JPH0342876B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION FIELD The present invention relates to a fluid food that has a bowel movement improving effect. BACKGROUND ART In recent years, emphasis has been placed on the role of fiber contained in foods - called dietary fiber, dietary fiber, etc. - in the diet. There has already been a lot of research into the physiological significance of dietary fiber intake; for example, Burkit studied the diets of indigenous Africans and found that those who consumed a diet high in dietary fiber were more likely to consume low-fiber foods. Appendicitis, diverticular disease,
It has been reported that the incidence of cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer is low. In addition, Ebihara et al. conducted an experiment using wheat bran as dietary fiber and confirmed that dietary fiber shortens the residence time of food in the body and increases the amount of feces and its water content. These research results are of particular interest from the perspective of relieving and preventing constipation, and in recent years, materials rich in dietary fiber such as bran and germ have been processed to make them easier to eat or mixed into existing foods. Things started to happen. Attempts have also been made to enhance the effects of dietary fiber by combining it with other physiologically useful substances;
The publication proposes a defecation-promoting health food consisting of dietary fiber and bifidus factor (specifically, lactulose). However, because dietary fiber is generally difficult to stably suspend in water, conventional foods of this kind are limited to solid foods, and it is not possible to add dietary fiber to liquid foods or drinks for the purpose of promoting defecation. It had not been done. Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, the conventional dietary fiber-containing foods mentioned above tend to have poor taste and texture due to the inclusion of dietary fiber. There was a problem that it could not be contained. Furthermore, the inability to produce fluid products has reduced the variety of dietary fiber-containing foods that can be provided, making it difficult to meet the diverse tastes of consumers. Furthermore, if we are to expect a noticeable effect on improving bowel movements, we must in most cases consume a considerable amount of dietary fiber, which can lead to symptoms such as diarrhea, flatulence, and abdominal distention.
It is never a good idea to consume large amounts of dietary fiber at once, as it may cause side effects such as abdominal pain. Therefore, the present invention has a better taste and texture than conventional dietary fiber-containing foods, and is easy to ingest.
Moreover, the present invention aims to provide a novel fluid food that can have a remarkable effect on improving bowel movement even in a small amount. Means for Solving the Problems The fluid food provided by the present invention is characterized by containing polydextrose and indigestible and easily fermentable oligosaccharides as main ingredients for improving bowel movements. . The term "flowable food" here refers to foods that are normally fluid, as well as potentially fluid foods that are not necessarily fluid under normal conditions but can become fluid when stirred and/or heated (e.g., pudding). , jelly, ice cream, etc.), and "food" includes beverages. Polydextrose is a water-soluble polysaccharide with a molecular weight of approximately 1,500 to 18,000 obtained by polymerizing glucose or maltose in the melt using an edible polycarboxylic acid (for example, citric acid) as a catalyst and crosslinking agent (as described above). In addition to sugar, some clays are reacted with polyols such as sorbitol to lower the clay and improve its color and taste (details of the process are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,766,165). Its sugar chains are highly branched and difficult to digest, and its calorie content as food is about 1 calorie per gram, so it has been used as a low-calorie carbohydrate food material. According to the present inventors, polydextrose, unlike the indigestible and easily fermentable oligosaccharide, which is another component of the fluid food of the present invention,
It is also difficult to assimilate by intestinal bacteria. This substance is commercially available in Japan under the trade name "Polydextrose" from Pfizer Inc. On the other hand, indigestible and easily fermentable oligosaccharides are
Foods that are hardly digested by digestive enzymes secreted by the human gastrointestinal tract but are easily assimilated by intestinal bacteria (specifically, 4% of fresh human feces)
When mixed with the diluted solution and kept in an anaerobic condition at 37℃ 2
It is a fermentable substance that more than 90% disappears within hours). However, generally speaking, the term "oligosaccharide" includes disaccharides, but many disaccharides are easily digestible, and disaccharides that are not easily digestible do not have a significant effect when used in combination with polydextrose, so they are difficult to digest. Disaccharides are excluded from the term "oligosaccharide" in the present invention, regardless of their quality. Particularly preferred oligosaccharides in the present invention are those that can be assimilated by Bifidobacterium, which has an intestinal regulation effect. Specific examples include raffinose-based products described in JP-A No. 59-179064, galactose-based products described in JP-A-58-20266, and JP-A-59-179-20266.
