JP7709007B2 - Maitake mushroom processed products and their manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a maitake mushroom processed product that can improve the bioregulatory function of maitake mushrooms (food ingredient) and a method for producing the same.

Maitake mushrooms are edible mushrooms that belong to the Polyporaceae family. Maitake mushrooms have bioregulatory functions, such as angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity (blood pressure lowering effect) and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity (blood sugar level rise suppression effect), and are known as a health food that is expected to be effective in preventing lifestyle-related diseases such as high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, cerebral infarction, and myocardial infarction. If we can improve the bioregulatory functions of maitake mushrooms, we can expect further effects in preventing lifestyle-related diseases and maintaining health.

As a method for producing a highly functional food using Maitake mushroom, for example, Patent Document 1 is known which effectively utilizes the endopeptidase activity of Maitake mushroom to impart an antihypertensive effect to a food containing protein.
However, the manufacturing method described in Patent Document 1 involves adding Maitake mushrooms to a food containing protein and decomposing the protein with endopeptidase contained in the Maitake mushrooms, and does not transform the Maitake mushrooms themselves into a highly functional food.

One method widely known as a method for producing highly functional foods is the method for blackening garlic, i.e., turning garlic into black garlic. The method for producing black garlic is to ferment and mature raw garlic at high temperature and humidity, as described in the background art of Patent Document 2, for example.
However, even if a method similar to that described in the background art of Patent Document 2 is applied to Maitake mushrooms, it is not possible to cause them to blacken (so-called ripening). That is, even if raw Maitake mushrooms are placed in a fermentation chamber and heated at a temperature of 60° C. to 80° C. and a humidity of 70% to 80% for about 30 days, the Maitake mushrooms will turn brown to some extent but will not blacken like black garlic, and the blackening of the Maitake mushrooms will hardly progress at all.

Furthermore, as a method for coloring food materials black, there are colored food materials that exhibit a brown or black color and a method for manufacturing colored food materials, as described in Patent Document 3.
However, this manufacturing method involves soaking ingredients, including mushrooms, in black garlic extract or mixing them with the extract and cooking them to add color, but does not mature the maitake mushrooms, i.e., it does not improve the bioregulatory functions of the maitake mushrooms.

JP 2001-333732 A JP 2015-104365 A (paragraph number 0002) JP 2018-138000 A

With conventional technology, it is difficult to blacken maitake mushrooms themselves, and there is a problem in that the functions of maitake mushrooms, which are known as a healthy food ingredient, are not fully utilized.

The present invention aims to provide a maitake mushroom product that improves the bioregulatory function of maitake mushrooms and a method for producing the same.

As a means for solving the above problems, the invention claimed in this application or at least the invention disclosed therein is as follows.
(1) A method for producing a processed maitake mushroom product, comprising the steps of: placing maitake mushrooms and Allium genus in a treatment chamber having a sealable space; and continuously heating the maitake mushrooms and Allium genus placed in the treatment chamber at 60 to 80°C, thereby improving the ACE inhibitory activity and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of the maitake mushroom.
(2) The method for producing a Maitake mushroom product according to (1), preferably characterized in that the heating step is a step of heating at a temperature of 70° C. continuously for 10 to 30 days.
(3) The method for producing a Maitake mushroom product according to (1) or (2), preferably characterized in that the storing step is a step of alternately stacking layers made of Maitake mushroom and layers made of Allium, and storing the mixture in a layered structure.
(4) The method for producing a Maitake mushroom product according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the Allium genus is preferably Allium sativum, Allium chinense, or Allium sativum.
(5) A Maitake mushroom processed product produced by the method for producing a Maitake mushroom processed product according to any one of (1) to (4), characterized in that the ACE inhibitory activity and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of Maitake mushroom are improved.

The method for producing Maitake mushroom products of the present invention can improve the bioregulatory function of Maitake mushrooms. This makes it possible to provide Maitake mushroom products that are expected to be effective in preventing lifestyle-related diseases and maintaining health.

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a method for producing a Maitake mushroom product according to one embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention provides food ingredients that are expected to have the effect of preventing lifestyle-related diseases and maintaining health.

The method for producing processed Maitake mushroom products of the present invention includes the steps of placing Maitake mushrooms and Allium genus in a treatment chamber having a sealable space, and continuously heating the Maitake mushrooms and Allium genus placed in the treatment chamber at 60 to 80°C, thereby improving the bioregulatory function of the Maitake mushrooms.
In the present invention, the bioregulatory function of Maitake mushroom refers to functions such as angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitory activity (ACE inhibitory activity) and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity.

In the present invention, the Allium genus refers to a genus classified in the Alliaceae subfamily. Vegetables that belong to the Allium genus include green onions, garlic, wild garlic, shallots, shallots, chives, onions, and Chinese chives.

