JPS63185929A - Production of water-dispersible lecithin powder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a readily handleable compound with a high phosphatidylcholine (PC) content, having excellent dispersibility in water and capable of forming an aqueous dispersion having a low viscosity, by blending a concentrated lecithin containing PC with an oily dispersion and aqueous dispersion and spray drying the resultant blend. CONSTITUTION:Concentrated lecithin containing >=80wt.% phosphatidylcholine (hereinafter abbreviated to PC) is homogeneously dispersed in a fat or oil in an equal amount or less to provide an oily dispersion. A coating agent consisting of a water-soluble protein, water-soluble glucide and cellulose powder is dissolved or dispersed in water to afford an aqueous dispersion. In the process, a buffering agent, e.g. trisodium phosphate, etc., is preferably used to adjust the pH to 11-12. 50-90wt.% oily dispersion is blended and homogenized with 10-50wt.% aqueous dispersion in the presence of a thickening agent and emulsifying agent and the resultant blend is spray dried to provide the aimed substance.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a method for producing water-dispersible lecithin powder that has a high phosphatidylcholine (hereinafter abbreviated as PC) content and is easily dispersible in water.

[Conventional technology]

Lecithin is a phospholipid whose main component is PC, and is known from many medical reports to have physiological activity. In particular, PC has been approved as a drug in Japan as a treatment for fatty liver, hypercholesterolemia, and the like.

The PC approved for pharmaceutical use is pure polyene PC.
Therefore, it is very expensive. On the other hand, in order to recover physiological functions using natural lecithin, it is necessary to ingest 1 g/7 days to 100 g/day of lecithin over several months, and therefore, ingestion in the form of food is being considered. The reason why lecithin intake is so high as mentioned above is in addition to the requirement for physiologically effective concentrations.

This is due to the low concentration of PC in natural lecithin.

Concentrated lecithin with a high PC'a content can greatly reduce the amount of lecithin to be ingested, but encapsulation is being used for the convenience of applying it to food products. However, it is difficult to encapsulate concentrated lecithin using LIT, and a large amount of solubilizing agent is required.
It is difficult to take for a long period of time because it cannot increase the PCI level and requires a large amount of capsules to satisfy physiological requirements.

Focusing on the physiological effects of PC and its value as food,
Ingesting PC as medicine or food @now.

Continuous ingestion is difficult with conventional dosage forms such as those mentioned above, and it is desirable to change the dosage form. A water-dispersible lecithin powder that can produce a low-viscosity aqueous dispersion is considered as a new dosage form.

Conventional methods for pulverizing lecithin include: ■ granulating defatted lecithin alone; ■ granulating it by mixing it with calcium powder; and ■ mixing starch and water, gelatinizing it, drying it, and pulverizing it. , ■ a method of boiling down with sugar, cooling, solidifying, and then crushing to powder, and ■ a method of powdering using maltodextrin and milk protein as carriers (for example, JP-A-61-181344, JP-A-61-181344, Kaisho 60-214
No. 845, JP-A-60-30636, JP-A-59-4
No. 5835).

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, in most of the conventional powdering methods described above, the water dispersibility of the powder is not taken into consideration, and the particle size is large, so uniformity when mixed with food materials becomes a problem. Although some powders have good emulsifying properties, emulsified powders have a high viscosity, making it difficult to obtain a low-viscosity aqueous dispersion, making it difficult to ingest as medicines or foods.

The present invention is intended to solve the above problems, and can be uniformly mixed with other food materials in the form of powder or dispersion.
It is also possible to form a low-viscosity aqueous dispersion.

The purpose of this study is to propose a method for producing water-dispersible lecithin powder that is easy to ingest as medicine or food.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention provides a 50 to 90% by weight oil dispersion in which concentrated lecithin containing 80% by weight or more of phosphatidylcholine is dispersed in the same amount or less of fat and oil, and a water-soluble protein.

A water-dispersible lecithin powder characterized by mixing a 10 to 50% by weight aqueous dispersion of a coating agent consisting of water-soluble saccharides and cellulose powder in the presence of a thickener and an emulsifier, homogenizing the mixture, and spray-drying the mixture. This is a manufacturing method.

The concentrated lecithin used as a raw material in the present invention is PC
It is a concentrated phospholipid with a content of 80% by weight or more.

