WO2002091845A1

WO2002091845A1 - Lingering intoxication aquaous tea comprising puerh extract as an effective component and process for preparation thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2002091845A1
Application number: PCT/KR2002/000935
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sung-Ja Goo; Myung-Han Lee
Original assignee: Korea Confidence Co., Ltd
Priority date: 2001-05-17
Filing date: 2002-05-17
Publication date: 2002-11-21

Abstract

The present invention relates to lingering intoxication aquaous tea comprising puerh extract as an effective component and process for preparation thereof.

Description

LINGERING INTOXICATION AQUAOUS TEA COMPRISING PUERH EXTRACT AS AN EFFECTIVE COMPONENT AND PROCESS FOR PREPARATION THEREOF

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an aqueous tea for relief of lingering intoxication comprising puerh extract as an effective component and a process for production thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to an aqueous tea of puerh with effect of lingering intoxication comprising puerh extract as an effective component in which the puerh extract is extracted by hot water so that it contains a large amount of polyphenol compounds and has a reduced puckery taste and increased palatability and a process for production thereof.

BACKGROUND ART Teas which have been previously proposed to have functions of relieving lingering intoxication so far, such as that disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 1999-15197, use medical herbs such as fruit of Hovenia dulcis Thunb and utterly depend on medical effects of the herbs. However, the present invention uses a natural tea instead of such medical herbs and thereby, does not have any side effects which may be induced from medical herbs but produces a product which is excellent in lingering intoxication action. Also, medical herb drinks previously proposed to have effects of relieving lingering intoxication or thirst induce heavy feelings in the head and body after use and show a low relieving effect since it takes much time to relieve lingering intoxication. Further, most of them fail to relieve thirst even though lingering intoxication is relieved. In order to solved the above problems involved in the conventional products, the present inventors have conducted research and studies to develop a product which can relive lingering intoxication in a short time upon application after drinking and also alleviate symptoms appearing after drinking, for example, headache, thirst or heartburn while showing a low level of side effects of chemicals derived from medical herbs.

Puerh used as a raw material in the present invention is a large-leaf and tall tree with 3 m in height, growing wild around Yunnan province, China. Its branches are grey and leaves are an oval shape with a length of 7 to 16 cm and a width of 2.8 to 5.5 cm. In a Chinese medical botany, called as "Bon-Cho-Jae-Sin", it is described that puerh has bitter and puckery tastes and cold natures but is innoxious.

In another Chinese medical botany, called as "Bon-Cho-Dal-Won", it is described that puerh helps digestion, reduces endemic diseases and prevents dysentery. The administration method is to boil and drink it.

Therefore, the present inventors investigated effects of puerh extract, considering the properties of puerh as described above and found that an aqueous tea comprising the puerh extract as an effective component has a function to relieve lingering intoxication.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Thus, It is an object of the present invention to provide an aqueous tea for relief of lingering intoxication comprising puerh extract as an effective component.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for producing an aqueous puerh tea with effects of relieving lingering intoxication comprising puerh extract as an effective component in which the puerh extract is extracted by hot water so that it contains a large amount of polyphenol compounds and has a reduced puckery taste and increased palatability.

The objects are accomplished by providing an aqueous puerh tea which is produced by preparing puerh extract by hot water extraction and combining the extract with food additives such as a sweetener, souring agent and the like; measuring the reduction rate of the alcohol level in blood and respiration for an actual time; and conducting clinic tests and direct questionnaires with healthy male and female adults in twenties without any abnormality in their livers and kidneys as the subjects of the investigation, and estimating the results.

The present invention comprises steps of preparing an aqueous tea sample using puerh extract; measuring the alcohol level in blood and respiration after taking the sample; and conducting clinic tests by measurement of GOT and GPT enzyme activities and estimating the results.

Puerh leaves changed their color to yellow or brown after being gathered. To prevent yellowing or browning, the leaves should be subjected to a roasting process by heating. The roasting process inactivates chlorophyllase, a browning enzyme and prevents fermentation. Thus, the green tea, which is treated by roasting process, is one of non-fermented green teas. However, since puerh leaves has a strong flavor, they cannot be drunken as a tea immediately after gathering. They should undergo natural fermentation through storage for many years to reduce their flavor before they are made to a tea product. In the Yunnan province, China, large tea leaves are subjected to natural fermentation for 4 to 5 years to produce puerh tea containing a large amount of fermented ingredients and tannin, which is characterized by a strong irritating taste and sustained incense for a long time. The puerh tea has a dark color and savory taste and maintain the first incense even after extracting several times. Therefore, the present invention comprises steps of investigating antidotal effect on alcohol of puerh extract prepared by extracting large tea leaves of puerh with hot water in a short time; investigating antidotal effect on alcohol of a mixture of puerh extract and extract of fruit of Hovenia dulcis Thunb; investigating antidotal effect on alcohol of a mixture of puerh extract, extract of fruit of Hovenia dulcis Thunb and extract of other natural medical herbs; preparing an aqueous puerh tea with effect of relieving lingering intoxication by combining puerh extract, extract of fruit of Hovenia dulcis Thunb and food additives such as a sweetener, souring agent, salt, flavouring agent and preservatives; and investigating antidotal effect on alcohol of the above aqueous puerh tea with effect of relieving lingering intoxication. In the present invention, only fruit of Hovenia dulcis Thunb, which is accepted as food, is used.

