JPS6363373A - Granule containing useful microorganism and production thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To suppress destruction of useful microorganism and to obtain the titled granule having improved shelf stability and uniform quality, by adding a binder having a specific melting point to a mold of useful microorganism or powder containing the mold and stirring and granulating the mixture in a non-aqueous system while melting the binder under heating. CONSTITUTION:A mold of useful microorganism such as yeast, lactic acid bacteria, etc., or powder containing the mold is blended with preferably 15-30wt% binder (e.g. sucrose higher fatty acid ester, etc.) having 35-100 deg.C melting point, stirred and granulated at the melt temperature of the binder in an non-aqueous system to give the aimed granule. A method wherein the binder is melted and sprayed is preferable because the blend can be granulated in a short time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to granules containing useful microorganisms that are less likely to die during granulation and have improved storage stability, and a method for producing the same.

[Prior Art] Useful microorganisms such as yeast and bacteria can be widely used in foods such as dairy products and brewed products, lactic acid bacteria preparations, pharmaceuticals such as intestinal regulators, and microbial pesticides.

Microorganisms are generally sensitive to heat and easily deactivated in the presence of water, but they can be stored for long periods under dry conditions. , protein, or organic or inorganic salts are added thereto and subjected to low-temperature air drying, vacuum drying, or lyophilization to prepare microbial cells or microbial cell-containing powders with a moisture content of 10% or less.

Since the dried bacterial cells obtained in this way are necessarily in the form of a powder, (i) they have a large surface area and therefore have a large contact area with the air, so they easily absorb moisture and are difficult to handle in an open system; ii) Because it has high hygroscopicity, when storing it for a long period of time, the bacteria will die if you are not careful to block out moisture; (iii) Since it is in powder form, the powder may fly around when handled and contaminate the environment. (iv) When added to foods, etc., they tend to form powder and are difficult to handle; (V) When used in pharmaceuticals, etc. In some cases, if it is in powder form, it is inconvenient to take out the entire amount.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Therefore, various methods have been proposed for granulating microbial cell powder into easy-to-handle granules.

For example, a tablet confectionery containing one or more starch, starch hydrolyzate, or protein with a moisture content of 4% or less is mixed with freeze-dried Bifidobacterium and compressed into tablets. Manufacturing method (Special Publication No. 58-462
No. 93), a method of mixing bacterial cells and raw starch and freeze-drying (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 14967-1982), a method of enclosing bacterial cells in seaweed gel to produce a particle gel containing bacterial cells (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 57-1988) 186
No. 446), the lactic acid bacteria obtained by suction filtration using lactic acid bacteria and chlorella dry powder as a filtration layer were dissolved in a 10% gelatin solution, and then sprayed on the chlorella dry powder.
A method for producing a granular lactic acid bacteria-chlorella mixture (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 53-99371), a method of mixing viable bacterial cells and a protective film-forming solution, injecting the mixture into a coagulating salt solution to gel and encapsulate it, and granulating it. (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 60-141281), but these methods, except for the tableting method, are all granulated in an aqueous system, so the killing rate of bacterial cells during handling is high and the efficiency is low.

In other words, when granulating in an aqueous system, (1) the binder uses a water-soluble substance, so it is hydrophilic and has high water absorption and hygroscopicity after granulation, and (2) it ultimately evaporates water. Therefore, it is difficult to apply to bacteria that are sensitive to water and heat, and (3) pores are generated in the granules due to the evaporation of water, resulting in a large specific surface area and easy moisture absorption. .

Furthermore, the tableting method also has the problem of poor storage stability because the surface area of the powder cannot essentially be improved. In order to solve these problems, granulation using a non-aqueous system may be considered, but a fluid granulation method in which the core component is coated with a binder and a bacterial component has been proposed as a non-aqueous granulation method. However, (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-221078),
In this method, since the core material is in the center of the granule, only granules with a small number of bacteria per unit type can be used.Also, since the bacteria are present on the surface of the granule, it is susceptible to humidity and has poor storage stability. is not sufficient, and the product value is low.

In addition, because a core material is used, only particles with a large particle size can be produced;
．． 0. It is difficult to make something smaller than φ.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems in granules containing useful microorganisms, suppress deactivation as much as possible when granulating bacterial cells or bacterial cell-containing powders, maintain appropriate strength, and store. It is an object of the present invention to provide a granule containing useful microorganisms that is difficult to crush during transportation and use, has low hygroscopicity, and is less likely to be deactivated during storage, and a method for producing the same.

[Means for solving the problems] The present invention provides a powder of useful microorganism cells or their contents,
A method for producing useful microorganism-containing granules, characterized by stirring and granulating in a non-aqueous system while heating and melting a binder substance with a melting point of 35 to 100°C, and a method for producing granules containing useful microorganisms, which is obtained by the method, and in which microbial cells are substantially contained in the granules. The present invention provides granules containing useful microorganisms, which are characterized by uniformly containing useful microorganisms.

