AU2005226981B2

AU2005226981B2 - Method of producing dietary fiber-containing health food

Info

Publication number: AU2005226981B2
Application number: AU2005226981A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Mieko Matsuoka
Original assignee: Suntory Holdings Ltd
Current assignee: Suntory Holdings Ltd
Priority date: 2004-03-26
Filing date: 2005-03-25
Publication date: 2011-02-10
Anticipated expiration: 2025-03-25
Also published as: KR20060133050A; CN1929752A; AU2005226981A1; SG165196A1; JP4820288B2; CN1929752B; JPWO2005092124A1; TW200538057A; MY146910A; WO2005092124A1

Description

SPECIFICATION METHOD OF PRODUCING DIETARY FIBER-CONTAINING HEALTH FOOD FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to a method of granulating a food material containing dietary fiber and a health food produced by the method. PRIOR ART [0002] Recently, in awareness of prevention of life style related diseases, a wide variety of health foods containing green plants have been developed and put into use. Such health foods may be provided to consumers in various forms. Among those, food products provided in the form of powder or granules-to be dissolved or dispersed in water immediately before being consumed are very popular. [0003] For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003 339350 discloses a diet food containing barley/wheat leaves and xylooligosaccharide. The publication describes that for preparing the diet food, an excipient or a binder can be mixed and the mixture is formed into various shapes such as tablets and granules. It is suggested that the food may be consumed directly or as a drink by dissolving it in water, warm water or milk according to the shape or preference. The publication (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-339350), however, does not describe a granulation method, in particular, a granulation method using water. [0004] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-218945 describes a problem that, although a dry form of a dietary fiber-containing food product is preferable in view of 2 storage stability, and those formed (granulated) into tablets, granules or fine granules are more preferable than powder in view of easy handling and portability, consumers demand purest possible products prepared from health food materials alone 5 rather than those bulky products containing an excipient or a binder (components added to shape the product) such as cellulose or dextrin. To solve the problem, the publication (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-218945) proposes a method of granulation comprising adding at least one binder selected 10 from pregelatinized starch, pullulan, a water-soluble derivative of chitin, a water-soluble derivative of chitosan, chitin-oligosaccharide and chitosan oligosaccharide. The method described in the publication (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-218945) however, requires much labor for granulation 15 because the granulation is conducted after dissolving the binder in water and also, when a binder with a low solubility is used, the amount of use thereof is subject to limitation. Thus, development of an effective technique which achieves easy granulation with simpler operation even when 20 spraying water alone to a food material is demanded. [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-339350 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-218945 25 The present invention aims to provide a dietary fiber containing health food in the form of granules or fine granules which is easy to handle and which consumers can take by dissolving or dispersing in water or the like with ease, and a method of producing the same. 30 The present invention also aims to provide a health food in which the use of components not directly involved in the original function of the health food, such as an excipient and a binder, is reduced when producing a dietary fiber- 3 containing health food in the form of granules or fine granules, and a method of producing the same. The present invention also relates to a method of producing a dietary fiber-containing food product, wherein the 5 method comprises, when granulating a powdery food material containing dietary fiber, granulating with adding xylooligosaccharide to the food material before or during a granulation step, wherein the granulation is conducted by a fluidized bed granulation method. 10 Throughout the description and claims of the specification, the word "comprise" and variations of the word, such as "comprising" and "comprises", is not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps. A reference herein to a patent document or other matter 15 which is given as prior art is not to be taken as an admission that that document or matter was known or that the information it contains was part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of any of the claims. 20 MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEMS The method of the present invention uses xylooligosaccharide as an alternative to a binder. Specifically, the method of producing a dietary fiber containing food product comprises, when granulating a powdery 25 food material containing dietary fiber, granulating with adding xylooligosaccharide to the food material before or during a granulation step. In this specification, the food material containing dietary fiber mainly means leaves, buds, stems, flowers, nuts, 30 roots, spikes, seeds and fruits, which contain plant fiber, and typically young leaves of green plants. As examples of preferable food material, food materials for producing so- 3a called green juice are more preferable, and examples thereof include any one of Angelica keiskei powder, barley/wheat young leaf powder, green tea powder and kale, or a mixture thereof. Angelica -4 keiskei is preferable in that it contains abundant antioxidant vitamins. Other examples of usable food materials containing dietary fiber are of usable food materials containing dietary fiber are described in many prior art references including Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-334046 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003 79339. The food material containing dietary fiber may be used after a pre-treatment such as cutting or blanching where necessary, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-218945. If the food material containing dietary fiber is not powdery when obtained, it is preferable to use the material by forming into powder of not more than 75 n. While various methods of producing Angelica keiskel powder are known according to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Sho 59-154935 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hie 2 231057, the method is not particularly limited as long as dry Angelica keiskel powder is obtained. Angelica keiskei is an umbelliferous perennial plant, which is cultivated along the Pacific coast of the Chubu region and the Kanto region of the Japanese Mainland. Angelica keiskei contains coumarins, chalcones and antioxidant vitamins in great amounts and is effective for arteriosclerosis, constipation and anaemia. The portions to be used are not particularly limited, and all portions including leaves, buds, stems and fruits may be used. While various methods of producing barley/wheat young leaf powder are known according to known references (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 7-241176, Japanese - 5 Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-112435, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-58449, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-212, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-9812 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-178), the method is not particularly limited as long as dry powder of barley/wheat young leaves is obtained. The barley/wheat young leaf means young leaves of barley/wheat, which is specifically young leaves of barley, wheat, rye, oats or adlay. Such leaves are rich in vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber and attracting attention as a material of health food, which has effects such as adsorption of a harmful substance, improvement of enteric environment, inhibition of absorption of cholesterol, inhibition of a rapid increase in blood glucose level after meal and activation of superoxide dismutase (SOD). [0010] While various methods of producing kale powder are known according to known references (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-186445, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-125612, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-119245, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-119239, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-112729, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-112701 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-85010), the method is not particularly limited as long as dry kale powder is obtained. Kale is a perennial plant belonging to the Brassica family, which is originally an improved variety of cabbage. The leaves contain a lot of vitamins and are effective for prevention of gastritis and gastric ulcer and amelioration of liver function and constipation.