Other medical herbs usable in the present invention includes phellinus mushroom, Hedyotis diffusa Willa, hoelen, Schisandra chinensis, which can be used alone or in combination of two or more thereof.

Examples of the sweetener usable in the present invention include natural sweeteners such as glucose, fructose, sucrose, honey, oligosaccharides, stevioside, mannitol and the like, which can be used alone or in combination of two or more thereof.

Examples of the souring agent usable in the present invention include succinic acid, citric acid, plum extract and the like, which can be used alone or in combination of two or more thereof.

Examples of the salt usable in the present invention include sun-dried salt, roasted salt, salt roasted in bamboo and the like, which can be used alone or in combination of two or more thereof.

Examples of the flavoring agent usable in the present invention include mint flavor, honey flavor, plum flavor, mixed fruit flavor, lemon flavor, grape flavor and the like, which can be used alone or in combination of two or more thereof.

Examples of the preservatives usable in the present invention include benzoic acid and derivatives thereof, which can be used alone or in combination of two or more thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a standard curve made by using Tannic acid.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Now, the present invention will be described in detail using an embodiment shown in the following examples. However, the examples are for illustration of the present invention and do not limit the scope of the present invention.

Example 1: Alcohol level in blood and respiration after taking puerh extract

In this example, 20 to 26 years old healthy male and female university students without any abnormality in their livers and kidneys participated as the subjects of the investigation. 60 g of puerh leaves were boiled in 120 mL of water for hot water extraction until the volume becomes 1/2 for 4 hours and filtered to separate liquid components. The resulting extract was mixed with distilled water to prepare a sample solution (Sample A) containing 2 wt% of puerh extract. Then, 60 g of puerh leaves and 120 g of fruit of Hovenia dulcis Thunb were taken into 360 mL of water and the mixture was boiled for hot water extraction until the volume becomes 1/2 for 4 hours and filtered to separate liquid components. The resulting extract was mixed with distilled water to prepare a sample solution (Sample B) containing 2 wt% of mixed extract.

The control was distilled water. The prepared sample solutions and control solution were taken by three test groups, each consisting of 5 persons. Each test group was measured for the alcohol level in blood and respiration at various times after taking each sample. The selected subjects were prohibited from drinking alcohol from a week before the test day. All the subjects were provided with light meals at 2 hours before drinking alcohol. At 90 minutes after finishing meals, the subjects of each test group drunk 250 mL of Sample A or B or Control and 30 minutes later, drunk alcohol (22%, 540 mL) within 1 hour. The alcohol was provided with some eatables (peanut) in an amount which does not affect the ethanol level in the body. During experiment, smoking is prohibited positively.

At predetermined intervals, the alcohol levels in blood and respiration were measured and the results are shown in Table 1 and Table 2. The alcohol level in blood was measured by absorbance at 340 nm using an ethanol assay kit (332-B, produced by Sigma) and the alcohol level in respiration was measured using the Lion Alcolmeter SD-400.

Table 1

Alcohol level in blood after taking the inventive product

Table 2

Alcohol level in respiration after taking the inventive product

From the results of Table 1 and Table 2, it is noted that the group B taking the mixed extract of the puerh and a medical herb, fruit of Hovenia dulcis Thunb, shows reduced a little alcohol levels as compared to the group A taking the puerh extract. Both the group A and group B show increases a little in the alcohol level 90 minutes later after drinking alcohol.

