WO2006067865A1

WO2006067865A1 - Food capable of antioxidant potency enhancement

Info

Publication number: WO2006067865A1
Application number: PCT/JP2004/019789
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kinya Takagaki; Takeshi Mitsui
Original assignee: Toyo Shinyaku Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2004-12-24
Filing date: 2004-12-24
Publication date: 2006-06-29

Abstract

A food capable of in-vivo antioxidant potency enhancement, comprising a proanthocyanidin and a lipid-soluble antioxidant. Preferably, astaxanthin, ubiquinone, lignans, curcumin or a curcumin derivative is used as the lipid-soluble antioxidant. This food capable of in-vivo antioxidant potency enhancement exhibits an excellent antioxidant activity in living body.

Description

Antioxidant enhancement food

Technical field

The present invention relates to a food with enhanced in vivo antioxidant capacity. Light

Background art

Rice field

While oxygen is essential to living organisms, it is known to damage living organisms. This oxygen damage is caused by reactive oxygen species such as superoxide radical (〇 ₂ ·), hydrogen peroxide (H ₂ 0 ₂ ), and OH radical (· ΟΗ). Excited molecular species such as oxygen (O ₂ ); and unsaturated fatty acid peroxy radicals (LOO *), unsaturated fatty acid radicals (L ·), unsaturated fatty acid hydroperoxides (LOOH), unsaturated fatty acid alkoxy radicals (Caused by oxides of unsaturated lipids such as LO.

Living organisms have various mechanisms for the elimination of active oxygen in order to prevent damage caused by oxygen. For example, there are systems in which active oxygen in the living body is captured by the action of oxygen itself, low molecular weight compounds such as ascorbic acid, or superoxide dismutase (SOD). However, when active oxygen generation suppression or elimination does not function sufficiently, or under physical and chemical environmental conditions (for example, aging, extrinsic stress, etc.) where the generation of active oxygen increases, the target is increased by active oxygen. Molecules are oxidized, which can cause, for example, protein or DNA cleavage, lipid peroxidation, and other disorders and diseases.

In order to prevent oxidation by active oxygen in the living body as described above, Oxidizing agents have been proposed. For example, proanthocyanidins consisting of a condensation polymer having a degree of polymerization of flavan 1-ol and / or flavan 1-3,4-diol as a constituent unit and having a polymerization degree of 2 or more have an antioxidant activity, particularly high radical scavenging activity. (For example, Japanese Patent No. 1 6 4 3 1 01, Japanese Patent No. 3 0 4 0 9 9 2, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2 0 0-3 2 5 0 3 9 And U.S. Pat. No. 4,698,3600). However, since proanthocyanidins are water-soluble like flavonides, they have radical scavenging activity against alkoxy radicals generated from fatty acids through the intervention of transition metal ions, etc., compared to other radicals. There is a problem that is low. Disclosure of the invention

Therefore, an excellent food that enhances the antioxidant capacity in vivo is desired.

The present inventors have intensively studied foods that enhance the antioxidant capacity in vivo. Surprisingly, the combination of proanthocyanidins and fat-soluble antioxidants has high antioxidant activity in the living body. As a result, it was found that the antioxidant ability in the living body was effectively increased, and the present invention was completed.

The in vivo food for enhancing antioxidant capacity of the present invention contains proanthocyanidins and a fat-soluble antioxidant.

In a preferred embodiment, the fat-soluble antioxidant is at least one selected from the group consisting of astaxanthin, ubiquinone, lignans, curcumin, and curcumin derivatives.

In a more preferred embodiment, the proanthocyanidins are derived from pine bark.

When the food with enhanced in vivo antioxidant capacity of the present invention is ingested, the food exhibits high antioxidant activity in vivo, and as a result, the in vivo antioxidant capacity is effectively enhanced. In particular, fat-soluble antioxidants include astaxanthin, ubiquinone, rig Use of nanan, curcumin, or a curcumin derivative is preferable in that it exhibits a superior effect of enhancing the antioxidant capacity in vivo. The food of the present invention is useful for diseases related to oxidation, such as dementia; aging of new blood vessels such as stroke and arteriosclerosis; cataract; and allergy. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, the in vivo antioxidant capacity-enhancing food of the present invention will be described. The configurations described below do not limit the present invention, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

The in vivo antioxidant capacity-enhancing food of the present invention (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as antioxidant capacity-enhancing food) is composed of proanthocyanidin (hereinafter also referred to as “A component”) and a fat-soluble antioxidant (hereinafter referred to as “component A”). (It may be called B component). This anti-oxidation ability-enhancing food contains other components as necessary. Each component will be described below.

