JPH1042842A - Beverage containing stabilized milk whey protein - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a beverage containing milk whey protein free from gelation, coagulation, precipitation, etc., excellent in flavor, pleasantly drinkable property, storage stability by heat sterilizing the liquid composition containing milk whey protein after acting transgluta-minase. SOLUTION: This milk whey protein-containing beverage is obtained by acting 5-50 units (per 1gr of protein in the liquid composition) of transgluta minase to the liquid composition containing milk whey protein, then adding gustatory substance such as fruits juice, sweetening, acidulant, flavor, etc., and heat sterilizing. Preferably this beverage has >=6.2 or <=3.6pH.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a stabilized milk whey protein-containing beverage which does not cause gelation, aggregation, precipitation or the like by the action of transglutaminase and a method for producing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Milk whey (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as whey), which is a by-product of the production of cheese and casein from milk or skim milk powder, has been used for some time in animal feed and the like. Had been discarded without finding a useful use for it. In recent years, various technologies have been developed for the effective use of whey from the viewpoint of the effective use of natural resources and the treatment of industrial waste related to environmental protection, and the practical use thereof has been achieved.

[0003] Development of whey processed products such as whey protein concentrate or desalted whey powder, in which whey components are fractionated and purified by new technologies such as ultrafiltration or electrodialysis, are typical examples. It has been re-evaluated from the viewpoint of nutritional properties as a source of proteins, vitamins, minerals, etc., which have good digestion and absorption properties inherent in whey, which are inherently functional properties such as gelling properties and gelling properties, and are actively used as high quality food materials .

[0004] However, these whey and processed whey products are mainly used as food raw materials for solid foods such as ice cream and other desserts, confectionery and bread making products, and processed marine and livestock meat products in view of their functions and nutritional characteristics. However, at present, it has not been applied to liquid foods such as whey-containing beverages containing whey components having excellent nutritional properties.

[0005] One of the causes is that whey components contained in whey and processed whey products, particularly whey proteins, undergo thermal denaturation during heat treatment such as sterilization and gelation that does not originate from microbial contamination during storage. , Aggregation, sedimentation, etc., which may significantly reduce the food value of the beverage.

[0006] In order to prevent this, the concentration of whey protein used should be a certain concentration (about 10%) at which gelation does not occur.
Uses sodium carboxymethylcellulose (hereinafter, referred to as CMC), propylene glycol alginate (hereinafter, referred to as PGA), pectin, and the like, which are known as stabilizers for acidic beverages containing milk components such as milk proteins, and the like. However, a method of suppressing gelation, aggregation, sedimentation, and the like by using the protein stabilizing and protecting effects possessed by them is generally considered. Further, a method of hydrolyzing whey protein as a causative substance with a protease in advance and reducing the molecular weight to a peptide or the like having relatively high thermostability, thereby making it difficult to cause gelation, aggregation, precipitation, and the like can be considered. .

[0007] However, CMC and PGA have a problem that their action mainly works in an acidic region and almost no effect can be expected in a neutral region. In addition, since the compound is a synthetic compound, a whey-containing beverage having a strong natural and healthy image is obtained. There is a problem that the use to the hesitation is often hesitated. In addition, pectin also has a problem in that it may not be satisfactory in terms of its mouth area due to the problem of its active area and a slight problem in stabilizing milk protein, and that the viscosity increases when the amount of pectin is increased. . In addition, in the case of partial hydrolysis of protein, it is necessary to considerably reduce the molecular weight of the protein in order to avoid problems such as precipitation. Difficult to create.

[0008] Apart from the above method, Shin-Ya T
animoto and JohnE. Kinsel
(J. Agric. FoodChem., 1988, 3).
6, 281-285) describes a polymer mixture 99-transglutaminase of β-lactoglobulin.
Thermal stability below ℃ is reported from the viewpoint of protein solubility. And indeed, their experiments show that protein insolubilization is prevented.