Fructooligosaccharides described in Publication No. 53834,
Decomposed products of konjac mannan described in JP-A-58-212780, levan (β-2,6-fructan) described in JP-A-57-18982, JP-A-58-99497 Galactose-based products described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 11190/1983, chitin partial hydrolyzate described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1983-11190,
Examples include lactoseucrose described in Publication No.-53835. The appropriate blending ratio of polydextrose and indigestible and easily fermentable oligosaccharides is about 1:10 to 20:1. In addition to polydextrose and indigestible and easily fermentable oligosaccharides, the fluid food of the present invention contains other indigestible water-soluble (or water-dispersible) oligosaccharides.
Polysaccharides, seasonings, fragrances, and other optional food and drink materials can be contained within the range that does not interfere with achieving the objectives of the present invention. In particular, live bacteria such as lactic acid bacteria and Bifidobacterium that have an intestinal regulation effect, or fermented milk containing them, improve the ingestion effect of the liquid food of the present invention. It is preferable as an auxiliary material. Effects In the fluid food of the present invention, both polydextrose and oligosaccharides have the effect of improving bowel movements. Although the mechanism is not clear, it is thought that there are different effects based on differences in fermentability in the intestine, and the combination of these two components produces more preferable results than their single use. Since both components are completely water-soluble, it is possible to construct a fluid food product with no risk of solid matter precipitation and with good texture. EXAMPLES The present invention will be explained below with reference to experimental examples and examples. The polydextrose used in each example is a product of Pfizer Inc. Example Polydextrose and raffinose-based oligosaccharides were administered alone or simultaneously to one healthy adult male and nine female adults who were constipated or complained of constipation under the following conditions to examine their effects on bowel movements. Examined. The raffinose oligosaccharide was produced from soybeans by the method described in JP-A-59-179064. Dose Test group 1: Polydextrose 10 g/day Test group 2: Roughinose oligosaccharide 3 g/day Test group 3: Polydextrose 5 g/day + Raffinose oligosaccharide 3 g/day Administration period Each test group was administered for 2 weeks. However, in order to avoid the influence of previous tests, a one-week non-administration period was provided between the test groups, and the order of the tests was randomly varied for each subject. Method for investigating administration results Questionnaire forms were distributed to subjects, and they were asked to respond to the following items before, during, and every day after administration. 1. Presence or absence of defecation 2. Difficulty of defecation 3. Amount of stool (whether it was "a lot", "normal", or "small") 4. Characteristics of the stool ("hard", "normal", "soft", "diarrhea") ”
5. Feeling after defecation (whether or not you felt refreshed after defecation) Method of compiling survey results Survey results were scored using the following method. 1 Number of defecations: Number of defecations per test period (14 days)2 Ease of defecation: Number of times defecated easily during the test period/Number of defecations3 Stool volume: ``Large'', ``Normal'', ``Low'' stool volume
They were given 3 points, 2 points, and 1 point, respectively, and expressed as a total score during the test period. 4 Hardness: 1 point, 2 points, 3 points, and 4 points are given for "hard,""normal,""soft," and "diarrhea," respectively, and the total is divided by the number of defecations during the test period. It was expressed as 5. Level of feeling refreshed: Number of times the person felt refreshed after defecating during the test period/Number of times he/she had defecation The results of the above test are summarized in Tables 1 and 2. Table 1 shows the results of determining the effect of improving bowel movements for each test group, and the circle mark indicates that the scores for 4 or more of the 5 items investigated were higher than before administration. Furthermore, Table 2 shows items for which scores were found to have significantly increased as a result of a "paired t-test" performed before the start of administration and in each test group for each survey item.

