JP2005034148A - Alcoholic beverage - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an alcoholic beverage capable of alleviating drunken sickness and a hangover, without having hemolytic action, by using a highly safe raw material derived from a plant, . <P>SOLUTION: This alcoholic beverage contains proanthocyanidin having excellent alcohol metabolism improving action, so that the beverage alleviates the drunken sickness and the hangover. The beverage is especially prepared by adding an extract of pine bark containing the proanthocyanidin to alcohol and further, preferably, adding ascorbic acid thereto. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an alcoholic beverage, and more particularly to an alcoholic beverage containing proanthocyanidins as a component.

When ethanol is ingested, it is oxidized in the liver by the action of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and converted to acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde is further converted into acetic acid by the action of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) and excreted outside the body.
However, the state in which acetaldehyde, which is a metabolite of alcohol, is not fully metabolized and accumulates in the body is a state in which so-called “drunk” occurs. If aldehyde accumulates in the body, it causes skin flushing and sickness. Furthermore, it causes hangover symptoms such as headache and nausea.

  Therefore, healthy alcoholic drinks have been proposed in order to eliminate the deficiencies of hangover, hangover, and alcohol that weakens the movement of the heart (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP-A 61-166390

However, the saponin used to eliminate the above drawback has a problem that it has a hemolytic action even at a low concentration.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an alcoholic beverage that has no hemolytic action and can reduce hangover and hangover caused by highly safe plant-derived materials.

In view of the above circumstances, the present inventors have intensively studied a plant extract that improves alcohol metabolism. As a result, proanthocyanidins have an alcohol metabolism improving effect, and in particular, an excellent pine bark extract containing proanthocyanidins is an alcohol. It has been found that it has an effect of improving metabolism, and has completed the present invention.
That is, the present invention is an alcoholic beverage characterized in that proanthocyanidins are added.

  A more preferred embodiment is a healthy alcoholic beverage to which ascorbic acid and its derivatives are added.

  A further preferred embodiment is an alcoholic beverage containing a pine bark extract containing the proanthocyanidins and the like.

  A more preferred embodiment is an alcoholic beverage that contains proanthocyanidins and the like and is excellent in improving alcohol metabolism.

  Pine bark extract is a natural substance, and therefore it is highly safe and can reduce hangover and hangover by improving alcohol metabolism.

  The above object, other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the best mode for carrying out the invention.

  The proanthocyanidins added to the alcoholic beverage of the present invention refers to a group of compounds composed of a condensation polymer having a degree of polymerization of 2 or more having flavan-3-ol and / or flavan-3,4-diol as a structural unit.

As the proanthocyanidins, those containing a large amount of a condensation polymer having a low degree of polymerization are preferably added.
The condensation polymer having a low polymerization degree is preferably a condensation polymer having a polymerization degree of 2 to 30 (2 to 30 mer), more preferably a condensation polymer having a polymerization degree of 2 to 10 (2 to 10 mer). A condensation polymer having a degree of polymerization of 2 to 4 (2 to 4 mer) is particularly preferred. This condensation polymer having a degree of polymerization of 2 to 4 is referred to as OPC (oligomeric proanthocyanidin) in this specification.
Proanthocyanidins, a type of polyphenols, are powerful antioxidants produced by plants and are concentrated in plant leaves, bark, fruit peels or seed parts. Proanthocyanidins, especially OPCs, are specifically pine, persimmon, wild peach bark, grapes, blueberries, strawberries, avocado, black acacia, cowberry fruits or seeds, barley, wheat, soybeans, black soybeans, cacao, red beans, It is contained in tochi shells, peanut skins, and ginkgo leaves. In addition, it is known that cola nuts in West Africa, roots of Latania in Peru, and Japanese green tea contain OPC, although they are very small amounts. OPC is a substance that cannot be produced in the human body.

  As the proanthocyanidins added to the alcoholic beverage of the present invention, food materials such as the bark, fruit or seed extract described above can be used. In particular, it is preferable to add an extract of pine bark. Pine bark is preferably added as a raw material for proanthocyanidins because it is rich in OPC among proanthocyanidins.

  Hereinafter, a method for preparing proanthocyanidins will be described by taking an extract of pine bark rich in OPC as an example.