Such concentrated lecithin is obtained by defatting natural lecithin such as soybean lecithin or egg yolk lecithin using a conventional method, and then purifying it to remove phospholipids and other components other than PC.
Obtained by increasing the degree of As the fat and oil in which this concentrated lecithin is dispersed, edible fats and oils such as refined vegetable oils can be used, and liquid oils are particularly preferred. Concentrated lecithin is uniformly dispersed in less than the same amount of oil or fat to form an oily dispersion.

The coating agent for turning the oil dispersion into a water-dispersible powder consists of a water-soluble protein, a water-soluble saccharide, and a cellulose powder, which are dissolved or dispersed in water to form an aqueous dispersion. Examples of water-soluble proteins include sodium caseinate. Commercially available sodium caseinate may be used, but in order to further improve water solubility, it is preferable to use it together with a buffer that adjusts the aqueous dispersion to pH 11 to 12, such as trisodium phosphate. In this case, it is desirable to dissolve the buffer in hot water of 80° C. or higher, add soluble protein, and solubilize until it becomes translucent. Examples of water-soluble saccharides include dextrin. These water-soluble ingredients serve as the water-soluble carrier of the powder. As the cellulose powder, commercially available microcrystalline cellulose can be used, and the adhesion of the powder is suppressed. The weight ratio of these components is approximately 100: water-soluble protein: 10-1000: water-soluble saccharide: 1-10: cellulose powder. The concentration of the coating agent in the aqueous dispersion is about 10 to 60% by weight.

The above oil dispersion and aqueous dispersion are mixed and homogenized in the presence of a thickener and an emulsifier to form an emulsion, which is then spray-dried to form a powder. The ratio of the coating agent in the oil dispersion and the aqueous dispersion is 50 to 90% by weight for the oil dispersion and 10 to 50% by weight for the coating agent. Examples of the thickener include sodium alginate, which is added in an amount of 0.01 to 1% by weight based on the total amount of the oil dispersion and coating agent.

Emulsifiers include sucrose fatty acid esters, HLB
A hydrophilic compound having a hydrophilicity of 10 to 20 is preferable, and is added in an amount of 0.1 to 5% by weight based on the total amount of the oil dispersion and coating agent. Thickeners and emulsifiers can be added to the aqueous dispersion along with coating agents. It is preferable to mix and homogenize the oil dispersion and the aqueous dispersion at a temperature of 80° C. or higher.

Hereinafter, a specific manufacturing method of the present invention will be explained in detail. Lecithin does not melt in the mouth, and undispersed lecithin in food materials sticks to the mouth, causing discomfort after eating. Therefore, in order to produce lecithin-containing foods with good texture, it is necessary to finely and homogeneously disperse lecithin in food materials. However, as the PC concentration in lecithin increases, the consistency of lecithin becomes extremely hard, making it difficult to mechanically shear and also difficult to dissolve in fats and oils. When dispersing it in water, its fluidity increases significantly at a few percent solution, making it difficult to handle.

Therefore, when condensed lecithin with a high PC concentration is made into a water-dispersible powder, it is necessary to increase the water-dispersibility and lower the viscosity when dispersed in water.

The preparation of water-dispersible lecithin powders that produce low-viscosity aqueous dispersions requires that the carrier on which the concentrated lecithin is coated be water-soluble;
It needs to be a W-type emulsion. In this case, in order to turn concentrated lecithin into an O/W type emulsion, it is first necessary to consider the handling shape of concentrated lecithin. 'A-condensed lecithin is in the form of a hard gel at room temperature, and its properties do not change significantly even when heated. Moreover, even if this solid is directly added to water and stirred at high speed, it takes a long time to disperse it, and even a 10% by weight dispersion becomes highly viscous, making it difficult to convert it into a low-viscosity liquid.

In the present invention, in order to obtain a low-viscosity dispersion of concentrated lecithin, concentrated lecithin and fats and oils are made compatible.

In order to solubilize concentrated lecithin in fats and oils, if the concentrated lecithin is in a small amount, it can be solubilized by heating and stirring, but if the concentrated lecithin is more than the same amount as the fats and oils, this method is not possible. Therefore, in order to make the concentrated lecithin compatible with the same amount or less of oil or fat, the oil or fat that is liquid at room temperature and the concentrated lecithin block are cut into thin pieces using a high-speed shearing machine, etc., and this mixture is aged for one week or more, resulting in a low consistency. An oily homogeneous composition is obtained.

