JPH09313129A - Flavor improving composition - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a flavor improving composition useful for a refreshing beverage, a functional beverage, an alcoholic beverage, a health food, a medicine, etc., excellent in safety and palatability, having improving effects on bitterness, acidity and salty taste, containing a theanine. SOLUTION: This flavor improving composition comprises a theanine such as Ltheanine which is a glutamic acid derivative contained in tea leaves and is a main component of the taste of tea. A product required to improve taste is favorably mixed with 0.001-5wt.%, preferably 0.001-0.5wt.% of a theanine.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a flavor improving composition for improving flavor. More specifically, it relates to a flavor improving composition containing theanine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Some foods, particularly beverages, have a slightly bitter taste, which significantly impairs the taste. Therefore, in order to solve these problems, sodium glutamate, aspartame and the like have been used to improve the taste such as bitterness. However, even if the flavor of the product is improved by adding it, a new astringent taste is felt,
The current situation is that the flavor cannot be completely improved. For example, when 0.01% by weight of sodium glutamate is added to a coffee beverage, sodium glutamate gives a unique astringent taste. In addition, a method of eliminating bitterness by adding an L-glutamic acid-containing peptide or a L-aspartic acid-containing peptide having a constituent amino acid number of 10 or less to a food or drink having a bitterness (Japanese Patent Publication No. 54-17014), and an amino acid or peptide exhibiting a bitterness as a saccharide. Of the food composition (Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 3-47829), which is contained under the condition that does not cause the heat browning reaction, and is provided with the flavor of cacao and / or coffee, and saponin for reducing bitterness and astringent taste derived from saponin with amino acids. And an amino acid-containing composition (JP-A-4-2071)
61) and other techniques relating to flavor improvement are disclosed.

However, these flavor-improving ingredients are limited in the foods that can be improved, so that the range of application to foods is limited. In addition, many pharmaceuticals have a bitter taste, and the bitterness may cause dislike of the drug or may be discarded without being used. Conventionally, in order to improve the flavor of pharmaceutical products, sugar-coated tablets are used for tablets, lactose is added for powders, and syrup is added for liquids. It is clear from the fact that almost all liquid pharmaceuticals have a bitter taste. In order to solve these problems, the number of constituent amino acids in a drug with bitterness is 1
A bitterness masking method in which 0 or less L-glutamic acid-containing peptide or L-aspartic acid-containing peptide is added (Japanese Patent Publication No.
4-29567), an acidic phospholipid or a lyso form thereof, and a bitterness reducing agent and a method for reducing bitterness (JP-A-7-6).
7552) and the like are disclosed. However, these ingredients that improve bitterness have problems such as complicated separation and purification of active ingredients and high cost.

[0004]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a flavor improving composition which solves the above problems.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems As a result of investigations on substances having an effect of improving flavor, the present inventors have solved the above problems by adding theanine, which is one of the amino acids often contained in green tea, The present invention has been completed. The effect of the flavor improving composition characterized by containing theanine has not been known so far, and is a novel effect that the present inventors have found for the first time. More specifically, it has been found that it is particularly effective in improving the bitterness, sourness and saltiness among the flavors. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.

[0006]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The flavor improvement in the present invention refers to improving a sensible flavor such as bitterness, sourness, saltiness, astringency, spiciness and astringency, or improving to a more preferable flavor, and more preferably. Is improvement of bitterness, sourness and saltiness.
Theanine used in the present invention is a glutamic acid derivative contained in tea leaves and is the main component of the umami of tea. It is also used as a food additive for taste, and the amount added is not limited. The theanine used in the present invention can be produced by an organic synthesis method (Chem. Pharm.
L., 19 (7) 1301-1307 (1971)), fermentation method (JP-A-5-6)
8578, JP-A-5-328986), plant cell culture method (JP-A-5-123166) and the like, and any method may be used. The theanine obtained by such a method can be used in any of the L-form, D-form and DL-form, but since the L-form is derived from a natural product, the impurities contained therein are also ingested as food. The L-form is preferred in the present invention because it can be produced and does not require high purification.

There are no particular restrictions on foods and beverages that require flavor improvement, but fruits and processed products thereof, vegetables or processed products thereof, various taste beverages, soft drinks, functional beverages, alcoholic beverages, Health foods are mentioned, and as bitter substances, L-valine, L-leucine, L-
Isoleucine, L-phenylalanine, L-tyrosine,
Amino acids such as L-arginine, L-histidine and L-lysine, flavonoids, terpenoids, tannins, alkaloids, browning substances such as caramel and melanoidins, humulones such as humulone and isohumulone, tyrosol, tyramine, saponin and dibutyrin. , Fatty acids such as palmitic acid, and rutin. Examples of the sour substance include acetic acid, lactic acid, succinic acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, and citric acid. Examples of the salty substance include salt and potassium chloride.