The present invention will be explained using a flow diagram. FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a method for producing processed maitake mushroom products according to one embodiment of the present invention. The method for producing processed maitake mushroom products according to this embodiment includes a step (preparation step) S1 of removing inedible parts of maitake mushrooms and Allium genus, a step (accommodation step) S2 of storing the maitake mushrooms and Allium genus from which the inedible parts have been removed in a processing chamber having a sealable space, a step (heating step) S3 of heating the maitake mushrooms and Allium genus mixed in the processing chamber, and a step (separation step) S4 of separating the Allium genus from the mixture of maitake mushrooms and Allium genus.

In the preparation step S1, the raw materials, maitake and allium, are prepared. In the case of allium, preparation involves removing dirt such as soil and removing the inedible parts such as the skin and roots, while in the case of garlic, it also involves separating it into small florets, peeling off the thin skin, and removing the core. Preparation of maitake involves removing the root (stem) and splitting it by hand along the fibers into small pieces of a manageable size. Because the flavor is lost if maitake is split too small, it is preferable for each piece to be around 5 cm wide.

Next, in the storage step S2, the prepared maitake mushrooms and allium are stored in a processing chamber having a sealable space. When storing, it is preferable to alternately stack layers of maitake mushrooms and layers of allium to form a layered structure.

In the heating step S3, the Maitake mushrooms and Allium species mixed in the treatment chamber are heated in an environment of 60 to 80° C. In the heating step S3, the treatment chamber is kept sealed to prevent drying.
The number of days for which heating is continued is preferably 10 days or more, and more preferably 20 to 30 days.

In the separation process S4, the maitake mushrooms and allium genus after the heating process are placed in a room temperature environment, exposed to the outside air, and allowed to dry naturally while removing any rough heat. The maitake mushrooms and allium genus that are in a mixed state and have returned to room temperature are then separated.

The blackened maitake mushrooms that have been subjected to the above-mentioned processing steps S2, S3, and S4 are the maitake processed products, which, as described below, have improved bioregulatory functions such as ACE inhibitory activity and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity.

The processed Maitake mushroom product may be in the form of a product that has been subjected to the following processing step S5 after the blackened Maitake mushroom has been further processed.
The blackened Maitake mushrooms are crushed and strained into a paste-like product, the blackened Maitake mushrooms are dried, and the dried Maitake mushrooms are powdered. Maitake mushrooms that have undergone processing step S5 can be widely used as products with higher added value.
It is also possible to proceed to the above-mentioned processing step S5 in the mixed state without separating the Maitake mushroom and Allium after the heating step S3. In this way, when the separation step S4 is skipped, the processed product contains blackened Maitake mushroom and black garlic or black scallion components.

The method for producing processed Maitake mushroom products of the present invention will be further described with reference to the following experimental examples, which are merely illustrative examples.
<Experimental Example 1: Raw materials: Maitake mushroom, garlic and Shimarakkyo>
The inedible parts of the garlic and the leek, such as the skin and roots, were removed, and the garlic was separated into individual cloves, which were then washed with water and prepared (preparation step S1).
Next, the raw materials garlic, Shimarakkyo, and Maitake mushroom were stored in a mesh stainless steel basket (15 cm wide x 15 cm deep x 15 cm high) either individually or in combination of two types of raw materials as in the following conditions 1 to 5. In the case of a combination of two types of raw materials, a layer of Maitake mushroom and a layer of Allium were alternately stacked to form a layered structure. For example, in the case of condition 2, 100 g of Maitake mushroom was stacked at the bottom, 200 g of garlic on top of that, 100 g of Maitake mushroom on top of that, and another 200 g of garlic and 150 g of Maitake mushroom were stacked and stored in the mesh stainless steel basket.
Condition 1: 350g Maitake mushrooms
Condition 2: 350g Maitake mushrooms, 400g garlic
Condition 3: 400g garlic
Condition 4: 350g Maitake mushrooms, 400g Shimarakkyo
Condition 5: Shimarakkyo 400g
The mesh stainless steel baskets containing a single material or two types of materials were placed in a stainless steel square container (width 18 cm x depth 18 cm x height 18 cm) and covered with a lid. When placing the stainless steel basket in the stainless steel square container, ceramic balls with a diameter of 8 mm were laid inside the square container, and the stainless steel basket was placed on top of the ceramic balls. This is to prevent drips from the materials from accumulating at the bottom of the stainless steel square container and coming into contact with the materials during the heating step (S3) described below. The stainless steel containers covered with the lid in this way were placed inside an incubator (MOV-450S, AS ONE) (storage step S2).
The raw materials under conditions 1 to 5 set up as described above were all heated in an incubator at 70° C. for 28 consecutive days (heating step S3).
Thereafter, the raw materials were removed from the incubator, exposed to the outside air, and the raw materials that had returned to room temperature were separated by type (separation step S4).
The experiment was completed after going through each step as described above.
After the experiment was completed, the processed maitake mushrooms in both conditions 2 and 4 had turned black and were usable as a food ingredient.