In this case, while being atomized in a high-speed shearing machine, the temperature of this mixture rises due to frictional heat, and immediately after being taken out, the shredded solids are dispersed in a highly viscous oily substance. Within one hour, as the temperature decreases, it turns into a gel-like solid. However, if this highly viscous oil is processed with rolling rolls before the temperature drops, the shredded solids will be finely ground into a very soft semi-solid oil dispersion, and aging may be omitted. Alternatively, the time required for aging is shortened. The above-mentioned aged oil dispersion or oil dispersion treated with a rolling roll can be easily dispersed in water to form a low-viscosity dispersion.
This tendency increases as the proportion of liquid oil decreases and decreases as the proportion of liquid oil increases.

As described above, the problems of thickening and dispersibility of concentrated lecithin in aqueous dispersions are solved, so the solid content concentration in the aqueous emulsion required for spray drying can be changed from a very thin concentration of 2 to 3% by weight to 40 to 40% by weight. Any density can be set up to a high density of 50%.

The coating agent that serves as a carrier for water-dispersible lecithin powder must have strong hydrophilicity, and water-soluble saccharides can be used, but water-soluble saccharides alone will cause leakage when coating a large amount of oil-based dispersion. Since prevention is not sufficient, encapsulation with water-soluble protein is effective. For coating concentrated lecithin, the ratio of concentrated lecithin to water-soluble protein should be 3:1 to 5:1 by weight.
If it is set to 1, it can be powdered, but the particle size of the produced powder is widely distributed from 40 to 100 μl, the coating is non-uniform, the stability of the emulsion is a problem, and the dispersibility is insufficient. Therefore, when sodium alginate as a thickener and a hydrophilic sucrose fatty acid ester (HLB15) as an emulsifier are added to the preparation of an emulsion, the stability of the emulsion is improved and the form of the powder is improved.

In order to prevent powders from sticking to each other, it is effective to add cellulose powder such as microcrystalline cellulose to an aqueous dispersion to make it fine.

However, in order to improve the water dispersibility of the powder thus obtained, it is desirable to further increase the water solubility of the protein. Water-soluble proteins, which are important components of coating agents, have poor water solubility compared to water-soluble saccharides. Albumin and the milk protein casein are known as representative water-soluble proteins that can be used as food materials. Among these, albumin must be handled with care because it is a thermocoagulable protein and is significantly denatured by salt concentration. On the other hand, zein exists as a calcium salt in its natural state and has poor dispersibility in water as it is, so the calcium salt is converted to a sodium salt to promote its water solubility.

The product thus treated is commercially available as sodium caseinate and is also used in the present invention for powdering as a carrier for coating. Therefore, in order to further increase the water solubility of commercially available sodium caseinate, it is necessary to further increase the degree of sodation of sodium caseinate. Preferably, it is treated. Trisodium phosphate is a 0.1% by weight aqueous solution and has a pH of 11.5.

Commercially available sodium caseinate dissolves quickly in hot water solutions;
The resulting powder has greater water dispersibility. However, since the powder has wettability, it is practically preferable to increase the total amount of the coating agent.

The aqueous dispersion obtained above and the oil dispersion are mixed and stirred to homogenize using a pressurized high-speed stirrer, and the resulting emulsion is spray-dried to obtain a water-dispersible lecithin powder.

The water-dispersible lecithin powder thus obtained is easily dispersed in water, yielding a low-viscosity aqueous dispersion in the form of a milk drink, which can be taken as is. In addition, this lecithin powder can be mixed with food materials as it is, and is easily dispersed in water, so it can be widely applied to materials for which direct blending with phospholipids is considered difficult. In particular, water-dispersible lecithin powder with a high PC content is a form suitable for oral ingestion of PC, and is easier to eat and ingest in large quantities than solid PC.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, an oil dispersion in which concentrated lecithin and liquid oil have a uniform composition, a water-soluble protein, a water-soluble y
A low viscosity emulsion obtained by homogenizing an aqueous dispersion of a coating agent consisting of 4-cellulose and cellulose powder in the presence of a thickener and an emulsifier is spray-dried.
Easy to handle.