(1) Proanthocyanidins (component A)

In the present invention, proanthocyanidins mean a compound group consisting of a condensation polymer having a degree of polymerization of 2 or more as a constituent unit of flavan-1-ol and / or flavan-3,4-diol as described above.

As the proanthocyanidins, those containing a large amount of a condensation polymer having a low degree of polymerization are preferably used. As the condensation polymer having a low degree of polymerization, a condensation polymer having a degree of polymerization of 2 to 30 (2 to 30 mer) is preferable, and a condensation polymer having a degree of polymerization of 2 to 10 (2 to 10 mer). ) Is more preferable, and a condensation polymer having a degree of polymerization of 2 to 4 (2 to 4 mer) is more preferable. This polycondensation polymer having a degree of polymerization of 2 to 4 is referred to as oligomeric proanthocyanidin (hereinafter referred to as OPC). Proanthocyanidins are a kind of polyphenols, It is a powerful antioxidant produced by things, concentrated in plant leaves, bark, fruit peels or seed parts. Proanthocyanidins, especially OPC, specifically, the bark of plants such as pine, cocoons, and wild peaches; grapes, blueberries, citrus, avogad, false acacia, berries or seeds of barley; wheat; soybeans; black soybeans Cocoa; red beans; tochi nut shell; peanut thin skin; ichiyo leaves. It is also known that West African cola nuts, Peruvian rattan roots, and Japanese green tea contain OPC. OPC is a substance that cannot be produced in the human body.

In particular, use of proanthocyanidins with high OPC content or extracts containing proanthocyanidins with high OPC content compared to the case of using proanthocyanidins with a high degree of polymerization (low OPC content). Thus, an excellent effect of enhancing the antioxidant capacity can be obtained.

As the proanthocyanidins used in the antioxidant-enhancing food of the present invention, food ingredients such as the above-mentioned bark, fruit or seed meal, or extracts thereof can be used. In particular, it is preferable to use an extract derived from pine husk. Among the plants containing proanthocyanidins, pine husks are preferably used as raw materials for proanthocyanidins because they contain abundant OPC. Hereinafter, an example of using pine bark rich in OPC as a raw material plant will be described with reference to a method for preparing an extract containing puffer anthocyanidin as a main component.

Pine bark extract includes French coastal pine (Pinus Martima), larch, black pine, akamatsu, himekomatsu, pine pine, pine pine, wild pine, eucalyx pine, pine pine, pine pine, white pine, Canadian quebec An extract of a bark of a plant belonging to the order of pine is preferably used. Above all, the bark extract of French coastal pine (Pinus Martima) is preferred.

French coastal pine is a marine pine that grows on the Atlantic coast of southern France. Yeah. This French coastal pine husk contains proanthocyanidins, organic acids, and other physiologically active ingredients. The main ingredient, proanthocyanidins, is a strong antioxidant agent that removes active oxygen. It is known that there is. The pine bark extract is obtained by extracting the pine bark with water or an organic solvent. When water is used, it is preferable to use warm water or hot water. In order to improve the extraction efficiency, it is preferable to add a salt such as sodium chloride to these waters. As the organic solvent used for extraction, organic solvents that are acceptable for the production of foods or pharmaceuticals are used. For example, methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 2_propanol, 1-butanol, 2-butanol, and acetone. Xylene, cyclohexane, propylene glycol, hydrous ethanol, hydrous propylene glycol, methyl ethyl ketone, glycerin, methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, jetyl ether, dichloromethane, edible oils and fats, 1, 1, 1, 2-tetrafluoroe And 1,1,2-trichloroethene. These water and organic solvents may be used alone or in combination. In particular, hot water, hydrous ethanol, and hydrous propylene glycol are preferably used.

A method for extracting proanthocyanidins from pine bark is not particularly limited, and for example, a warm extraction method, a supercritical fluid extraction method, or the like is used.

Supercritical fluid extraction is a method that uses a supercritical fluid, which is a fluid that exceeds the critical point (critical temperature, critical pressure) of a substance's gas-liquid. As the supercritical fluid, carbon dioxide, ethylene, propane, nitrous oxide (laughing gas) and the like are used, and carbon dioxide is preferably used.

