JP7575221B2 - Composition for lowering uric acid level and/or bilirubin level - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a composition for lowering uric acid levels and/or bilirubin levels.

Carbonated water, which is water in which carbon dioxide gas has been dissolved, is widely consumed in restaurants and at home, and much research has been done into its physiological effects. For example, it is known that drinking carbonated water before a meal makes you feel full, that drinking carbonated water activates the stomach and causes changes in heart rate, that stimulating the oral cavity with carbonated water lowers the temperature of the feet and causes changes in heart rate, and that drinking carbonated water may increase the efficiency of work that involves mental fatigue (Non-Patent Documents 1-4).

Cuomo R. ``The role of a pre-load beverage on gastric volume and food intake: comparison between non-caloric carbonated and non-carb onated beverage”, Nutrition Journal, Vol. 10, 114 (2011) Wakisaka S. Others, "The Effects of Carbonated Water upon Gastric and Cardiac activities and Fullness in Healthy Young Women", Journal of Nutr itional Science and Vitaminology, Vol. 58, pp. 333-338 (2012) Ayaka Takagi et al., "Effect of oral stimulation with carbonated water on deep and peripheral body temperature - Evaluation using oral stimulation by sham-feeding," Journal of the Japanese Society of Nutrition and Food Science, Vol. 67, No. 1, pp. 19-25 (2014) Kyosuke Watanabe et al., "Anti-fatigue effect of carbonated water on acute mental fatigue in healthy adults," 15th General Meeting of the Japan Society for Fatigue Science (2019)

On the other hand, there are still many unclear points regarding the physiological effects of carbon dioxide gas dissolved in water, and in particular, the physiological effects when it is ingested over the long term have not been fully investigated. Therefore, the present invention aims to investigate the physiological effects of carbon dioxide gas dissolved in water in more detail and to provide new uses for it.

As a result of intensive research aimed at solving the above problems, the present inventors have found that carbon dioxide dissolved in water has the effect of lowering uric acid levels and bilirubin levels, and have completed the present invention. That is, the present invention provides the following composition for lowering uric acid levels and/or bilirubin levels.
[1] A composition for lowering uric acid levels and/or bilirubin levels, comprising carbon dioxide dissolved in water as an active ingredient for lowering uric acid levels and/or bilirubin levels.
[2] The composition described in [1] above, wherein the amount of carbon dioxide dissolved is 3.5 gas volumes (GV) or more.
[3] The composition according to [1] or [2] above, which is in the form of a beverage.
[4] The composition according to any one of [1] to [3] above, which is in the form of carbonated water.

According to the present invention, uric acid levels or bilirubin levels can be lowered by ingesting carbonated water containing carbon dioxide dissolved in the water. Carbonated water is known to be a safe beverage, so continued intake of carbonated water is expected to prevent or improve hyperuricemia, gout, and jaundice caused by hepatitis, biliary tract disease, and hemolytic disease, thereby promoting health.

The present invention will now be described in further detail.
The composition for lowering uric acid levels and/or bilirubin levels of the present invention contains carbon dioxide gas (also called carbon dioxide or _CO2 ) dissolved in water as an active ingredient for lowering uric acid levels and/or bilirubin levels. The water in which the carbon dioxide gas is dissolved can be any water commonly used in the art, without particular limitation, as long as it can be orally ingested. For example, the water may be pure water, ion-exchanged water, filtered water, well water, natural water, mineral water, tap water, or a mixture thereof.

The method of dissolving the carbon dioxide gas in water is not particularly limited, and for example, the carbon dioxide gas may be dissolved by injecting it into the water (so-called carbonation), or the carbon dioxide gas may be dissolved by natural forces (i.e., natural water containing carbon dioxide gas may be used). The carbon dioxide gas dissolved in water in this way can be used as an active ingredient for lowering uric acid levels and/or bilirubin levels. The amount of carbon dioxide gas dissolved is not particularly limited as long as it is an amount effective for lowering uric acid levels or bilirubin levels, but may be, for example, about 1.0 gas volume (GV) or more, preferably about 1.5 GV or more, and more preferably about 3.5 GV or more. When the amount of carbon dioxide gas dissolved is within such a range, the effect of lowering uric acid levels or bilirubin levels is more effectively exerted. The amount of carbon dioxide gas dissolved can be about 6.0 GV or less.

Here, gas volume [GV] refers to the ratio of the volume of carbon dioxide dissolved in a composition for lowering uric acid levels or bilirubin levels to the volume of the composition for lowering uric acid levels or bilirubin levels at 1 atmosphere and 20°C. The gas volume can be measured, for example, using a commercially available measuring device (Kyoto Electronics Manufacturing Co., Ltd. gas volume measuring device GVA-500A). More specifically, after the sample is cooled to 20°C, a gas pressure gauge is attached, the stopcock is opened once to release gas (sniff), the stopcock is immediately closed and the sample is shaken vigorously, and the gas volume of the sample can be calculated from the value when the pressure becomes constant.

In one embodiment, the composition for reducing uric acid levels and/or bilirubin levels of the present invention may be an oral composition that is taken orally. The specific form of the composition for reducing uric acid levels and/or bilirubin levels is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a pharmaceutical composition, a quasi-drug, a food or drink, or a feed, and the food or drink may be, for example, a general food, a food with health claims (such as a food for specified health uses, a food with nutrient functions, or a food with functional claims), or a food for special uses (such as a food for sick people, a food for infants, or a food for pregnant women and lactating women). More specifically, the composition for reducing uric acid levels and/or bilirubin levels may be in the form of a liquid, an elixir, a limonase agent, or the like, or in the form of a beverage such as carbonated water (also called sparkling water or carbonated water), a carbonated drink with fruit juice, or a carbonated alcoholic drink, but is preferably carbonated water.