It is possible to produce a water-dispersible lecithin powder that has a high PC content, has good water dispersibility, and is capable of forming a low-viscosity aqueous dispersion.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in further detail with reference to Examples.

% in the examples indicates weight %.

Example 1 (A) Preparation of concentrated lecithin Soybean lecithin from which neutral fats had been removed was treated with aqueous ethanol to obtain lecithin with a PC content of 70%. This PC content is 7
0% lecithin was fractionated by liquid chromatography using a column packed with silica gel using a hexane-ethanol solvent (9515 vol/vol) as the eluent and ethanol alone as the mobile phase.
Concentrated lecithin with a C content of 80% or more was obtained.

(B) Preparation of oily dispersion 1,680 g of concentrated lecithin obtained in (A) and 1,120 g of liquid oil (refined vegetable oil) were mixed in a blender (Waring) C.
B-6 type (manufactured by Daiichi Rika Co., Ltd.) was used as a shearing device, and mixing was performed by mechanical shearing at a rotation speed of 20.00 ORPM at room temperature for 20 minutes, and while the mixture was still hot and fluid, it was mixed with a compression roll. Grind small pieces of lecithin to distribute it evenly;
A soft plastic oil dispersion was prepared.

(C) Preparation of microcrystalline cellulose dispersion Measure 6Q of hot water at 80°C or higher into a 20Q stainless steel beaker, and while stirring with a motor at a rotation speed of 24 ORPM, add untreated sodium caseinate 12 times in small portions. This was continued until a homogeneous solution was obtained, and then microcrystalline cellulose 40K was suspended. This suspension was processed using a two-stage homogenizer (manufactured by Three-Phase Special Machinery ■), and the first stage
The microcrystalline cellulose was pulverized under high pressure for 30 minutes at a rate of 150 kg/d in the second stage.

(D) Preparation of sodium caseinate solution 10Q of hot water at 80℃ or higher in a ZOQ stainless steel beaker
was weighed, and 4 g of trisodium phosphate was dissolved while stirring with a motor at a rotational speed of 24 ORPM to obtain a solution with a pH of 11.2. Add the remaining 80% of sodium caseinate to this solution.
0g was added little by little and stirred until completely dissolved.

The obtained solution was a translucent solution with higher transparency than the microcrystalline cellulose dispersion obtained in (C), and the viscosity was as low as 30 cP.

(E) Preparation of aqueous dispersion Put 10Q of the sodium caseinate solution prepared in (D) and 6Q of the microcrystalline cellulose dispersion prepared in (C) into a 20 m stainless steel beaker, heat to 80°C or higher, and While stirring at a rotation speed of 24 ORPM, an aqueous solution IQ in which 4 g of sodium alginate was dissolved was added,
Subsequently, 40 g of sucrose fatty acid ester (HLB15) and 320 g of dextrin (D, E, 24) were added and stirring was continued for 30 minutes to prepare an aqueous dispersion. Here, the ratio of the coating agent to the total amount of the oil dispersion and the coating agent is about 39%.

(F) Preparation of emulsion Add the oil dispersion obtained in (B) little by little to the aqueous dispersion obtained in (E), and increase the rotation speed of the motor to 48 ORP.
The temperature was raised to M and stirring was continued for 30 minutes while maintaining the temperature above 80°C. This emulsion was emulsified using a two-stage homogenizer at a rate of 50 kg/ffl in the first stage and 150 kg/ffl in the second stage. The emulsified liquid was immediately cooled to 15°C with a thin film of ice, sealed in a sealed container with nitrogen, and stored in a refrigerator at 5°C.

The emulsion obtained had a value of 17kK, and was dried using the drying method (110°C, 30kK).
The solids content (min) was 21%, it was a complete O/W emulsion, the fat globules were 2-30 μm, and the viscosity was 20 cP at 80°C and 1100 cP at 15°C.

(G) Powderization While keeping the emulsion obtained in (F) at a temperature of 60 to 70°C, a treatment amount of 3.5 kg/ Spray drying was carried out at a rate of h. The specific gravity of the stock solution at this time was 1.01, and the viscosity was 30 cP. The spray dryer's atomization method is a disc type, and the number of revolutions is 20. OOORPM, inlet temperature is 120°C, outlet temperature is 75-80°C, treatment time is 5 hours. 70% of the powder was collected by blowdown with an air sweeper, and 10% of the powder accumulated in the dryer tower was easily collected by mechanical impact, and the total amount of powder collected was 2. It was .6 kg.