<Measurement of bioregulatory functions>
As bioregulatory functions of the blackened Maitake mushroom, two types of activities, ACE inhibitory activity and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity, were measured.

(Measurement of ACE inhibitory activity)
The ACE inhibitory activity was measured using the raw material before heating and the processed Maitake mushrooms with a cumulative heating period of 28 days. The measurement was performed using ACE Kit-WST (manufactured by Dojindo Laboratories, Ltd.).
Each raw material to be measured was made into a paste. 5 g of the paste was weighed out into a 50 mL polypropylene container, about 40 mL of distilled water was added to it, and the container was sealed and placed in an ultrasonic cleaner, where it was subjected to an extraction operation for 30 minutes. After the extraction operation, the volume was adjusted to 50 mL, and the extract was obtained by filtering through a filter paper (sample concentration 0.1 g/mL). Distilled water was added to the extract so that the sample concentration became 1 mg/mL, and this was measured.
The results of measuring the ACE inhibitory activity when Maitake mushrooms were subjected to the processing treatment of the present invention are shown in Table 1.

According to the measurement results, the ACE inhibition rate was 9.0% under condition 1 (350g Maitake) without heating (0 days) (same below for Maitake), and increased to 32.1% by heating for 28 days. On the other hand, in the Maitake mushroom under condition 2 (350g Maitake, 400g garlic) with garlic added, the ACE inhibition rate increased from 9.0% to 47.8% by heating for 28 days, and in the Maitake mushroom under condition 4 (350g Maitake, 400g Shimarakkyo) with Shimarakkyo added, the ACE inhibition rate increased from 9.0% to 33.8% by heating for 28 days.
From this, it was confirmed that the method for producing Maitake mushroom products of the present invention makes it possible to obtain Maitake mushroom products with improved ACE inhibitory activity (blood pressure lowering effect).

(Measurement of α-glucosidase inhibitory activity)
Each raw material to be measured was made into a paste, and 1 g of each sample was weighed out into a 2 mL microtube from 0 days (without heating) and 28 days of heating, and the same amount of 1 g of distilled water was added to each. The microtube was placed in an ultrasonic cleaner and subjected to extraction for 30 minutes. After the extraction, the mixture was centrifuged to obtain a supernatant (sample concentration: 0.5 g/mL). This supernatant was used as the sample solution to measure α-glucosidase inhibitory activity.
The ACE inhibitory activity was measured by the following method using an enzyme derived from rat small intestine.
First, 1.0 g of rat intestinal acetone powder (Sigma-Aldrich) was suspended in 10 mL of 0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0), placed in an ultrasonic cleaner, and subjected to extraction for 20 minutes under ice-cooling. The suspension was immediately centrifuged, and the supernatant was used as a crude α-glucosidase solution.
Next, the following four types of solutions A to D were prepared.
Solution A (sample solution): 200 μL of 250 mM maltose aqueous solution and 50 μL of sample solution were added to 240 μL of distilled water and mixed.
Solution B (sample blank): 50 μL of sample solution was added to 240 μL of distilled water and mixed.
Solution C (control solution): 200 μL of 250 mM maltose aqueous solution was added to 290 μL of distilled water and mixed.
Solution D (control blank): The same as solution C was prepared.
Solutions A to D were each heated at 37°C for 5 minutes. After heating, 10 μL of α-glucosidase crude enzyme solution was added to solutions A, B, and C, and mixed. Solutions A to D were heated at 37°C for an additional 40 minutes to allow the enzyme reaction to occur. After the reaction, 500 μL of 0.2M sodium carbonate aqueous solution was added to solutions A to D to stop the enzyme reaction. After the enzyme reaction, 200 μL of 250 mM maltose aqueous solution was added to solution B, and 10 μL of α-glucosidase crude enzyme solution was added to solution D, and they were mixed.
The glucose concentrations of solutions A to D after the reaction were measured using a Glucose CII Test Wako (manufactured by Fujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.), and the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity was calculated from the obtained glucose concentrations using the following formula: a: glucose concentration of solution A after the reaction, b: glucose concentration of solution B after the reaction, c: glucose concentration of solution C after the reaction, and d: glucose concentration of solution D after the reaction.
α-glucosidase inhibitory activity (%)={(a−d)−(b−d)}/(c−d)×100
The α-glucosidase inhibitory activity (%) is proportional to the amount of glucose produced, and the lower the inhibitory activity value, the less glucose is produced, suggesting suppression of blood glucose level rise and indicating excellent activity.
Table 2 shows the results of measuring the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity when Maitake mushrooms were subjected to the processing treatment of the present invention.