Example 2

Following the procedure in Example 1, the samples of puerh extract and the mixed extract of puerh and fruits of Hovenia dulcis Thunb were prepared. Each sample was diluted in distilled water to prepare sample solutions having a concentration of 4 wt% and was taken by each group under the same condition as in Example 1. Also, an additional group (Group C) is established to take a drink for relief of lingering intoxication produced by the G company in Korea. The alcohol level was measured following the procedure in Example 1 and the results are shown in Table 3 and Table 4. Table 3

Alcohol level in blood after taking the inventive product

Table 4

Alcohol level in respiration after taking the inventive product

From the results of Table 3 and Table 4, it is noted that the group B taking the mixed extract of the puerh extract and a medical herb, fruit of Hovenia dulcis Thunb, shows reduced a little alcohol levels as compared to the group A taking the puerh extract. Also, the group A shows much lower alcohol levels in blood and respiration than those of the group taking the product of the G company. All the group A, group B and group C show increases a little in the alcohol level 120 minutes later after drinking alcohol.

Example 3: Alcohol level in blood and respiration after taking mixed extract

Following the procedure in Example 1 , the samples of puerh extract and the mixed extract(mixed extract 1) of puerh and fruits of Hovenia dulcis Thunb were prepared. Each sample was diluted in distilled water to prepare sample solutions having a concentration of 10 wt%. Separately, 60 g of puerh leaves, 120 g of fruit of Hovenia dulcis Thunb, 60 g of phellinus mushroom and 60 g of Hedyotis diffusa Willa were mixed and boiled in 600 mL of water for hot water extraction until the volume becomes 1/2 and filtered to separate liquid components. The resulting extract(mixed extract 2) was mixed with distilled water to prepare a sample solution (Sample C) containing 10 wt% of mixed extract. Each sample solution was taken by each group under the same condition as in

Example 1 and the alcohol level was measured following the procedure in Example 1. The results are shown in Table 5 and Table 6.

Table 5

Alcohol level in blood after taking the inventive product

Table 6

Alcohol level in respiration after taking the inventive product

From the results of Table 5 and Table 6, it is noted that the group B taking the mixed extract of the puerh extract and a medical herb, fruit of Hovenia dulcis Thunb, shows reduced alcohol levels as compared to the group A taking the puerh extract. Also, the group C taking the sample solution prepared by mixing more medical herbs shows much lower alcohol levels in blood and respiration than those of other groups. All the group A, group B and group C show increases a little in the alcohol level 120 minutes later after drinking alcohol.

As seen from the discussion of the above Examples, as the concentration of the puerh extract is high, the effect of relieving lingering intoxication was high. Thus, when the concentration of the puerh extract is about 10 wt%, satisfactory results can be obtained. However, considering the peculiar taste of puerh, when the concentration of the puerh extract is more than 10 wt%, a drinker may have unpalatable feeling. Therefore, the concentration of more than 10 wt% is not preferable.

Example 4: Preparation of formulated drink In this example, considering the results of Examples 1 to 3, formulated drink was prepared using a sample solution of puerh extract at a concentration of about 10 wt%.

However, the sample solution of puerh extract was prepared by the following extraction method which is different from those used in Examples 1 to 3. In the first step, 5 L of purified water was heated to 100^°C and 334 g of puerh was added thereto. After extraction at 100^°C for 30 minutes, the leaves were separated and the resulting extract was stored in a container.

In the second step, 5 L of purified water was heated to 100^°C and the leaves obtained from the first step (extracted once) was added thereto. After extraction at 100^°C for 35 minutes, the leaves were separated and the resulting extract was stored in a container.

In the third step, 5 L of purified water was heated to 100°C and the leaves (extracted twice) obtained from the second step was added thereto. After extraction at 100^°C for 40 minutes, the leaves were separated and the resulting extract was stored in a container.

In the fourth step, 5 L of purified water was heated to 100^°C and the leaves

(extracted three times) obtained from the third step was added thereto. After extraction at 100^°C for 50 minutes, the leaves were separated and the resulting extract was stored in a container. All the extracts from the first step through the fourth step were combined in a mixing vessel to obtain a total volume of 19 L of puerh extract.

For fruit of Hovenia dulcis Thunb, the extraction was performed as follows. In the first step, 935 g of fruits of Hovenia dulcis Thunb was added to 14 L of purified water and heated to 100^°C . After extraction at 100^°C for 2 hours 30 minutes, the fruits were separated and the resulting extract was stored in a container.

In the second step, the fruits obtained from the first step was added to 7 L of purified water and heated to 100^°C . After extraction at 100^°C for 2 hours 30 minutes, the fruits were separated and the resulting extract was stored in a container.

All the extracts from the first step and the second step were combined in a mixing vessel to obtain a total volume of 19 L of extract of fruit of Hovenia dulcis Thunb.

The extract of puerh and the extract of fruit of Hovenia dulcis Thunb were mixed in an equivalent amount (50:50 by weight) to obtain a mixed extract.