Examples of the pine bark extract of the present invention include French coastal pine (Pinus Martima), larch, Japanese black pine, Japanese red pine, Japanese pine, Japanese pine, Chinese pine, Japanese pine, Ryukyu pine, Utsukushima, Japanese pine, Japanese pine, and Canadian quebec A bark extract of a plant belonging to the order of Pinus is preferably used. Among them, a bark extract of French coastal pine (Pinus Martima) is preferable.
French coastal pine is a marine pine that grows on the Atlantic coast of southern France. This French coastal pine bark contains proanthocyanidins, organic acids, and other physiologically active ingredients, and it is known that proanthocyanidins, which are the main ingredients, have a strong antioxidant action to remove active oxygen. Yes.

  The pine bark extract is obtained by extracting the pine bark with water or an organic solvent. When water is used, warm water or hot water is used. As an organic solvent used for extraction, an organic solvent that is acceptable for the production of food or drugs is used. For example, methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanol, 2-butanol, acetone, hexane, cyclohexane , Propylene glycol, hydrous ethanol, hydrous propylene glycol, ethyl methyl ketone, glycerin, methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, diethyl ether, dichloromethane, edible oils and fats, 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane, and 1,1,2- Trichloroethene is mentioned. These water and organic solvent 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.

The supercritical fluid extraction method is a method of performing extraction using a supercritical fluid that is a fluid that exceeds the critical point (critical temperature, critical pressure) of a gas-liquid substance. As the supercritical fluid, carbon dioxide, ethylene, propane, nitrous oxide (laughing gas) or the like is used, and carbon dioxide is preferably used.
The supercritical fluid extraction method includes an extraction step of extracting a target component with a supercritical fluid and a separation step of separating the target component and the supercritical fluid. In the separation step, any one of extraction separation by pressure change, extraction separation by temperature change, or extraction separation using an adsorbent / absorbent may be performed.

  Moreover, you may perform supercritical fluid extraction by the entrainer addition method. In this method, 2 to 20 W of ethanol, propanol, n-hexane, acetone, toluene, other aliphatic lower alcohols, aliphatic hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons, or ketones are added to the supercritical fluid. / V% is added, and by performing supercritical fluid extraction with the obtained extraction fluid, the solubility of the target extract such as OPC and catechins (described later) in the extraction solvent is dramatically increased, or This is a method for enhancing the selectivity of separation, and a method for efficiently obtaining a pine bark extract.

Since the supercritical fluid extraction method can be operated at a relatively low temperature, it can be applied to substances that are altered or decomposed at high temperatures; the advantage that the extraction fluid does not remain; and the recycling of the solvent is possible. There is an advantage that the 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 a plurality of extraction methods, it becomes possible to obtain pine bark extracts having various compositions.

  Specifically, the pine bark extract to be added to the alcoholic beverage of the present invention is prepared by the following method, but this is illustrative and is not limited to this method.

1 kg of French maritime pine bark is extracted with 3 L of a saturated solution of sodium chloride 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 500 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.
Then, 250 mL of ethyl acetate is added to the crude extract to perform liquid separation, and the ethyl acetate layer recovery step of recovering the ethyl acetate layer is performed five times. In this ethyl acetate layer recovery step, the ethyl acetate layer is directly recovered in 200 g of anhydrous sodium sulfate. Thereafter, the ethyl acetate layer is filtered, and the filtrate is concentrated under reduced pressure until the original volume is reduced to one fifth. The concentrated ethyl acetate layer is poured into 2 L of chloroform, and the resulting precipitate is collected by filtration. Thereafter, the precipitate is dissolved in 100 mL of ethyl acetate, and then added to 1 L of chloroform again for precipitation to perform a washing step of repeating twice. By this method, about 5 g of pine bark extract containing 5% by weight or more of catechins and 20% by weight of 2- to 4-mer OPC is obtained.
Further, in the present invention, from the viewpoint of safety when added to food, ethanol or water is used to extract pine bark, more preferably, proanthocyanidins are extracted from pine bark while heating, and an adsorbent resin. It is preferable to add a pine bark extract in which the content of proanthocyanidins is increased by using (diaion HP-20, Sephadex-LH20, chitin or the like) or an ultrafiltration membrane.
In addition, the upper limit of the content of proanthocyanidins in the plant extract is not particularly limited, but if the content of proanthocyanidins in the plant extract becomes high, the physiological activity of proanthocyanidins themselves may be lowered. The proanthocyanidin content in the extract is preferably less than 90% by weight, preferably less than 85% by weight, and more preferably less than 80% by weight.