-6 Any kale may be used without particular limitation as long as it belongs to the Brassica family and various kales such as Siberian kale, Scotch kale and collard can be used. [0011] Xylooligosaccharide derives from homopolysaccharide xylan (hemicellulose) of corn cob or cottonseed hull, in which some number of xylose molecules are connected. It is a white, odorless crystalline powder which tastes slightly sweet. It is convenient to use, for example, a xylooligosaccharide which is marketed by the applicant of this application with a product name "xylooligo 95P". A widely known effects of xylooligosaccharide include the control of enteric function through its proliferative activity of bifidobacteria, but other than this, prevention of colon cancer and enhancement of mineral absorption (Japanese Patent No. 3462535) are known. The content of xylooligosaccharide in the food product may be determined with observing granulation conditions in each case, but the desirable content is 3 to 20% by weight based on all solid components. Xylooligosaccharide is added by mixing it to dietary fiber before the granulation step, or by adding, spraying or pouring an aqueous solution of xylooligosaccharide to dietary fiber, during the granulation step. Granulation may be conducted by any method including a fluidized bed granulation method or an extrusion granulation method. The fluidized bed granulation method affords granulated materials excellent in dispersibility, hence, the method is preferably employed. In that case, 1) granulation may be - 7 conducted by mixing xylooligosaccharide to a food material in advance and spraying water or 2) granulation may be conducted by spraying xylooligosaccharide dissolved in water to a food material during granulation. In the present invention, desired granulated materials may be obtained by either granulation method, but the method 1) is preferably used since the operation is easier. [0012] The granules or fine granules produced by the method of the present invention are preferably granulated to such a level that they tend not to generate flying dust and can be easily packaged as a product in the step of filling into separate packages. Specifically, it is preferred that the granulation is conducted to ensure that the proportion of fine powder of not more than 75 pm is a certain level or less, for example, 50% by weight or less. Whether the granules or fine granules after granulation falls into this granule size range or not can be confirmed by measuring granule size distribution. [0013] According to the method of the present invention, a dietary fiber-containing food product in the form of granules or fine granules excellent in dispersibility in water can be produced without using such binder, although a binder other than xylooligosaccharide may be used. The food product produced does not tend to generate flying powder dusts and can be easily packaged as a product. [0014] The present invention also relates to a dietary fiber-containing food product produced by the above mentioned method. While it is desired that the dietary -8 fiber-containing food product of the present invention does not contain a binder other than xylooligosaccharide, a usual binder may be used to the extent that the desired image of health food is not affected. The amount of the binder to be added depends on its ability, but generally when used in the form of a solution as in the case of carboxymethylcellulose or hydroxypropyl cellulose, the amount is, for example, not more than 3%. When added in the form of powder as in the case of pregelatinized starch or cornstarch, the amount is, for example, not more than 10%. In this way, a binder may be added as long as the fluidity is not lost when dissolved or dispersed in water. [0015] The dietary fiber-containing food product of the present invention may contain additives or supplementary components generally used for food products. For example, excipients such as starch, lactose, crystalline cellulose, dextrin, pullulan and guar gum, sweeteners such as aspartame, xylitol, sucralose, mannitol and galactose, supplements such as carotene, L-ascolbic acid, a-tocopherol, lutein and lycopene may be contained. For example, the value of health food can be improved by incorporating 0.1 to 10% by weight of enzyme-treated rutin as an antioxidant component. [0016] The enzyme-treated rutin means rutin and rutin analogues glycosilated by enzymatic treatment. Examples of the rutin analogues include quercetin, isoquercitrin, morin, myricitrin and myricetin. The enzyme-treated rutin can be obtained by the method described in Japanese Patent -9 Laid-Open No. Hei 7-10898 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-33164. In addition to enzyme-treated rutin, pharmaceutically acceptable additives may also be contained. The amount of enzyme-treated rutin in the composition may be determined based on a standard that the enzyme-treated rutin is taken in an amount of 5 mg to 500 mg, preferably 10 to 300 mg per adult per day. [0017] The dietary fiber-containing food product of the present invention may be provided along with an indication related to functions of the food. The way in which the functions are described is not particularly limited but it may be described on the package of the food product, the surface of the container, a printed explanation of the food product or an advertising leaflet of the food product. Examples of functions that the dietary fiber-containing food product of the present invention may have include prevention or amelioration of symptoms such as arteriosclerosis, anaemia, gastritis, gastric ulcer and constipation, amelioration of liver function, inhibition of adsorption of a harmful substance, improvement of enteric environment, a diet effect, inhibition of cholesterol absorption, inhibition of a rapid increase in blood glucose level after meal, activation of superoxide dismutase, control of enteric function including a proliferative activity of bifidobacteria, prevention of colon cancer, enhancement of mineral absorption or a function based on an antioxidant effect.