- The lecithin powder thus obtained has a grayish white color and a wet texture, and the average particle size when observed under a microscope is 20~20.
The shape of a particle with a diameter of 50 μm was close to a sphere, but many aggregates were also observed. The moisture content determined by the drying method (infrared moisture meter) was 4%, and the bulk density was 0.3 (in/+eQ). The angle of repose is 30-45°, and although it is not a completely free-flowing powder,
Mixing with proteins and sugars was optional.

()I) Performance test 100ml of warm water (40°C) and 10g of the lecithin powder obtained in (G) were placed in a 100mA graduated cylinder with a stopper, lightly vibrated for 1 minute, and left to stand. A homogeneous low viscosity emulsion was obtained. No oil or aggregates were observed in the obtained emulsion even after it was left for more than one day.

Add 1 of the above lecithin powder to 100n+1 warm water (40℃)
When 0g or more was dissolved, the dissolution time became longer, but when this mixture was placed in an ultrasonic cleaner, the dissolution time was significantly reduced, and a beautiful milky white emulsion with low viscosity was obtained.

Next, 10 g of a powder mixture of 750 g of skim milk and 6 g of the above lecithin powder was added to warm water (40° C.) and shaken, and the whole was uniformly dispersed to obtain a milk drink-like emulsion.

Example 2 1,680 g of liquid oil used in Example 1; Laminar lecithin 1
680g of sodium caseinate was mixed and dispersed to prepare an oil dispersion, and 360g of sodium caseinate was used as a coating agent.

A water-dispersible lecithin powder was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that microcrystalline cellulose 20K and dextrin 120 were used. Here, the ratio of the coating agent to the total amount of the oil dispersion and the coating agent is about 13%.

The obtained lecithin powder was grayish white and had a wet texture, and had an average particle diameter of 24 to 50 μm under a microscope (A), and although the shape of the particle diameter was close to a sphere, many agglomerates were observed. The moisture content by drying method (infrared moisture meter) was 5%, and the bulk density was 0.3 (g/n+Q). Angle of repose is 30-35
°, it is not a completely free-flowing powder, but mixing with proteins and sugars was optional.

10g of the obtained lecithin powder and 100a of warm water (40℃)
+U in a 100 mfi measuring cylinder with a stopper, shake it up and down for 1 minute, and then let it stand.A uniform emulsion will be obtained, and no oil or aggregates will remain even if left for more than a day. I was not able to admit. 20 to 100n+n of hot water (40℃)
When dissolving lecithin powder, a beautiful milky white emulsion with low viscosity was obtained by placing the mixture in an ultrasonic cleaner.

Comparative Example In Example 2, lecithin powder was produced in the same manner as in Example 1, except that 200 g of sodium caseinate, 1 fll [crystalline cellulose IOK and 80 g of dextrin were used as coating agents]. In this case, the ratio of coating agent to the total amount of oil dispersion and coating agent is approximately 8%. However, the obtained lecithin powder had a lot of oil leaching out and was a sticky agglomerate.

When 10 g of this lecithin powder and 100 d of hot water (40° C.) were placed in a 100 mA graduated cylinder with a stopper and gently shaken up and down for 1 minute and then allowed to stand, oil accumulated in the upper layer and a uniform emulsion could not be obtained. The oil and aggregates remained as they were even after being left for one day or more.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) Coating agent 10-50% consisting of 50-90% by weight of concentrated lecithin containing 80% by weight or more of phosphatidylcholine dispersed in the same amount or less of fat and oil, water-soluble protein, water-soluble saccharide, and cellulose powder. A method for producing a water-dispersible lecithin powder, which comprises mixing and homogenizing a % by weight aqueous dispersion in the presence of a thickener and an emulsifier, followed by spray drying. (2) Mixing and homogenizing the oil dispersion and aqueous dispersion at 80℃
The manufacturing method according to claim 1, which is carried out in one step. (3) The manufacturing method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the aqueous dispersion contains a buffer that maintains the pH at 11 to 12.