[0009] However, in their report, the solubility of the protein is captured by the change in the protein concentration in the centrifuged supernatant, but there is no strict observation about precipitation, which is considered to be an important drawback in beverage production. No observations over time have been made that are important for the formation of precipitates, and their interests and objectives are limited to rheological aspects. In addition, their report is an experimental report on β-lactoglobulin, a minor component of milk protein, in a pure system, and there is no suggestion about the behavior of the whole component of whey containing various substances. Not even. That is, containing various proteins in addition to β-lactoglobulin, and also the heat stability of whey protein in a whey-containing beverage composed of a whey component containing various components other than proteins and a taste substance, and No mention is made of precipitation prevention.

In a modified milk protein-containing material (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-160957) and a pickle for processed meat (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-255426), transglutaminase is allowed to act on milk protein. Milk protein assumes casein, a major component of milk protein, and does not even suggest the present invention relating to solving the problems inherent in whey protein. By the way, casein, a major component of milk protein,
Unlike whey protein, there is no problem as described above.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems in the production of a whey protein-containing beverage, and to prevent whey protein from gelling, aggregating, sedimenting, etc. and to provide excellent storage stability. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for producing a protein-containing beverage, and to provide a whey-containing beverage excellent in flavor and taste by the method.

[0012]

Means for Solving the Problems The inventors of the present invention have conducted intensive studies to solve the above-mentioned problems. As a result, transglutaminase was allowed to act on a composition solution containing whey or a processed whey product in advance, followed by heat sterilization. The present inventors have found that a whey-containing beverage excellent in storage stability, flavor, and drinking mouth can be produced, and have completed the present invention.

[0013] That is, the present invention provides a milk whey protein-containing beverage characterized by containing milk whey protein stabilized by the action of transglutaminase and a desired flavor, and a composition liquid containing milk whey protein. The present invention relates to a method for producing a milk whey protein-containing beverage, which comprises adding a flavor, if desired, and then heat-sterilizing it after the action of glutaminase.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.

First, the milk whey protein-containing beverage of the present invention will be described. This beverage is characterized by containing milk whey protein stabilized by the action of transglutaminase and a desired extract, fruit juice, sweetener, sour agent, flavoring agent such as flavoring agent by a method as described later. Dairy beverages such as coffee beverages and acidic juice beverages.

Next, a method for producing such a beverage will be described. Milk whey protein-containing composition solution on which transglutaminase is to act, such as milk or defatted (powder)
Milk whey containing milk whey protein, which can be obtained as a by-product when producing cheese, casein or the like using milk or the like as a raw material, can be mentioned as a typical example. Such milk whey is a composition liquid containing lactose and protein as its main components, and a small amount of ash, fat, and the like. In addition, such processed milk whey, that is, conventional whey powder and whey concentrate, further ultrafiltration, desalted whey powder and whey concentrated protein obtained by using new food technology such as electrodialysis, etc. , (In the case of a powder) and an appropriate water dilution (in the case of a concentrate). In addition, a milk whey protein-containing composition that, when used as a raw material for whey beverages, undergoes thermal denaturation during heat treatment in the manufacturing process and causes gelation, aggregation, precipitation, etc., due to microbial contamination during storage of the beverage There is no particular limitation as long as the liquid has the intended effect of the present invention.

In any case, it is preferable to use a milk whey protein-containing composition having a protein content of 10% or less from the viewpoint of suppressing the interaction between protein molecules during heat sterilization.

Transglutaminase includes calcium-independent and calcium-dependent ones. Examples of the former include those derived from microorganisms (for example,
27471). Examples of the latter include those derived from guinea pig liver (JP-B 1-50).
382), those derived from animal blood (Facto)
r XIII) and those derived from fish (for example, Nobuo Seki et al., "Journal of the Japanese Society of Fisheries Science", Vol. 56, No. 1, No. 12)
5-132 (1990)). In addition, products produced by a gene recombination method (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. Hei 1-300889 and Hei 5-199883)
And Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-225775).
Any transglutaminase can be used and is not limited by origin or production method.