Here, carbonated water refers to a sugar-free carbonated beverage that contains substantially no sugar. Under the nutritional labeling standards based on the Health Promotion Act, a beverage can be labeled as sugar-free if it contains less than 0.5 g of sugar per 100 mL. In this specification, as with the said regulations, a beverage containing less than 0.5 g of sugar per 100 mL is called a sugar-free carbonated beverage. A preferred sugar-free carbonated beverage contains 0.0 g of sugar per 100 mL of beverage.

The amount of intake of the composition for reducing uric acid levels and/or bilirubin levels of the present invention is not particularly limited. For example, when an adult takes the liquid oral composition, the composition may be taken at about 100 to about 500 mL per time, preferably about 300 to about 500 mL per time, about 1 to about 3 times a day, preferably about 2 to about 3 times a day. The composition for reducing uric acid levels and/or bilirubin levels of the present invention may be taken in a single dose, but in order to exert a more efficient effect of reducing uric acid levels or bilirubin levels, it is preferable to take the composition continuously for two or more days, and it is particularly preferable to take the composition continuously for about 28 days or more.

The composition for lowering uric acid level and/or bilirubin level of the present invention can be used to lower the uric acid level or bilirubin level of a subject or to suppress an increase in the uric acid level or bilirubin level of a subject. The uric acid level and bilirubin level (total bilirubin level, direct bilirubin level, or indirect bilirubin level) can be appropriately measured by a blood test method commonly used in the art (e.g., an enzymatic method for uric acid level, an enzymatic method or a chemical oxidation method for bilirubin level, etc.). Since high uric acid level is associated with diseases or conditions such as hyperuricemia and gout, and high bilirubin level state is associated with diseases or conditions such as jaundice caused by hepatitis, biliary tract disease, and hemolytic disease, the composition for lowering uric acid level and/or bilirubin level of the present invention can be useful for preventing or improving these diseases or conditions. For this reason, the composition for lowering uric acid level and/or bilirubin level may be labeled, for example, as follows.
・For those concerned about uric acid levels ・For those concerned about purines in their diet ・For those concerned about liver function ・For those who want to maintain healthy liver function

The uric acid level-reducing and/or bilirubin level-reducing composition of the present invention may further contain any inactive ingredient commonly used in the art, such as a pharma- ceutically or food-acceptable solvent, a buffer, a sweetener, an acidulant, a flavoring, an antifoaming agent, and an antioxidant, as long as the object of the present invention is not impaired. The uric acid level-reducing and/or bilirubin level-reducing composition of the present invention may further contain an additional active ingredient commonly used in the art, as long as the object of the present invention is not impaired. The additional active ingredient may be an ingredient having a uric acid level-reducing effect or a bilirubin level-reducing effect, or may be an ingredient having another effect.

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to examples, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to these examples.

[Test Example]
Carbonation was performed on water by a conventional method to prepare 4.5 GV carbonated water. No other active or inactive ingredients were added to this carbonated water. The effects of each carbonated water on uric acid and bilirubin levels were examined by a double-blind method. Specifically, subjects who received informed consent were asked to take 4.5 GV of carbonated water twice a day (morning and afternoon) at 300 mL each time for 4 weeks after a period of not taking carbonated water for 3 weeks. The subjects consisted of 44 people in total, including 25 women and 19 men, with an average age of 38.6 ± 6.9 years.

^*： P＜0.05 Blood tests were conducted one day before and one day after the intake period to measure uric acid and bilirubin levels (total, direct, and indirect bilirubin levels). On the day of the blood test, the subjects did not consume carbonated water. The average values and test results of uric acid and bilirubin levels are shown in Table 1. In the tests, two-way analysis of variance and multiple comparisons using the Shaffer method were performed.

^* : P<0.05

When subjects consumed carbonated water, uric acid and bilirubin levels (total, direct, and indirect bilirubin levels) all significantly decreased. Furthermore, when subjects consumed carbonated water with different gas volumes, those who consumed carbonated water with a higher gas volume had lower uric acid and bilirubin levels. Because subjects were not allowed to consume carbonated water on the day of the blood test, the effects of this test indicate the physiological effects of long-term intake of carbonated water.

From the above, it has been found that uric acid and bilirubin levels can be reduced by ingesting carbonated water, which contains carbon dioxide dissolved in the water. Therefore, it is expected that continuous intake of carbonated water will prevent or improve diseases such as hyperuricemia, gout, and jaundice caused by hepatitis, biliary tract disease, and hemolytic disease, and will promote health.

Claims (3)

It contains carbon dioxide dissolved in water as an active ingredient for lowering uric acid levels and/or bilirubin levels,
The amount of carbon dioxide dissolved is 3.5 gas volumes (GV) or more;
A composition for lowering uric acid levels and/or bilirubin levels , in the form of carbonated water . The composition according to claim 1 , wherein the amount of carbon dioxide dissolved is 6.0 gas volumes (GV) or less . The composition according to claim 1 or 2, having a sugar content of 0.0 g per 100 mL .