More specifically, among processed fruits, juice using grapefruit, hesperidin contained in jellies, flavonoids such as naringin, bitterness of tannins, astringent taste, and coffee beverages among favorite beverages,
Examples include caffeine in cocoa drinks, bitterness of tannins, menthol taste in herbal drinks, pungent odor of sourness in alcoholic drinks, soup, and improvement in saltiness of soups. The drug requiring flavor improvement is not particularly limited, but examples thereof include those having an appropriate bitterness, such as acetoacinophen (an antipyretic analgesic), chlorpheniramine maleate (antihistamine), anhydrous caffeine, quinine, papaverine. Etc.

In the present invention, when used as a flavor improving composition, it depends on the intensity of the flavor to be improved, but it is generally 0.000 as theanine for products requiring flavor improvement.
If it is 1% by weight or more, a sufficient effect can be obtained.
Although there is no particular upper limit to the amount of theanine added, it is generally preferable that the amount of theanine does not exceed about 5% by weight based on the product in view of the peculiar taste and economy of theanine. Therefore, in order for the flavor improving agent of the present invention to sufficiently exert its effect, it is preferable to add theanine in an amount of 0.001% to 5% by weight based on the product. More preferably 0.00
It is preferable to add 1 wt% to 0.5 wt%. Most preferably, it is 0.001% by weight to 0.05% by weight. The method for detecting theanine is not particularly limited, but a method in which after derivatization with orthophthalaldehyde (OPA) in a precolumn and then detection and quantification with a fluorescence detector by high performance chromatography using an ODS column is preferable.

In the addition method of the present invention, theanine, which is an active ingredient of the flavor improving composition, may be used as it is, but in the case of food, it is a dried product, a preparation to be added to a favorite product, a soft drink, mineral water, or a favorite drink. It can also be used as a soluble preparation to be added to alcoholic beverages and drinks. In addition, pharmaceuticals can be formulated into capsules, tablets, powders, granules, drinks, injections, infusions and the like. L-theanine is a very safe substance with no death in oral toxicity test at 2 g / kg in mice and no abnormalities in general condition and body weight. Expected to develop as a material and pharmaceutical material. Further, it can be used in combination with other ingredients such as essential oils, amino acids, vitamins, etc. Especially, the combination with vitamins is effective for improving the flavor of fruits or processed products thereof. The vitamins used in combination here are not particularly limited, but include vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, etc., preferably vitamin C,
Vitamin E is used. Although the compounding ratio of theanine and vitamin is not particularly limited, the usual compounding ratio is 0.01 to 5 of vitamins to 1 of theanine, and the preferred compounding ratio is 0.01 to 1 of vitamins to 1 of theanine. is there. The product forms of the present invention include solutions, suspensions, powders,
It is a solid molded product and the like, and there are various kinds such as mousse, jelly, frozen dessert, candy, chocolate, cracker, cake, bread, soup, coffee, cocoa, juice, liquor, medicine, etc., and the present invention is not limited thereby. . Next, the present invention will be further described with reference to examples, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to these.

[0011]

【Example】

Example 1 0.3 M glutamine and 1.5 M ethylamine were added in a borate buffer (Na2B4O7-NaOH, pH 11) at 0.3 U / glutaminase (derived from Pseudomonas bacteria) at 30 ° C., 22
Allowed to react for hours. From the reaction solution 1, 225 mmol of theanine was obtained. In addition, glutamic acid as a by-product was 20 mmol. In addition, for purification from the reaction solution,
8. Dowex 1 × 2 column chromatography was performed, and this was treated with ethanol. Theanine was confirmed by subjecting this isolated substance to an amino acid analyzer and paper chromatography to show the same behavior as the standard substance. Hydrolysis with hydrochloric acid or glutaminase produced glutamic acid and ethylamine in a ratio of 1: 1. Thus, the isolated substance was hydrolyzed by glutaminase, indicating that ethylamine was bound to the γ-position of glutamic acid. It was also confirmed by glutamate dehydrogenase (GluDH) that the glutamic acid produced by hydrolysis was L-type, and it was confirmed that the obtained compound was L-theanine.