However, from the viewpoints of functionality and economy, a calcium-independent one is preferred. For example, a transglutaminase derived from the microorganism described above (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
No. 27471) satisfies all the conditions, and seems to be the most suitable at the present time.

Hereinafter, an actual processing method for obtaining a desired beverage containing stabilized milk whey protein and a desired flavor by making transglutaminase act on the milk whey protein-containing composition solution will be specifically described. State it.

First, a food-grade transglutaminase is added to a milk whey protein-containing composition and mixed. The amount added is 0.2 to 200 units, preferably about 1 to 100 units, more preferably 5 to 50 units per gram of protein in the milk whey protein-containing composition solution.
It is about a unit. When the amount is 0.2 units or less, the coagulability by heating is not different from that when transglutaminase is not added, and when the amount is 200 units or more, the effect of adding transglutaminase becomes constant, which is not preferable from an economic viewpoint.

In order to cause transglutaminase to act on the composition solution containing milk whey protein, the composition solution to which transglutaminase is added and mixed is maintained under conditions (reaction conditions) in which the enzyme action of transglutaminase is exhibited. The reaction conditions for transglutaminase include a reaction temperature of about 0 ° C. to about 60 ° C. and a reaction time of about 5 minutes to about 4 ° C.
It can be about 8 hours. However, the reaction is preferably carried out at about 20 to about 50 ° C. for about 30 minutes to about 2 hours. When the temperature is too low for a short time, no enzymatic action is exhibited, and when the temperature is too long for a long time, transglutaminase is inactivated. Further, the pH is not particularly limited as long as it is a whey protein-containing composition prepared by the method described above, but can be appropriately adjusted with an acid or an alkali if necessary.

After completion of the reaction, a heat treatment can be performed if necessary for inactivating the enzyme. However, if the enzymatic reaction can be suppressed by adjusting the amount of the enzyme and the like, the heat treatment can be performed without performing the inactivation treatment. good.

The milk whey protein-containing composition on which transglutaminase has been acted as described above can be placed in a beverage as it is by adjusting the pH as needed, sterilizing by heating, and filling the beverage. By
Add flavorings such as fruit juice, sweetener, acidulant, flavor, etc. to this,
It can also be adjusted to a predetermined pH, sterilized by heating and filled, and placed in distribution as a beverage. In addition, milk whey protein-containing composition solution with transglutaminase acted, ice cream other than processed milk drinks, dairy products such as yogurt, mayonnaise, emulsified foods such as dressing, further sausage, meat processing products such as ham, It can also be used for fish paste products such as kamaboko.

In the production of the beverage according to the present invention, it is conceivable to add a transglutaminase to the milk whey protein composition solution and then add a desired flavor, and then to act on it. It is preferable to add the flavor after the action of the enzyme to exert the enzymatic action of transglutaminase.

With respect to the pH of the beverage of the present invention, as is clear from the results of Test Example 1 described below, thermal stability can be obtained at a pH of 3.6 or less or a pH of 6.2 or more. PH of whey protein-containing beverage
Considered a condition.

The activity unit of the transglutaminase referred to in the present invention is measured and defined as follows. That is, benzyloxycarbonyl-L
Perform a reaction using glutaminylglycine and hydroxylamine as substrates, convert the generated hydroxamic acid into an iron complex in the presence of trichloroacetic acid, measure the absorbance at 525 nm, determine the amount of hydroxamic acid from a calibration curve, and calculate the activity. (See the above-mentioned JP-A-1-27471).

[0028]

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to Test Examples and Examples, but the technical scope of the present invention is not limited thereto.

(Test Example 1) Transglutaminase (Example 1 described later) was added to a 10% aqueous solution of the same whey protein concentrate as in Example 1 described later in various amounts shown in Table 1 below.
And the reaction was carried out by maintaining at 50 ° C. for 1 hour. After the reaction was completed, the enzyme was inactivated for 10 minutes in boiling water. After adjusting the pH to various values shown in the same table with lactic acid of food grade, sterilization treatment was further performed for 10 minutes in boiling water. And the amount of sediment was visually observed.