The microorganism to be granulated in the present invention may be any type of microbial cell, but the features of the present invention are particularly useful in the case of microbial cells that are sensitive to heat and moisture and are difficult to preserve.

For example, various proteases (low temperature active API-21,
rennet, etc.), lipase, amylase, cellulase,
Ba-cille produces useful enzymes such as pectinase
s, M, Pu5illus, Asp, nig
Various bacteria and yeasts used in the field of brewing sake, miso, soy sauce, natto, etc.
evisiae, Asp.

0ryzae, Asp, tamarii, 5ac
ch, rouxii, 8ac, na-tto, B
ac, 5ubtillus, Asp, 5ojae,
Acetobac-ter, etc.), lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria of the former Coco-ccus genus, 5treptoc
occus, PediOCOCCIJS ill, euconotoc, LaCtObaCr + +u
Examples include bacterial cells belonging to the genus S and Bifidobacterium.

These bacterial cells can be isolated from the culture medium and directly dried through low-temperature aeration, vacuum dried, or freeze-dried to form a powder, or starch, lactose, protein, or salts may be added to the isolated bacterial cells and dried in the same manner to form a bacterial cell-containing powder. are used.

There are various non-aqueous granulation methods, including one in which binder wax is dissolved in an organic solvent for granulation, but like the aqueous method, this method has a large bore ratio and improves the physical properties of the granules. Moreover, the influence of bacterial cells on the solvent is also large. In comparison, water droplet, which does not use a solvent and is granulated by heating above the melting point of the binder, has a pore ratio of 0. It was found that the ICC/g was small, less than ICC/g, and was the most favorable without being affected by the solvent.

As a binder substance during granulation, the following wax-like substances are usually used.

(1) Animal or vegetable waxes such as beef tallow, rice wax, wood wax, honey wax, candelilla wax, carnauba wax, lanolin and other natural fats and oils, (2) Sucrose esters, glycerin fatty acid mono( (3) Synthetic polymers having wax-like properties similar to (1) and (2) above, such as di-, tri) esters, propylene glycol fatty acid (PG) esters, and Tsurugatan fatty acid esters, such as cellulose derivatives. :benzylaminomethylcellulose, dimethylaminomethylcellulose,
Piperidylethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose, cellulose acetate diethylamino acetate, cellulose acetate dibutylamino hydroxypropyl ether, etc.: Polyvinyl derivatives: vinyl diethylamine-vinyl acetate copolymer, vinylbenzylamine-vinyl acetate copolymer, polyvinyl diethylaminoacetoacetal, vinyl piperidyl acetoacetal-vinyl acetate copolymer , polyvinyl acetal diethylaminoacetate, polydimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, polydiethylaminomethylstyrene, polyvinylethylpyridine, vinylethylpyridine-styrene copolymer, vinylethylpyridine-7crylonitrile copolymer, methylvinylpyridine-acrylonitrile copolymer, methylvinylpyridine-styrene Copolymers etc.

The binder substance used in the present invention is suitably one with a melting point of 100°C or less, preferably 40 to 60°C, and is selected from among those that do not affect the bacterial cells, depending on the final purpose of use. Select.

For example, when using lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria as food additives, it is necessary to select from among those permitted as food additives, such as sucrose ester, glycerin fatty acid ester, PG ester, and sorbitan fatty acid ester. 1 or 2 selected from natural fats and oils
Mixtures of more than one species are used.

In order to keep the final product granules stable for a long period of time, the lower the hygroscopicity, the more stable it is, so a wax material with a large proportion of hydrophobic parts should be selected.From this point of view, for example, Preferred are high fatty acid sucrose ester, sorbitan high fatty acid ester, rice wax, and the like.

In the present invention, additives such as fillers may be used during granulation to maintain a constant number of viable bacteria in the granules, if desired. As such additives, those that do not affect the bacterial cells and are suitable for the final purpose, such as starch, protein, glucose, lactose, inorganic salts (such as Na2804), and organic salts, are used as appropriate.

Addition of binder substance (wax) varies significantly depending on the physical properties of the bacteria to be granulated, so the optimum amount to be added needs to be determined for each case, but it is usually 10 to 50% by weight based on the total granulated material. A suitable range is 15 to 30 ffl (%). If it is less than 10% by weight, granulation is almost impossible, while if it is more than 50% by weight, the granules become large quickly during granulation, the granulation efficiency is poor, and the physical properties of the granules are also unfavorable.

In the present invention, the dried bacterial cells or bacterial cell-containing powder,
The binder material and other additives if desired are granulated in a non-aqueous system.