Example 2 Tea (Camellia sinensis L.) leaves were extracted with hot water and then cation exchange resin (Muromachi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. Dowex HCR W-2)
And eluted with 1N NaOH. Pass the eluted fraction through activated carbon (Taiko Activated Carbon SG, manufactured by Nimura Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.)
The fraction eluted with 5% EtOH was subjected to RO membrane (NTTO Denko Corporation NT
R 729 HF) was used for concentration, purification was performed by column chromatography, and recrystallization was performed to produce theanine. Test Example 1 The theanine-containing flavor improving composition of the present invention obtained in Example 1 and sodium glutamate were added to the coffee beverages shown in Table 1 in an amount of 0.01% by weight and 0.1% by weight, respectively. A sensory test was conducted on 7 panelists. Table 2 shows the average score based on a perfect score of 5 with 3 points for no addition.

[0013]

[Table 1]

[0014]

[Table 2]

As is clear from Table 2, the improvement effect was obtained by adding 0.01% by weight of the flavor improving composition of the present invention. Test Example 2 The theanine-containing flavor improving composition of the present invention obtained in Example 1 and glycyl-L-glutamic acid were added to the ginseng extract, which is a crude drug having a bitterness, at 0.2% by weight, respectively.
0.5% by weight was added, and a sensory test was conducted on 5 panelists. The results are shown in Table 3.

[0016]

[Table 3]

As is clear from Table 3, the improvement effect was obtained by adding 0.2% by weight of the flavor improving composition of the present invention. Test Example 3 The theanine-containing flavor improving composition of the present invention obtained in Example 1 was added to an alcoholic beverage in an amount of 0.01% by weight and 0.0% by weight.
2% by weight was added, and a sensory test was conducted on a panel of 5 men and women. Table 4 shows the average score with a maximum score of 5 with no addition of 3.

[0018]

[Table 4]

As is clear from Table 4, the improvement effect was obtained by adding 0.01% by weight of the flavor improving composition of the present invention. Test Example 4 The theanine-containing flavor improving composition of the present invention obtained in Example 1 was added to the soup shown in Table 5 in an amount of 0.01% by weight and 0.02% by weight to give a total of 5 male and female panelists. A sensory test was conducted. Table 6 shows the results.

[0020]

[Table 5]

[0021]

[Table 6]

The embodiments of the present invention are as follows. (1) A flavor improving composition containing theanine. (2) A bitterness improving composition comprising theanine. (3) A sourness improving composition comprising theanine. (4) A salty taste improving composition comprising theanine. (5) A flavor improving composition in which theanine is L-theanine. (6) A bitterness improving composition in which theanine is L-theanine. (7) A sourness improving composition in which theanine is L-theanine. (8) A salty taste improving composition in which theanine is L-theanine.

(9) A flavor improving composition in which theanine is D-theanine. (10) A bitterness improving composition in which theanine is D-theanine. (11) A sourness improving composition in which theanine is D-theanine. (12) A salty taste improving composition in which theanine is D-theanine. (13) A flavor improving composition in which theanine is DL-theanine. (14) A bitterness improving composition in which theanine is DL-theanine. (15) A sourness improving composition in which theanine is DL-theanine. (16) A salty taste improving composition in which theanine is DL-theanine.

(17) The flavor improving composition according to any one of (1) to (16) above, wherein theanine is produced by reacting a mixture of glutamine and ethylamine with glutaminase. (18) The flavor improving composition according to any one of (1) to (16), wherein the theanine is derived from tea. (19) 0.001% by weight of theanine based on the product
0.05% by weight is added to the above (1) to
(18) The flavor improving composition according to any one of the above.

(20) The flavor improving composition according to any one of the above (1) to (19), characterized in that theanine is used in combination with a vitamin. (21) The flavor improving composition according to any one of (1) to (19), wherein theanine is used in combination with vitamin C or vitamin E. (22) A coffee drink comprising the composition according to any one of (1) to (19) above. (23) A ginseng extract, comprising the composition according to any one of (1) to (19). (24) An alcoholic beverage comprising the composition according to any one of (1) to (19) above. (25) A soup containing the composition according to any one of (1) to (19) above.

[0026]

As described above, the product of the present invention has a great effect in improving the flavor, and the use of the product of the present invention is extremely beneficial in consideration of the effect and safety.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A flavor improving composition comprising theanine. 2. A bitterness improving composition comprising theanine. 3. A sourness improving composition comprising theanine. 4. A salty taste improving composition comprising theanine.