[Table] Table 2 Items for which test group scores significantly increased 1 None 2 Defecation frequency, stool volume 3 Defecation frequency, stool volume, ease of defecation, hardness Usually, "constipation resolved" means that the frequency of defecation has increased. This seems to mean that the amount of stool increased, the stool became softer, easier to defecate, and the patient felt refreshed after defecating, and constipation was resolved by improving only one of the above survey items. It is not possible to judge. In other words, when looking at one survey item, there is a significant increase in score across all subjects; There is a significant increase in score on as many survey items as possible across all subjects; When looking at each subject individually, An increase in scores for most survey items is considered to be a requirement for determining constipation relief.
Examining the above test results from this perspective, it was determined that the constipation relieving effect was not observed when polydextrose was administered alone, slightly observed when oligosaccharide was administered alone, and strongly observed when polydextrose and oligosaccharide were administered in combination. Example 1 500 g of polydextrose and 300 g of the same raffinose oligosaccharide used in the above experimental example were added to 10 g of clear apple juice and sterilized by heating at 100° C. for 30 minutes. The obtained fruit juice drink was transparent, had no abnormal texture on the tongue, and had a good flavor. Example 2 100 parts by weight of commercially available Bifidobacterium-containing fermented milk Milmil (Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd.), 5 parts by weight of polydextrose and galactose oligosaccharides (manufactured from lactose according to the method described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-20266) (3 parts by weight) were added and mixed aseptically. The resulting beverage was comparable in flavor and texture to the raw fermented milk. Example 3 Water was added to 400 g of polydextrose, 240 g of the same roughinose oligosaccharide used in the above experimental example, 24 g of citric acid, and 670 g of sucrose to make 10.
It was sterilized by heating at 100°C for 30 minutes. Add to this the fermented milk prepared in advance (Lactobacillus
Casei cultured in a 10% skim milk powder medium (viable bacteria count: 1 x 10 ⁹ /ml) was added and mixed to obtain a lactic acid bacteria drink. The resulting beverage had good flavor and texture. Example 4 Fresh cream (45% formula) 1000g Milk 450 Polydextrose 75 55% fructooligosaccharide syrup* 118 Sugar 100 Egg yolk 200 A few drops of flavoring *Meiji Seika Co., Ltd. product, Bx73 5 Always use ice cream with the above composition. Manufactured by the method. The product had no noticeable difference in texture from regular ice cream. Example 5 Instant coffee powder 25g Polydextrose 100 50% galactose-based oligosaccharide syrup* 172 Sugar 75 Water 1000 Gelatin 25 *Made by the method described in JP-A-58-20266 Bx70 Coffee jelly with the above composition was prepared by a conventional method Manufactured. The texture of the product was exactly the same as that of regular coffee jelly. Effects of the Invention The liquid raw food of the present invention achieves the purpose of improving bowel movement by using water-soluble polydextrose and oligosaccharides, so it has a better taste than conventional health foods containing solid dietary fiber. It has excellent texture. In addition, because it is fluid and has stable properties, it can be made into a wide variety of foods such as drinks, fermented milk, jelly, and ice cream, which was impossible or difficult to do with conventional foods containing dietary fiber. , it is easy to match the diverse tastes of consumers.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A fluid food product characterized by containing polydextrose and indigestible and easily fermentable oligosaccharides. 2. The fluid food according to claim 1, wherein the indigestible and easily fermentable oligosaccharide is raffinose-based. 3. The fluid food according to claim 1, wherein the indigestible and easily fermentable oligosaccharide is a galactose-based oligosaccharide derived from lactose. 4 Claim 1 in which the fluid food is a beverage
Liquid foods listed in section.