tsunataro Kishida; Interferon induction and interferon productivity enhancement by N. cinerea, basic and clinical, 21 (12), 71-74). However, both of these are phenomena that result from activating them by culturing macrophages and lactic acid bacteria together and allowing the macrophages to recognize foreign substances, and when these lactic acid bacteria are taken as food to be taken orally, There are too many problems with its effect.

In various cancer patients, hepatitis B virus carriers, patients with liver cirrhosis, etc., it has been revealed that the production ability of α-type and γ-type interferon decreases with the progress of these diseases. It has been considered that even in a healthy person, the ability to produce them decreases with aging, and various diseases caused by a reduction in immune ability lead to a reduction in host resistance. The α-type of these interferons is also called leukocyte-type interferon and is produced by non-T cells and natural killer cells.

The γ-type is mainly produced by T cells and natural killer cells. These interferons are not constantly produced in high concentrations by their respective cells, but become active when various infections or diseases occur. In particular, in the case of γ-type interferon, the production of macrophage interleukin 12 is required.

When macrophages are stimulated with fermented milk or lactic acid bacteria, it is unclear whether or not interleukin 12 is induced. However, depending on the fermented product of kefir or the kefir grain, interleukin 12, interferon α,
β, γ production ability, natural killer cells, helper T
Since the cells are remarkably elevated, the mechanism of action is different from the activation of the immune system by conventionally known lactic acid bacteria and fermented milk using it, and the mechanism of action is different from that of kefir grains and fermentation using kefir grains. This is the result of the combined action of many microorganisms contained in the product, and the polysaccharides and protein sugars produced by them. Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to Examples.

[0009]

[Examples] Kefir grains (Kefir grains stored in Kyodo Dairy Co., Ltd. were washed thoroughly with physiological saline and then washed with deionized water) or fermented milk (Kyodo Dairy Co., Ltd.) 5% of milk is used
After adding (W / V) amount, the mixture was left to stand and ferment at 20 ° C for 1 week, lyophilized, dissolved in deionized water to 10mg / ml, and sterilized by heating at 80 ° C for 15 minutes. did.
0.1 ml to 0.5 ml of this C57 / BL mouse (4
WKS, ♂) was forcibly orally administered every 3 days for 2 weeks using a gastric sonde. The mice were bred in the same breeding cage (made of aluminum) with 5 mice as one group, and tap water was freely ingested. The feed used was a breeding breeding solid feed (produced by CLEA Japan, Inc.) As a control, skim milk and freeze-dried commercially available yogurt were dissolved in the same concentration and used.

For interleukin 12 and interferons α, β and γ, RU (Resonunce unit) was measured by an immunoassay by resonance plasmon method using BlAcore (manufactured by Pharmacia) with serum prepared by a conventional method. . NK cells and Helper
T cell is the ratio of each cell in peripheral blood to lymphocytes (%)
Was measured using a flow side meter (FACScan, manufactured by Becton Dekinson). The results are shown in Tables 1 to 3.

[0011]

[Table 1]

[0012]

[Table 2]

[0013]

[Table 3]

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A health food containing a kefir grain, a kefir culture solution, or an extract thereof, which activates either or both macrophages and B cells to promote the production of interleukin 12. 2. The health food according to claim 1, which causes production of interferons α, β and γ. 3. The health food according to claim 1, which has a direct cell proliferating effect on activated T cells and activated natural killer cells. 4. The health food according to claim 1, which enhances natural chiral cell activity. 5. The health food according to claim 1, which induces lymphokine-activated killer cell activity.