The supercritical fluid extraction method performs an extraction process of extracting a target component with a supercritical fluid and a separation process of separating the target component and the supercritical fluid. In the separation step, any of extraction separation by pressure change, extraction separation by temperature change, or extraction separation using an adsorbent / absorbent may be performed. Alternatively, supercritical fluid extraction may be performed by an entrainer addition method. In this method, for example, ethanol, propanol, n-hexane, acetone, toluene, other aliphatic lower alcohols, aliphatic hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons, or ketones are added to a supercritical fluid. By adding about 20 WZV% and performing supercritical fluid extraction with the extracted fluid, the solubility of the target extract such as OPC and catechins (described later) in the extraction solvent is dramatically increased. Alternatively, it is a method for enhancing the selectivity of separation, and a method for efficiently obtaining a pine bark extract.

The supercritical fluid extraction method can be operated at a relatively low temperature, so it can be applied to substances that are altered and decomposed at high temperatures; the advantage is that the extraction fluid does not remain; and the recycling of the solvent is possible. There is an advantage that the solvent process can be omitted and the process becomes simple.

Extraction from pine bark may be performed by a liquid carbon dioxide batch method, a liquid carbon dioxide reflux method, a supercritical carbon dioxide reflux method, or the like in addition to the above method. For extraction from pine bark, a plurality of extraction methods may be combined. By combining multiple extraction methods, it is possible to obtain pine bark extracts of various compositions.

The pine bark extract obtained by the above extraction may be purified for the purpose of increasing the content of proanthocyanidins. For the purification, a solvent such as ethyl acetate is usually used, but from the viewpoint of safety as a food or pharmaceutical, a method that does not use a solvent, for example, ultrafiltration or Diaion HP-20, Cefadex Sue LH It is preferable to purify by a column method or a batch method using an adsorbent carrier such as 20 or chitin.

In the present invention, the pine bark extract containing proanthocyanidin as a main component is specifically prepared by the following method, but this is an example and is not limited to this method. 1 kg of French pine bark is placed in 3 L of a saturated solution of salted chick natrium and extracted at 100 ° C for 30 minutes to obtain an extract (extraction process). Thereafter, the extract is filtered, and the resulting insoluble matter is washed with 50 O mL of a saturated solution of sodium chloride to obtain a washing solution (washing step). The extract and washing solution are combined to obtain a crude extract of pine bark.

Next, 25 mL of ethyl acetate is added to the crude extract and the phases are separated to recover the ethyl acetate layer 5 times. Combine the recovered ethyl acetate solution and add directly to 200 g of anhydrous sodium sulfate for dehydration. Then, the ethyl acetate solution is filtered, and the filtrate is concentrated under reduced pressure until the original volume is reduced to one-fifth. The concentrated ethyl acetate solution is poured into 2 L of chloroform and the precipitate obtained by stirring is collected by filtration. Thereafter, the precipitate is dissolved in ethyl acetate 10 O m 1 and then added to 1 L of black mouth form again for precipitation, followed by a washing step of repeating twice. By this method, for example, about 5 g of pine husk extract containing 20% by weight or more of OPC and 5% by weight or more of powerful techins can be obtained.

The extract derived from the raw material plant such as pine bark preferably contains 40% by weight or more of proanthocyanidins. Further, the extract derived from the raw material plant preferably contains 20% by weight or more of OPC, more preferably 30% by weight or more. As described above, a pine peel extract is preferably used as a raw material containing proanthocyanidins at a high ratio. The plant extract such as the above-mentioned pine peel extract preferably contains catechins together with proanthocyanidins, particularly OPC. Catechin is a general term for polyhydroxyl flavan 1-3-ol. The catechins are: (+)-force techin (referred to as catechin in the narrow sense), (1) one-epipe force tekin, (+)-gallocatechin, (1) one-epigalocatechin, epicarocatechin gallate, epicatechin gallate, Afzerekin is known. From the above-mentioned extracts derived from raw materials such as pine bark, in addition to the above (+)-power techin, gallocatechin, afuzerekin, (+)-catechin 3-galloyl derivative, and 3-galloyl derivative of gallocatechin It has been isolated. Catechin alone has poor water solubility and low physiological activity. However, catechins have the property of being activated at the same time as water solubility increases in the presence of OPC, and act effectively when ingested with OPC.