1 L of the mixed extract thus-obtained was mixed with 1 to 15 wt% of liquid fructose, 1 to 20 wt% of white sugar, 0.01 to 5 wt% of plum extract, 0.01 to 5 t% of salt roasted in bamboo, 0.0001 to 0.1 wt% of plum flavor, 0.0001 to 0.1 wt% of honey flavor, 0.000001 to 0.01 wt% of stevioside and 0.01 to 0.6 wt% of sodium benzoate, as food additives, in which the ratio of the food additives is in the range of 2.5 to 50 wt%, based on the total weight of the composition. In this way, the aqueous puerh tea having effects of relieving lingering intoxication according to the present invention was prepared. The aqueous tea, when it was hot, was put into a pouch pack, which could be stored for at least 6 months. In mass-production, the aqueous tea was packed in a

140mL can, which could be stored for at least 1 year under storage at room temperature or a low temperature. Experimental Example 1: Alcohol level in blood and respiration after taking formulated drink extracted in different ways

In this experimental example, the experiment was performed with three test groups of randomly selected subjects which took formulated drinks extracted in different ways: Group A was the alcohol control group, Group B was the formulated drink prepared in Example 4 and Group C was the formulated drink prepared using the ingredients and method as in Example 4, except that puerh and fruit of Hovenia dulcis Thunb were simultaneous extracted at 100^°C for 4 hours as in Example 1. The alcohol level was measured following the procedure in Example 1. The results are shown in Table 7 and Table 8.

Table 7

Alcohol level in blood after taking the inventive product

The formulated drink of the Group C was prepared by extraction as in Example 1 at 100 ^°C for 4 hours, using the same ingredients as in Example 4.

Table 8

Alcohol level in respiration

From the results of Table 7 and Table 8, it is noted that the group B taking the aqueous tea prepared according to the extraction method in Example 4 shows considerably reduced alcohol levels as compared to the group C taking the aqueous tea prepared according to a different extraction method.

Experimental example 2: Effect of formulated drink on improvement of liver function In order to measure the effect of the formulated drink according to the present invention on the liver functions, blood samples were taken from the subjects at predetermined intervals as in Experimental example 1 in heparinized vacutainer tubes. Sera separated from the blood samples were examined for GPT (Glutamic Pyruvic Transaminase) and GOT (Glutamic Oxaloacetic Transaminase) activities, which are indices of the liver toxicity by measuring the absorbance at 505 nm using GOT and GPT kits (BC101-O, BC101-P, produced by YD Diagnostics, Korea). The results are shown in Table 9 and Table 10.

Table 9

GOT activity

The formulated drink of the Group C was prepared by extraction as in Example 1 at 100^°C for 4 hours, using the same ingredients as in Example 4.

Table 10

GPT activity

From the results of Table 9 and Table 10, it is noted that activities of GOT and GPT in blood tended to decrease by 1 hour after drinking alcohol, in all the test groups. However, from 1 hour after drinking alcohol, the control group showed an increase in those enzymatic activities by 3 hours and the group B and the group C showed the similar tendency to the control group.

Example 5 In this example, a sample of puerh extract which is the main ingredient of the present invention was prepared in a different extraction method, considering that it has strong flavor and a peculiar taste and scent.

Thus, the sample was extracted by following the same procedure as in Example

4 except that the amounts of the ingredients were doubled. That is, in the first step, 10 L of purified water was heated to 100^°C and 668 g of puerh was added thereto. After extraction at 100^°C for 30 minutes, the leaves were separated and 100 mL of a sample (Al) was taken from the resulting extract, which was then stored in a container.

In the second step, 10 L of purified water was heated to 100^°C and the leaves obtained from the first step (extracted once) was added thereto. After extraction at 100^°C for 35 minutes, the leaves were separated and 100 mL of a sample (A2) was taken from the resulting extract, which was then stored in a container.

In the third step, 10 L of purified water was heated to 100^°C and the leaves (extracted twice) obtained from the second step was added thereto. After extraction at 100^°C for 40 minutes, the leaves were separated and 100 mL of a sample (A3) was taken from the resulting extract, which was then stored in a container.

In the fourth step, 10 L of purified water was heated to 100^°C and the leaves (extracted three times) obtained from the third step was added thereto. After extraction at 100^°C for 50 minutes, the leaves were separated and 100 mL of a sample (A4) was taken from the resulting extract, which was then stored in a container.

All the extracts from the first step through the fourth step were combined in a mixing vessel to obtain a total volume of 38 L of puerh extract, from which 100 mL of a sample (A5) was taken.