According to the measurement results, the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of Maitake mushroom alone (Condition 1: 350g Maitake mushroom) without heating (Day 0) was 117.8% (same below for Maitake mushroom), but after 28 days of heating it dropped to 80.4%. Maitake mushroom with garlic added under Condition 2 (350g Maitake mushroom, 400g garlic) had its activity reduced from 117.8% to 24.2% after 28 days of heating, and Maitake mushroom with shimarakkyo added under Condition 4 (350g Maitake mushroom, 400g Shimarakkyo) had its activity reduced from 117.8% to 42.3% after 28 days of heating.
From these measurement results, it was confirmed that the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity (effect of suppressing an increase in blood sugar level) of maitake mushrooms was improved by the method for producing maitake mushroom products of the present invention.

<Experimental Example 2: Raw materials: Maitake mushrooms and scallions>
Rakkyo was used instead of Shimara-kkyo used in the above-mentioned Experimental Example 1. Maitake mushrooms and Rakkyo that had been prepared (preparation step S1) were stacked and directly placed in a heater (storage step S2) without using a stainless steel basket or ceramic bowl, and heated for 20 days (heating step S3). After that, the raw materials were removed from the heater and separated by type (separation step S4).
The experiment was completed after going through each step as described above.
After the experiment, the processed maitake mushrooms had turned black and were usable as a food ingredient.
After 10 days from the start of heating, the raw materials (maitake mushrooms and scallions) were stirred. At that point, the raw materials had turned light brown in color.

<Measurement of bioregulatory functions>
As the biological regulation function of blackened Maitake mushroom, the ACE inhibitory activity was measured by the same method as described above. The measurement results showed that after 20 days of heating, the value was 41.8% for Maitake mushroom and 40.2% for black scallions. As described above, the ACE inhibitory rate of Maitake mushroom alone was 9.0% without heating, and increased to 32.1% after 28 days of heating. It was confirmed that even when the raw material contained is scallions, the Maitake mushroom processed product manufacturing method of the present invention can produce Maitake mushroom processed products with improved ACE inhibitory activity with a shorter heating period.

<Reference experimental example: Raw materials: garlic, maitake mushroom, king oyster mushroom, buna shimeji mushroom, shiitake mushroom>
In addition to the Maitake mushroom used in the above-mentioned Experimental Example 1, edible mushrooms such as Eringi, Bunashimeji and Shiitake were used.
The four types of mushrooms and garlic that had been prepared (preparation step S1) were layered and stored directly in the warmer without using a stainless steel basket or ceramic bowl (storage step S2). Each layer was stacked from bottom to top in the following order: Maitake mushrooms (about 500 g), garlic (about 200 g), Eringi mushrooms (about 200 g), garlic (about 200 g), Bunashimeji mushrooms (about 200 g), garlic (about 200 g), and Shiitake mushrooms (about 300 g).
Next, the materials were heated for 20 days (heating step S3). After 10 days from the start of heating, the materials in the heater were stirred. At this time, all five types of materials had turned light brown. After 20 days had passed from the start of heating, the materials were removed from the heater.
The experiment was completed through the three steps described above.
After the experiment was completed, both the processed maitake mushrooms and other edible mushrooms had turned black and were suitable for use as food.
From these experimental results, it was confirmed that the method for producing processed Maitake mushroom products of the present invention can blacken not only Maitake mushrooms, but also at least edible mushrooms such as King Ore Ore, Bunashimeji mushroom, and Shiitake mushroom.

The present invention described above is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the essence of the present invention.

It can improve the bioregulatory function of maitake mushrooms, and can be used in maitake mushroom products and processed foods that contain them, which are expected to have the effect of preventing lifestyle-related diseases and maintaining health.

Claims (5)

A step of placing Maitake mushrooms and Allium in a treatment chamber having a sealable space;
and continuously heating the Maitake mushrooms and Allium genus contained in the treatment chamber at 60 to 80°C, thereby improving the ACE inhibitory activity and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of the Maitake mushrooms. The method for producing processed maitake mushroom products according to claim 1, characterized in that the heating step is a step of heating at a temperature of 70°C continuously for 10 to 30 days. The method for producing a processed maitake product according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the storing step is a step of storing the maitake in a layered structure by alternately stacking layers of maitake and layers of Allium. The method for producing processed maitake mushroom products according to claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the Allium species is shallot, shallot or garlic. A maitake processed product produced by the method for producing a maitake processed product according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the ACE inhibitory activity and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of maitake mushrooms are improved.