  The extract derived from the raw material plant such as pine bark preferably contains OPC in terms of dry weight of 20% by weight or more, more preferably 30% by weight or more. Thus, a pine bark extract is preferably added as a raw material containing a high proportion of OPC.

  In addition, in the extract extracted from the plant body using water or ethanol as described above, pentamer or more proanthocyanidins are contained, but most of them are 10 to 10 from the solubility of proanthocyanidins in polar solvents. It is 20-mer or less.

  The plant extract preferably contains 5% by weight or more of catechins together with proanthocyanidins, particularly OPC, in the raw material plant extract. Catechin is a general term for polyhydroxyflavan-3-ol. As catechins, (+)-catechin, (−)-epicatechin, (+)-gallocatechin, (−)-epigallocatechin, epigallocatechin gallate, epicatechin gallate and the like are known. In addition to (+)-catechin, which is said to be a catechin in the narrow sense, gallocatechin, afzelekin, and (+)-catechin or 3-galloyl derivatives of gallocatechin are isolated from extracts derived from raw material plants such as pine bark. Has been. Catechin has carcinogenic inhibitory effect, arteriosclerosis preventive action, fat metabolism abnormality inhibitory action, blood pressure increase inhibitory action, platelet aggregation inhibitory action, antiallergic action, antiviral action, antibacterial action, caries prevention action, bad breath prevention action, It is known to have an intestinal flora normalizing action, an active oxygen and free radical scavenging action, an antioxidant action, and the like. Catechins are known to have an anti-diabetic effect that suppresses an increase in blood sugar. Catechins have the property of activating OPC at the same time as increasing water solubility in the presence of OPC, and ingesting with OPC enhances the action of OPC.

  The catechins are preferably contained in an amount of 0.1 parts by weight or more with respect to 1 part by weight of proanthocyanidins in order to improve the solubility and function of OPC. More preferably, the raw material plant extract containing 20% by weight or more of OPC is prepared so that 5% by weight or more of catechins are contained. For example, when the catechin content of the pine bark extract is less than 5% by weight, the catechins may be added so as to be 5% by weight or more. It is most preferable to use a pine bark extract containing 5% by weight or more of catechins and 20% by weight or more of OPC.

  Proanthocyanidins, especially OPCs, are antioxidant substances as described above, and therefore have the effect of reducing the risk of adult diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and cerebral thrombosis. It is known to have an improvement effect.

  Furthermore, in addition to antioxidant action, OPC has the effect of reducing bacterial growth in the oral cavity to reduce plaque (dental gum), the effect of restoring the elasticity of blood vessels, the effect of improving skin quality, the effect of enhancing collagen, Hyperlipidemia improving effect, preventing lipoproteins in the blood from being damaged by active oxygen, preventing damaged fat from aggregating on the inner wall of blood vessels and attaching cholesterol, active oxygen It is known to have an effect of regenerating decomposed vitamin E, an effect as an enhancer of vitamin E, and the like.

  In the alcoholic beverage of the present invention, the proanthocyanidins are preferably 0.00001% to 50% by weight, more preferably 0.001% to 40% by weight, more preferably 0.01% in terms of dry weight in the composition. Weight% to 20% by weight, most preferably 0.01% to 5% by weight. The daily intake of proanthocyanidins for adults (body weight 60 kg) is 10 mg to 2000 mg, more preferably 20 mg to 1000 mg, most preferably 20 mg or more, and 300 mg or less. This is because if the addition amount is small, the effect cannot be obtained, and if the addition amount is too large, for example, if it is 40% by weight or more, discoloration and precipitation are likely to occur.

In addition to the above-mentioned proanthocyanidins, other components usually used for quasi drugs may be added to the alcoholic beverage of the present invention as long as the effects of the composition are not impaired.
Examples of such components include water, other medicinal ingredients, other oils, moisturizers, surfactants, UV absorbers, absorption accelerators, fragrances, dyes, preservatives, thickeners, chelating agents, antiseptics Examples include antifungal agents. Here, examples of other medicinal ingredients include active oxygen scavengers, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory analgesics, antihistamines, antipruritics, bactericides, vitamins, hormones, and the like.