The results are as shown in the table. It is considered that the thermal stability is improved at a pH of 3.6 or less (up to an acidity acceptable for beverages) or at a pH of 6.2 or more (up to an alkalinity acceptable for beverages). . In particular, improvement in the thermal stability of whey protein in a slightly acidic state of pH 6.2 or higher is one of the characteristics of the present invention, which has been quite difficult to achieve conventionally.

[0031]

[Table 1]

In the above table, with respect to the occurrence of precipitation,-indicates no generation of precipitation, ± indicates generation of a small amount, and + indicates generation of precipitation. The amount of enzyme added is the amount of transglutaminase used in terms of activity units per g of whey protein.

(Example 1) Whey protein content 35
% Whey protein concentrate (made by Dutch DOMO)
900 g was dissolved in 5,000 g of hot water, and the microorganisms belonging to the genus Streptoverticillium belonging to the genus Actinomycete Streptoverticillium in the amounts shown in Table 2 below
After adding and mixing transglutaminase (obtained from Obaraense IFO 13819) (manufactured by Ajinomoto Co., Inc., specific unit: 1 unit / mg), the mixture was stored at 50 ° C. for 30 minutes to perform an enzyme reaction. Next, 250 g of sugar and 10 g of coffee extract were added thereto and mixed, and then hot water was added to make the total amount to 10,000 g. Then, after homogenizing at 150 kg / cm ² with a homogenizer, heat sterilization was performed at 130 ° C. for 3 seconds with a plate heat exchanger.

The thus-obtained whey protein-containing coffee beverage was filled in a glass container for storage and used as a beverage for storage test. Immediately after filling and after storage at 10 ° C. for 7 days, the flavor and the state of precipitation were evaluated by a sensory method. A milk powder-containing coffee beverage produced by the same method except that skim milk powder was used instead of whey protein concentrate and transglutaminase was not used was used as a comparative product.

The results are summarized in Table 2 below. As is clear from the results in the same table, those with transglutaminase added immediately after filling and 10 times less than those without transglutaminase.
After storage at 7 ° C. for 7 days, the amount of precipitation of the sample was remarkably small. In addition, this precipitation state was almost the same as that of the comparative product manufactured using skim milk powder, and the evaluation was comparable in flavor to the comparative product. Therefore, according to the present invention, it has become possible to obtain a whey protein-containing beverage having an excellent flavor and storage stability.

[0036]

[Table 2]

In the above table, the pH is the pH of the product at the end of filling, the evaluation of the occurrence of precipitation is the same as in Table 1, the amount of enzyme added is the same as in Table 1, and the flavor is the same. Is an evaluation result of each sample after storage by a sensory test panel consisting of 10 skilled sensory testers, where 0 indicates good and -1 indicates slightly poor.

[0038]

Industrial Applicability According to the present invention, it is possible to produce a whey protein-containing beverage having excellent storage stability, flavor and taste without using a thickener polysaccharide stabilizer as a food additive, and it is possible to digest and absorb it. It has become possible to provide a wide range of whey protein-containing liquid foods as health and natural foods containing nutritionally excellent whey components such as proteins, vitamins and minerals having good properties. This is presumably because transglutaminase's ability to cross-link and polymerize ε- (γ-Glu) Lys between glutamine and lysine between protein molecules or intramolecularly makes the protein network structure of milk whey protein dense.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A milk whey protein-containing beverage comprising a milk whey protein stabilized by the action of transglutaminase and a desired flavor. 2. The beverage according to claim 1, wherein the pH is not less than 6.2 or not more than 3.6. 3. A method for producing a milk whey protein-containing beverage, which comprises subjecting a milk whey protein-containing composition solution to transglutaminase, adding a flavoring agent if desired, and sterilizing by heating. 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the pH is not less than 6.2 or not more than 3.6.