JPH09285420A - Konnyaku sponge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To safely obtain antimicrobial and antifungal effects by incorporating chitosan into a konnyaku (a gelatinous food made from devil's tongue starch) sponge used for face washing and bathing of babies. SOLUTION: When the konnyaku is frozen, the water and the components of the konnyaku separate. The components of the konnyaku change and are formed as the konnyaku sponge when the components are thawed. The chitosan is incorporated into such konnyaku sponge in order to impart the antimicrobial and antifungal effects thereto. The content of the chitosan is specified to preferably 0.005 to 30wt.% and more preferably 1 to 20wt.%. Such konnyaku sponge is produced by mixing konnyaku powder, water and chitosan soln., then gelatinizing the mixture and freezing, thawing, drying or dehydrating the gel.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a konjac sponge containing a natural antibacterial / antifungal agent and a method for producing the same.

[0002]

It has long been known that when konjac is frozen, water and konjac components are separated, and when thawed, it changes into a sponge-like substance. This sponge-like konjac (konjac sponge) has a better texture when containing water than urethane foam and is used for washing the face and bathing infants.

[0003]

However, if the konjac sponge is stored in a wet state, mold will be generated on the surface or deterioration by bacteria will occur, strength will be significantly reduced, and it is impossible to use for a long period of time. In addition to problems, there is a problem that it is not good for hygiene.

In order to solve such a problem, a konjac sponge to which an antibacterial / antifungal agent is added has been proposed (JP-A-6-165649 and JP-A-6-1).
89869, JP-A-6-245874, etc.). However, the antibacterial / antifungal agents used in these conventional examples are all artificially synthesized chemical substances, and although it is considered that there is no problem as long as the amount used is within the approved range, Still, there are some concerns about safety.

An object of the present invention is to provide a konjac sponge containing a natural antibacterial / antifungal agent which has no safety concerns.

[0006]

Means and Actions for Solving the Problems As a result of intensive studies to achieve the above object, the present inventor found that it is extremely effective to contain chitosan in konjac sponge, and complete the present invention. Came to.

That is, the present invention is a konjac sponge containing chitosan. Here, the content of chitosan in the konjac sponge is preferably 0.005 to 30% by weight, and more preferably 1 to 20% by weight. That is, if it is less than 0.005% by weight, the antibacterial effect is not exerted and the object of the present invention is not achieved, and if it exceeds 30% by weight, the product yellows. The konjac sponge of the present invention can be produced by mixing konjac powder, water and a chitosan solution, then gelling, and freezing, thawing, drying or dehydrating.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Chitosan used as an antibacterial / antifungal agent in the present invention has the following chemical structural formula:

[0009]

Embedded image Which is generally expressed by the following formula:

[0010]

Embedded image It is obtained by deacetylating chitin represented by And the thing which deacetylated about 80% or more of chitin is called chitosan.

Thus, chitosan is a natural polysaccharide,
It is also marketed as a dietary supplement and is extremely safe, and examples of applications as antibacterial and antifungal agents include preservatives for pickles and antibacterial fibers.

[0012]

EXAMPLES Examples and comparative examples of the present invention will be described below. (Example 1) 100 parts by weight of konjac refined flour and 3440 water
Parts by weight, foaming material 4360 parts by weight, 1.7 w / v% chitosan solution (dissolved in 1.3 w / v% acetic acid) 3
00 parts by weight and calcium hydroxide as a gelling agent 5.
A block was prepared by adding 5 parts by weight. After heating this block in hot water, it was frozen, thawed and dehydrated to obtain a konjac sponge containing chitosan.

(Examples 2 to 6) The concentration of the chitosan solution was changed in Example 1 to obtain konjac sponges having different chitosan contents.

Comparative Example The chitosan solution was removed in Example 1 to obtain a konjac sponge containing no chitosan.

Regarding the above konjac sponge, according to the method of Nishiyama et al. (Decomposition acceleration test of cellulose-chitosan composite film) of Shikoku Institute of Industrial Technology, Industrial Technology Institute,
An antibacterial test using soil bacteria was performed. The outline of the antibacterial test is as follows. Test piece on the test tube (dimension: about 10
× 10 × 10 mm, weight; about 0.04 g) 3 pieces, an aqueous solution containing 0.1% potassium phosphate, 0.2% ammonium nitrate and 0.1% yeast extract to pH 5.5 with sodium hydroxide. (Adjusted) 10 ml and glass beads (diameter 2.8-4.0 mm) 0.6 g, and
Silicosene and sterilize in an autoclave (121 ° C,
15 minutes). After cooling, 0.1 ml of a soil suspension (3 g of diatomaceous earth was suspended in 450 ml of ion-exchanged water and left for 3 minutes or more) was inoculated and shaken (150 times / min) at 30 ° C. After inoculation, the state of decomposition of the test piece was observed every 24 hours. Table 1 shows the results. In addition, in the evaluation column of Table 1, when all of the test pieces retain the shape on the second day of the culture; ⊚, when 2/3 of the test pieces retain the shape; ◯, the test piece ⅓ of the sample retains its shape; Δ, all of the test pieces collapsed; ×.

[0016]

[Table 1]

[0017]

Industrial Applicability As described above, according to the present invention, a konjac sponge which is resistant to bacteria and mold and has no safety concerns can be obtained.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A konjac sponge containing chitosan. 2. The konjac sponge according to claim 1, wherein the content of chitosan is 0.005 to 30% by weight. 3. A method for producing a konjac sponge containing chitosan, which comprises mixing konjac flour, water and a chitosan solution, and then gelling, freezing, thawing, drying or dehydrating.