An antioxidant may be added for the purpose of increasing the stability of proanthocyanidins. Thereby, the oxidation of protein and lipid in the body can be prevented, and the effect of improving and protecting the skin quality can be obtained.
Antioxidants include carotenoids such as vitamin A, vitamin Bs, ascorbic acid, vitamin E, derivatives or salts thereof, L-cysteine and derivatives or salts thereof, riboflavin, SOD, mannitol, tryptophan, Examples include extracts such as histidine, quercetin, gallic acid and its derivatives, tea extract, and glutathione yeast extract.

Among these, ascorbic acid not only enhances the stability of proanthocyanidins and enhances their effects, but also promotes the decomposition of alcohol and aldehydes in the liver.
Ascorbic acid derivatives include ascorbyl-2-phosphate and ascorbyl-2-glucoside, and ascorbic acid salts include sodium salt, potassium salt, calcium salt, magnesium salt and the like.
When ascorbic acid is added, it is contained in the alcoholic beverage of the present invention so that the weight ratio with respect to proanthocyanidins is preferably 1: 0.1 to 500, more preferably 1: 0.2 to 200. Can be done.

  The alcoholic beverage of the present invention may be a beer, whiskey, sake, shochu, gin, rum, vodka, etc. directly added with a plant extract containing proanthocyanidins, and in the brewing process or distillation process, proanthocyanidins It can be obtained by adding a plant extract containing sucrose, but proanthocyanidins are likely to be oxidized or decomposed during the brewing or distillation process. It is preferable to add to.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to examples.

(Example 1)
Eighteen 10-week-old SD male rats (Kudo Co., Ltd.) were preliminarily raised on solid feed (Oriental Yeast Co., Ltd.) for 1 week and then fasted for 12 hours.
A pine bark extract containing 20% by weight of proanthocyanidins (20% by weight of OPC, trade name: Flavangenol, Toyo Shinyaku Co., Ltd.) was added with 15 ethanol to a final concentration of 0.005% by weight. It added to the aqueous solution containing weight%. Then, the ethanol aqueous solution was forcibly orally administered to rats so that ethanol was 1.0 g / kg. Blood was collected 0.5, 1 and 6 hours after ethanol administration, and blood ethanol and acetaldehyde were measured. The measurement was performed using a commercially available measurement kit (F-kit ethanol, F-kit acetaldehyde [Boehringer Mannheim]).
The results are shown in Table 1.

(Example 2)
In addition to the pine bark extract of Example 1, the same operation was performed except that ascorbic acid was added so that the final concentration in the aqueous ethanol solution to be administered was 0.005% by weight, and blood ethanol and acetaldehyde were added. It was measured.
The results are shown in Table 1.

(Comparative Example 1)
The same operation was carried out except that the pine bark extract of Example 1 was not added, and blood ethanol and acetaldehyde were measured.
The results are shown in Table 1.

(Comparative Example 2)
The blood ethanol and acetaldehyde were measured in the same manner as in Example 1 except that a grape seed extract (Kikkoman Co., Ltd.) containing 38% by weight of proanthocyanidins was added instead of the pine bark extract of Example 1.
The results are shown in Table 1.

From the results of Table 1, it was found that the group that took alcohol with proanthocyanidins was lower in both blood ethanol concentration and acetaldehyde concentration than the group that did not take proanthocyanidins, and was rapidly metabolized. In particular, it was found that the group that ingested the pine bark extract decreased more rapidly than the grape seed extract.
It was also found that the combination of proanthocyanidins and ascorbic acid is more effective.

(Example 3)
Five healthy adult males were subjects, and they were banned for 1 week.
What added 0.6 g of pine bark extracts containing 40 wt% proanthocyanidins to 300 mL of whiskey (alcohol content 34 wt%: Suntory Ltd.) was used as an alcoholic beverage.
Then, from 0 minutes after the start of the test, the subject was allowed to ingest whiskey water (alcohol content: 6% by weight) in 2 hours so as to obtain 3 g of alcohol per kg of body weight.
And I had a self-diagnosis of the state when 3 hours passed after alcohol intake and the physical condition of the morning of the next day.
The results are shown in Table 2.

(Example 4)
The same subject as above was prohibited from drinking for one week, and alcohol was ingested in the same manner as in Example 3 except that 0.6 g each of pine bark extract (same as Example 3) and ascorbic acid were added. .
And I had a self-diagnosis of the state when 3 hours passed after alcohol intake and the physical condition of the morning of the next day.
The results are shown in Table 2.