Also, 40 L of purified water was heated to 100^°C and 668 g of puerh was added thereto. 100 mL of extract was obtained at 2 hours (Bl), 3 hours (B2), 4 hours (B3) and 5 hours (B4) after adding the puerh.

As the control group, a sample obtained from a commercially available green tea pouch pack 150 mL (Cl) and a sample obtained from a commercially available green tea can 140 mL (C2) were used. The total polyphenol compound content was measured according to a method described by Cha et al. using a phenomenon in which a phenolic compound reacts with phosphomolybdate to exhibit blue color (Cha, J. Y., Kim, H. J., Chung, C. H. and Cho, Y. S. : Antioxidative activities and contents of polyphenolic compouond of cudrania ricuspidata. S. Korean Soc. Food Sci. Nutr. 28(6): 1310-1315 1999). Thus, 0.1 mL of each puerh extract was added to distilled water to make the total volume of 2 mL and mixed with 2 mL of 2% Na₂CO₃. Then, 0.2 mL of 2N Folin-Ciocalteu's Reagent was added thereto. 30 minutes later, the solution was measured for absorbance at 725 nm using a spectrophotometer (UV-1601, Shimadzu). Here, the total polyphenol content was calculated from a standard curve made by using tannic acid. The standard curve was made by dissolving tannic acid in 50% methanol solution to obtain solutions having a final concentration of 0, 50, 100, 150, 200 300 and 500 g/mL and measuring the absorbance of the solutions at 725 nm as described above (Fig. 1). The total polyphenol contents of the inventive aqueous puerh tea and commercial green tea are shown in Table 11.

Table 11

Total phenol content of the inventive puerh extract and commercial products

The total polyphenol compound content of the puerh extract prepared by mixing the extracts of the first step through the fourth step in a mixing vessel to obtain 38 L of the total extract, was 227 mg/lOOmL. This is higher than 210.5 mg of Bl (extract obtained by heating puerh for 2 hours) and 219.5 mg of B2 (extract obtained by heating puerh for 3 hours) and slightly lower than 232.8 mg of B3 (extract obtained by heating puerh for 4 hours) and 237.2 mg of B4 (extract obtained by heating puerh for 5 hours). Thus, it is demonstrated that the method for producing puerh extract according to the present invention is superior since it reduces the heating time and lightens the puckery taste, thereby improving the palatability.

Usually, a cup (150 to 200 mL) of green tea commercially available in Korea contains 70 to 120 mg of polyphenol. However, the aqueous puerh tea according to the present invention contains 227 mg/100 mL of polyphenol on the average and thus, is superior to any other existing products.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described through Examples and Experimental examples, the puerh extract according to the present invention has excellent in relieving lingering intoxication and the puerh extract composition prepared by combining the puerh extract with a medical herb extract and food additives and formulated drink produced therefrom can rapidly decompose alcohol absorbed into the body to reduce the alcohol levels in blood and respiration and alleviate intoxication symptoms such as headache, emesis, heartburn and the like. Also, since the extract was prepared by using natural tea leaves as raw material, it can reduce side effects induced by medical herbs and effectively prevent damage of the liver function. Therefore, habitual drinkers and ordinary people can attain health promotion effect and the present invention is very useful in the health food industry.

Claims

What is Claimed Is:

1. A method for producing an aqueous puerh tea by extracting puerh in a shor-term and multi-step process, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) heating 5 to 10 L of purified water to 100^°C, adding 334 to 668 g of puerh leaves thereto, extracting the puerh at 100^°C for 30 minutes, separating the leaves from the resulting extract and storing the remaining extract in a container;

(b) heating 5 to 10 L of purified water to 100^°C, adding the leaves obtained in the step (a) thereto, extracting the puerh at 100^°C for 35 minutes, separating the leaves from the resulting extract and storing the remaining extract in a container; and

(c) subjecting the leaves to extraction four times, each extraction being performed for 30 minutes to 1 hour with purified water in the same amount of the above step.

2. An aqueous puerh tea with effect of relieving lingering intoxication prepared by the method according to claim 1, which comprises 2 to 10 wt% of puerh extract as an effective ingredient.

3. The aqueous puerh tea according to claim 2, wherein the tea comprises 1 to

15 wt% of liquid fructose, 1 to 20 wt% of white sugar, 0.01 to 5 wt% of plum extract, 0.01 to 5 wt% of salt roasted in bamboo, 0.0001 to 0.1 t% of plum flavor, 0.0001 to 0.1 wt% of honey flavor, 0.000001 to 0.01 wt% of stevioside and 0.01 to 0.6 wt% of sodium benzoate, as food additives, in which the ratio of the food additives is in the range of 2.5 to 50 wt%, based on the total weight of the tea.