Catechins are preferably contained in the raw material plant extract in an amount of 5% by weight or more, preferably 10% by weight or more. More preferably, the extract contains 20% by weight or more of OPC and 5% by weight or more of catechins. For example, if the catechin content of the extract is less than 5% by weight, force techins may be added to adjust the final content to 5% by weight or more. It is most preferable to use a pine husk extract containing 20% by weight or more of OPC and 5% by weight or more of strength techins. (2) Fat-soluble antioxidant (component B)

The fat-soluble antioxidant used in the present invention is a fat-soluble substance having an antioxidant action in vivo. This fat-soluble antioxidant can be combined with proanthocyanidins to obtain an excellent in vivo antioxidant capacity enhancing effect. Among the fat-soluble antioxidants, an antioxidant having a high activity for scavenging radicals generated from fatty acids, particularly alkoxy radicals, is preferable. Examples of such fat-soluble antioxidative agents having high scavenging activity for alkoxy radicals include, for example, wastaxanthin and its analogs (excluding i3_carotene), canthaxanthin, ubiquinone (especially CoQ10). ), Lignans (especially sesamin, sesamolin, etc.), curcumin and its derivatives, kabusaicin and its analogs, gingerol analogs (seen in spices), and gialyl heptides. Preferably, astaxanthin, ubiquinone, lignans, curcumin, and curcumin derivatives It is. Furthermore, among these, ubiquinone, cunorecmine, sesamin, and sesamolin are usually weak in the ability to remove active oxygen in foods, but when absorbed into the living body, their chemical structure changes and strong radical scavenging. Since it has an activity (particularly an alkoxy radical scavenging activity), it can be used particularly suitably in terms of stability and safety.

The above fat-soluble antioxidants may be used alone or in combination, and may further be a plant containing a substance having a fat-soluble oxidizing action and an extract of the plant. Such plants include sesame, eucalyptus, plants used as spices (eg, turmeric, pepper, ginger, perilla, mouth mary, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, sage, and thyme).

In general, β-carotene and vitamin テン are typically known as fat-soluble antioxidants. It is an analog of astaxanthin] 3-Kuchiguchi Ten is superior in antioxidant power, because it has a strong ability to scavenge singlet oxygen, and it has radical scavenging activity such as alkoxy radicals. Because it is low, care must be taken when the purpose is to eliminate radicals in the lipid oxidation chain reaction. Vitamin 抑制する suppresses the oxidation of lipids by radicals, but does not eliminate the radicals themselves, resulting in a weaker antioxidant effect in vivo. Furthermore, since it is easily oxidized in foods, it is appropriately used depending on the purpose.

(3) Other ingredients

In addition to the above ingredients, the food of the present invention further contains various ingredients that are usually used in foods as necessary. Examples of such components include excipients, fillers, binders, thickeners, emulsifiers, lubricants, wetting agents, suspending agents, coloring agents, fragrances, nutritional ingredients, food additives, and the like. . Nutritional ingredients include, for example, royal jelly, vitamins, protein, calcium-containing materials (eg eggshell calcium), Chin, Chlorella powder, Ashitaba powder, Moroheiya powder, etc. Examples of food additives include stevia powder, matcha powder, lemon powder, honey, reduced maltose, lactose, sugar solution, and seasonings. (4) Antioxidant enhancing food

The antioxidant capacity-enhancing food of the present invention contains proanthocyanidin and a fat-soluble antioxidant, and the ratio thereof is arbitrary. Preferably, the fat-soluble antioxidative agent is contained in an amount of 0.01 to 3000 parts by weight, more preferably 0.05 to 2000 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of proanthocyanidins.

The content of proanthocyanidins in the food of the present invention is not particularly limited, but the daily intake is preferably 2 mg to 100 mg, more preferably 10 mg to 500 mg as proanthocyanidins. It is preferable to be contained in.

There is no restriction | limiting in particular also in content of the fat-soluble antioxidant in the foodstuff of this invention. What is necessary is just to set suitably according to the kind of fat-soluble antioxidant. For example: 1. Daily intake force CoQ IO (Ubiquinone) is 10 to 500 mg, lignans is 0.5 to 10 Omg, curcumin is 0.5 to 10 Omg, and istaxanthin is 0.1 to 6 mg Thus, it is preferable to be contained in food.