(Comparative Example 3)
The same subject as above was allowed to ban alcohol for one week, and alcohol was ingested in the same manner as in Example 3 except that an alcoholic beverage containing no pine bark extract was used. And I had a self-diagnosis of the state when 3 hours passed after alcohol intake and the physical condition of the morning of the next day.
The results are shown in Table 2.

(Comparative Example 4)
Alcohol was used in the same manner as in Example 3 except that the same subject as above was prohibited from drinking alcohol for 1 week and did not contain pine bark extract, and instead of drinking red wine (Sapporo Co., Ltd.) instead of whiskey. I was ingested. And I had a self-diagnosis of the state when 3 hours passed after alcohol intake and the physical condition of the morning of the next day.
The results are shown in Table 2.

From the results of Table 2, when the alcoholic beverage of the present invention to which the pine bark extract was added was ingested, it was possible to reduce hangover and hangover compared to the case of a normal alcoholic beverage that would not consume the pine bark extract. It was found that the combined effect of proanthocyanidins and ascorbic acid tended to be even higher.
Moreover, it turned out from the comparison with the red wine said to contain a proanthocyanidin that the direction where a proanthocyanidin is added to an alcoholic beverage like this invention has a high effect.
Furthermore, since there was an opinion from the test subject that the flavor of the alcoholic beverage was improved, it was found that the palatability was also improved.

(Examples 5-7)
The subjects were 15 healthy adult males who were allowed to drink for a week.
The test subjects were assigned to 5 people per group, and from 0 minutes after the start of the test, beer containing 0.01% by weight of pine bark extract containing 40% by weight of proanthocyanidins so as to be equivalent to 3g of alcohol per 1 kg of body weight Alcohol content 4% by weight), red wine (alcohol content 6% by weight), shochu water split (alcohol 6% by weight) were consumed in 2 hours. And I had a self-diagnosis of the state when 3 hours passed after alcohol intake and the physical condition of the morning of the next day.
The results are shown in Table 3.

(Comparative Examples 5-7)
The same subject as above was prohibited from drinking for 1 week, and alcohol was ingested in the same manner as in Examples 5 to 7 except that the pine bark extract was not added. And I had a self-diagnosis of the state when 3 hours passed after alcohol intake and the physical condition of the morning of the next day.
The results are shown in Table 3.

  From the results of Table 3, it can be seen that in any type of alcoholic beverage, hangover and hangover are reduced, and alcohol metabolism is improved.

(Example 8: Evaluation of alcohol metabolism by breath alcohol)
500 mg of pine bark extract (same as Example 1) was dissolved in 300 mL of shochu liquor with 25 ° C alcohol to prepare an alcoholic beverage. The following evaluation was performed using this alcoholic beverage and shochu (not referred to as a control beverage) in which the pine bark extract was not dissolved.
First, in three subjects, the breath alcohol concentration before alcohol intake was measured with an alcohol detector (manufactured by Chuo Auto Industry Co., Ltd.). After confirming that the measurement result showed 0, all of the 60 mL control beverage was consumed within 5 minutes.
Next, 30, 60, 120, and 150 minutes after the start of alcohol intake, the breath alcohol concentration was measured five times per person, and the average value was calculated.
Moreover, the same test was conducted on the same subject at the same time on the next day using an alcoholic beverage instead of the control beverage, and the breath alcohol concentration was measured.
Table 4 shows the average values of the three people.

  From the results of Table 4, it can be seen that in the alcoholic beverage containing the pine bark extract containing the proanthocyanidins of the present invention, the alcohol concentration in the breath after ingesting the beverage decreased at an earlier time than the control beverage. . That is, it can be seen that the alcoholic beverage of the present invention can prevent hangover and hangover while ingesting alcoholic beverages caused by alcohol consumption by promoting the decomposition of alcohol.

  The alcoholic beverage according to the present invention can be used in the brewing industry.

Claims (4)

  An alcoholic beverage characterized in that proanthocyanidins are added.   2. The alcoholic beverage according to claim 1, wherein ascorbic acid and a derivative thereof are added.   The alcoholic beverage according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the proanthocyanidins are extracts derived from pine bark.   The alcoholic beverage according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the alcoholic beverage is excellent in improving alcohol metabolism.