Possible granulation methods include transfer granulation, fluidized granulation, extrusion granulation, spray granulation, and agitation granulation. (1) Transfer granulation uses a core material as described above, so the bacterial concentration (2) Fluid granulation has a large bore ratio, low strength, and other problems similar to (1); and (3) Extrusion granulation has problems with large amounts of wax. (4) With spray granulation, it is difficult to uniformly disperse the wax in the melted wax, it takes time to disperse, and the equipment is expensive. It has disadvantages such as being large.

In comparison to these, it was found that only the agitation granulation method that does not use a solvent can overcome these drawbacks.

The granulator used is usually a stirring type M4 type granulator that can be heated with hot water, steam, electric heat, etc. so as to maintain the temperature above the melting point of the wax used.

Wax can be added to the granulator by adding it in powder form to the granulator at the same time as the bacterial powder to be granulated, or by adding pre-melted wax during granulation, but it is possible to granulate it in the shortest possible time. In order to prevent the killing of granulated microbial cells, it is preferable to add molten wax in the form of a spray.

The temperature during granulation is higher than the melting point of the wax-like substance used as a binder, preferably in the range of +5°C to the melting point, and under such temperature conditions, the desired particle size range can be formed in a short period of usually 5 to 30 minutes. Granules can be obtained.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, (1) Since granulation is performed in a non-aqueous system at a low temperature, there is no deactivation due to the action of water and heat during granulation, and (2) the obtained granules are Because it has a structure that contains useful microorganisms substantially uniformly in the binder, it is possible to make granules with a high number of bacteria, and it is also strong; (3) the shape is close to spherical, and it has extremely good fluidity. (4) Because the binder wax forms a layer on the surface, there are fewer pores on the surface, improving hygroscopicity and reducing deactivation during storage. (5) Because the binder wax forms a layer on the surface, it is less likely to be deactivated during storage. (6) The binder used for granulation or other binders can be easily coated in the final step of granulation, and a structure with a dense skin can be formed on the surface, further improving storage stability. Because it is spherical and has excellent fluidity, when the granules are mixed into other products, there is no possibility of them becoming lumpy or causing bridging, and the handling properties are significantly improved. (7) Solvent Since no water or organic solvent is used, there is no need to remove the solvent, and excellent effects such as a simple process can be obtained.

[Example] The present invention will be explained below with reference to Examples and Comparative Examples.

Examples 1 to 5 Lactic acid bacteria belonging to the genus Tactobacillus Ius were diluted with starch, lactose, etc., and the number of bacterial cells was 3 x 1010/
A binder (sucrose ester monoglyceride and rice wax) and a thickener (Na2S04) in the proportions shown in Table 1 were added to the lactic acid bacteria-containing material prepared in cJ.
The pellets were granulated at a temperature of ~70°C (Examples 1 to 5), and the survival rate of viable bacteria was measured by a conventional method, and the results shown in Table 1 were obtained (q). The granulated product was kept at room temperature and at 35°C.
When the sample was stored at °C and the survival rate of viable bacteria was measured, it was found that it could be stored stably for a long period of time, as shown in Table 2.

Examples 6 to 8 Using a bulk powder prepared to contain 1 x 109/9 bifidobacteria belonging to Bifidobacterium Q, a binder (sucrose ester-sorbitan ester-glycerin ester, rice Wax) and bulking agents (Na2so4, glucose) were added and granulated at a temperature of 55 to 70°C, and the survival rate of viable bacteria was measured. The results shown in Table 1 were 19. Furthermore, when a storage stability test was conducted on these three types of granulated products in the same manner as in Examples 1 to 5, good results were obtained.

Comparative Examples 1 to 2 20% glucose aqueous solution and bulking agent (Na2SO4) were added to the same bacterial cell content as in Examples 1 to 5 in the proportions shown in Table 1, granulated with stirring at room temperature, and the survival rate of viable bacteria was measured. As a result, as shown in Table 1, the results were extremely low (only a fixed amount could be obtained).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) Powder of useful microorganism cells or their contents has a melting point of 3
While heating and melting the binder material at 5 to 100°C,
A method for producing granules containing useful microorganisms, characterized by stirring and granulating them in a non-aqueous system. 2) Claim 1, wherein the binder substance is a waxy substance, and the amount added is in the range of 10 to 50% by weight.
The manufacturing method described in section. 3) The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the granulation temperature is higher than the melting point of the binder material. 4) The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the surface of the granules is coated with the binder used for granulation or a different binder in the final step of granulation. 5) The powder of useful microorganisms or their contents has a melting point of 3.
While heating and melting the binder material at 5 to 100°C,
A granule containing useful microorganisms, which is obtained by agitation granulation in a non-aqueous system, and is characterized in that the granule substantially uniformly contains bacterial cells.