The food of the present invention contains each of the above components, and can be obtained by applying various processes that can be easily performed by those skilled in the art. Examples of such forms include capsules such as hard capsules and soft capsules, powders, granules, tea bags, bowl-like viscous liquids, liquids, and pastes. Specifically, a pine bark extract containing proanthocyanidins, a fat-soluble antioxidant, and an excipient are mixed into a tablet, pill, or the like, or a powder or other form. Can be.

The method for ingesting the food of the present invention is not particularly limited. The food of the present invention in its form Depending on the condition or preference, you can eat and drink as it is, or you can drink it by dissolving it in water, hot water, milk, etc., or you can drink a brewed ingredient.

Example

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail based on examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

(Example 1: Production of disintegrant 1)

Pine bark extract (trade name: Flavangenol, Toyo Shinyaku Co., Ltd.) containing 40% by weight of proanthocyanidins (20% by weight as OPC) and 5% by weight of techin, Co QIO (Nisshin Falma) Co., Ltd.) and excipients (containing crystalline cellulose, sucrose ester, silicon dioxide, and eggshell calcium) are mixed in the proportions shown in Table 1 to produce tablets (about 200 mg per tablet) (Tablet 1).

(Examples 2 to 5: Production of tablets 2 to 5)

In place of CoQ10 in Example 1, dried turmeric powder (containing 0.9% by weight of curcumin, Nippon Turon Sangyo Co., Ltd.), hematococcus alga pigment (containing 0.1% by weight of austaxanthin, Fuji Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.) Company), sesame extract (containing 0.9% by weight of lignans, Takemoto Yushi Co., Ltd.) and vitamin E (RIKEN Vitamin Co., Ltd.) Thus, tablets (about 200 mg per tablet) were produced by mixing at the ratios shown in Table 1 (referred to as tablets 2 to 5).

(Comparative Example 1: Production of tablet 6)

Except for not using Co Q 10 of Example 1, the same as Example 1, Tablets (about 200 mg per tablet) were produced by mixing at the ratio shown in Table 1 (referred to as tablet 6).

(Example 6: Evaluation of in vivo antioxidant capacity enhancing effect 1 (DNA protective effect)) Tablet 1 to 5 obtained in Examples 1 to 5 and Tablet 6 obtained in Comparative Example 1 were administered and DNA was added. The DNA protective effect was evaluated by measuring changes in the amount of 8-hydroxydoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), which is an index of damage. Details are shown below.

First, urine from 35 volunteers was collected, and the concentration of 8_OHdG (DNA constituent base: guanine oxide) in the urine was measured using the 8_OH'dG measurement kit (manufactured by Japan Institute of Aging Control). did. Next, it was randomly divided into 7 groups of 5 people per group, except that the average value of 8-OHdG was almost uniform (12.38 ng to 12.89 ng / mL).

Among the 7 groups of volunteers, 6 groups of volunteers were allowed to take the tablets 1-6 above at a rate of 3 tablets at a time, twice a day for 30 days. The remaining group of volunteers did not take any tablets (control group). At the end of the intake period, urine from each volunteer was collected and the concentration of 8-OHdG in the urine was measured. Using the resulting 8-OHdG concentration before and after tablet intake, the 8-OHdG reduction rate was calculated from the following equation. The results are shown in Table 2. Note that 8-OHdG is an oxide of guanine, which is a component of DNA, and the larger the 8-OHdG reduction rate, the better the DNA damage.

{(8—OHdG concentration before taking tablets)-(8—OHdG concentration after taking tablets)}

8— OHdG reduction rate (%) == ——

(8—OHdG concentration before tablet intake) tablet

Ingredient 1 2 3 4 5 6

Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Example 4 Example 5 Comparative Example 1

A Pine bark extract 20 20 20 20 20 20

CoQIO 1 ― ― ― ― ― Turmeric dry powder ^{# 1} ― 10 ― ― ― ―

B Hematococcus alga pigment * ² ― ― 20 ― ― ―

Sesame extract * ³ ― ― ― 25 ― ―

Vitamin E ― ― ― ― 1 ― Crystalline cellulose 10 10 10 10 10 10 Sucrose Estesole 5 5 5 5 5 5 Form

Agent Silicon dioxide 2 2 2 2 2 2

Eggshell calcium 62 53 43 38 62 63 Units are by weight

* 1… Containing 0.9% by weight of curcumin

* 2 ... Contains 0.1% by weight of astaxanthin

* 3 ... Contains 0-9% by weight of lignans Table 2

Average soil standard error From the results in Table 2, the group that ingested the tablets (tablets 1-5) containing the pine bark extract of the example and the fat-soluble antioxidant were treated with the pine bark extract of the comparative example. Compared to the group that took the tablet containing it alone (Tablet 6), the 8-OHdG reduction rate was larger, indicating that DNA damage was improved. This indicates that a tablet containing a pine bark extract and a fat-soluble antioxidant has an excellent in vivo antioxidant capacity enhancing effect. In particular, pine bark extract, CoQ10, turmeric dry powder (Knorekumi ), Hematococcus algae pigment (astaxanthin), and sesame extract (ridanans) and a tablet containing tablets (tablets 1 to 4), — OHdG decrease rate was shown. (Example 7: Preparation of feed 1)

The pine bark extract of Example 1, CoQ 10, and vitamin E-free feed (F 2EDD: Oriental Yeast Co., Ltd.) were mixed at the ratios shown in Table 3 to prepare a feed (referred to as feed 1). (Examples 8 to: I 1: Preparation of feed 2 to 5)

In place of CoQ 10 of Example 7, dried turmeric powder (containing 0.9% by weight of curcumin), hematococcus algal pigment (containing 0.1% by weight of xanthaxanthin), sesame extract (0.9% by weight of lignans) ^_0/0 containing), and except for using each one kind of vitamin E, in the same manner as in example 7, was prepared feed are mixed in proportion described in Table 3 (feed 2-5 And).

(Comparative Example 2: Production of feed 6)

A feed was prepared by mixing in the proportions shown in Table 3 in the same manner as in Example 7 except that CoQ 10 of Example 7 was not used (referred to as Feed 6).

(Example 1 2: Evaluation of in vivo antioxidant capacity enhancement effect 2 (In vivo lipid oxidation inhibition effect by feed))

One group of 5 4-week-old SD rats were allowed to freely take the above feed 1 for 4 weeks. After the intake period, blood was collected to obtain serum. The serum lipid peroxide concentration was measured by the TBA colorimetric method. For feeds 2-6, each group was also ingested, and lipid peroxide (malonyl dialdehyde: MDA) concentration was measured. Result The results are shown in Table 4. In addition, the lower the lipid peroxide concentration, the more effective the in vivo antioxidant capacity enhancing effect. Table 3

The balance is vitamin E-free feed

* 1 ... Curcumin containing 0.9% by weight

* 2… astaxanthin 0. Weight · ½ inclusive

* 3 ... Contains 0.9% by weight of lignans

Table 4

From the results in Table 4, the group that ingested the feed (feed 1-5) containing the pine bark extract of the example and the fat-soluble antioxidant was the feed containing the pine bark extract of the comparative example alone. It can be seen that the amount of MDA is small compared to the group ingested (Feed 6). This indicates that a feed containing a pine bark extract and a fat-soluble antioxidant has an excellent in vivo antioxidant capacity enhancing effect. In particular, pine husk extract, CoQ10, turmeric dry powder (curcumin), hematococcus alga pigment (astaxanthi) ) And sesame extract (lignans) and one of the feeds (feeds 1 to 4), the group with significantly lower MDA content It can be seen that is enhanced. Industrial applicability

According to the present invention, a food with enhanced in vivo antioxidant capacity containing proanthocyanidins and a fat-soluble antioxidant can be obtained in this way. By ingesting this food, it exhibits high antioxidant activity in vivo, and as a result, the antioxidant activity in vivo is effectively enhanced. In particular, it is preferable that fat-soluble antioxidants include astaxanthin, ubiquinone, lignans, kunolecmin, or curcumin derivatives from the viewpoint of exhibiting a more excellent in vivo antioxidant capacity enhancing effect. The food of the present invention is useful for diseases related to oxidation, such as dementia; aging of new blood vessels such as stroke and arteriosclerosis; cataracts; and allergies.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. A food with enhanced in vivo antioxidant capacity, comprising proanthocyanidins and a fat-soluble antioxidant.

2. The food product according to claim 1, wherein the fat-soluble antioxidant is at least one selected from the group consisting of austaxanthin, ubiquinone, lignans, kunolecmin, and a curcumin derivative.

3. The food according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the proanthocyanidins are derived from pine bark.