- 10 ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION [0018] The method of the present invention achieves easy granulation when producing a dietary fiber-containing food product and produces only few agglomerates (lumps). In addition, when granulation is conducted according to a fluidized bed granulation method, scattering of powder can be prevented since water is used in the method. Further, production steps can be reduced because no other binder than xylooligosaccharide is used, or only a reduced amount of such a binder solution is used. [0019] One of the effects consumers can expect to the dietary fiber-containing food product when they consume it is the control of enteric function. It is widely known that xylooligosaccharide has an effect of controlling enteric function so that the use thereof is preferable also from the viewpoint that the effect of controlling enteric function is imparted to the dietary fiber-containing food product as compared to products using a conventional binder. Other than the effect of controlling enteric function, xylooligosaccharide is known to have effects of preventing colon cancer and enhancing mineral absorption. The dietary fiber-containing food product of the present invention is extremely preferable in that one can expect these effects. [0020] The dietary fiber-containing food product of the present invention is in the form of granules or fine granules which are hard to generate powdery dust, and therefore can be easily dissolved or dispersed in water before being taken. Because no binder except for - 11 xylooligosaccharide is used, the food product has an extremely high handling ability when dissolved or dispersed in water. In particular, when granulated materials are dissolved in a small amount of water, or directly taken to one's mouth without additional water, there is a great advantage in that the granulated materials have excellent fluidity due to a low viscosity. [0021] The absence of conventional binders in the dietary fiber- also has health and preference benefits. Examples [0022] In the following, the present invention is explained based on Examples, but these Examples are not intended to limit the present invention. Example 1 Using Angelica keiskel powder as a dietary fiber material, the granulation effect by the amount of xylooligosaccharide added was evaluated. About 200 g of mixed powder shown in Table 1 was granulated by using a fluidized bed granulator (FD-LAB-1 made by Pawrex Corporation). After introducing the mixed powder thereto and mixing it for two minutes, granulation was conducted for 30 to 50 minutes with spraying water at a rate of 1.0 to 1.5 g/min (material temperature: 24 to 30 0 C, intake-air temperature: 30 to 40 0 C). After drying in the granulator for 5 to 10 minutes, granulated materials were taken out and sieved by a No. 30 sieve (500 Vm) to give granulated materials. [0023] As an index of granulation property, the - 12 proportion of fine powder was evaluated. That is, when the proportion of fine powder sieved through a No. 200 sieve (75 pm) is 50% by weight or less of the total, the granulation property was assessed to be excellent. This standard was employed in consideration of handling when packaging obtained granules (into pouches). [0024] The results are shown in Table 1. The compositions comprising Angelica keiskel powder and xylooligosaccharide were evaluated with regard to the granulation property. The case in which the proportion of fine powder of not more than 75 pm was less than 50% was rated as 0, the case in which the proportion was 50% or higher was rated as X. The result indicated that granulated materials having a proportion of xylooligosaccharide of not less than 3% had an excellent granulation property (evaluation result: 0)(Table 1). [0025] As described above, it has been shown that according to the method of production of the present invention using xylooligosaccharide for granulation, a composition having an excellent granulation property could be obtained without using a binder or an excipient. [0026] [Table 1] Table 1 Sample no. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Component Angelica Keiskei Powder 100 99 97 95 90 80 xylooligosaccharide 0 1 3 5 10 20 granulation property X X 0 0 0 0 - 13 [0027] Example 2 The granulation using other dietary fiber materials and excipients was investigated. The samples shown in Table 2 were used. The production of the granules and the experiment were conducted as described in Example 1. [0028] The results are shown in Table 2. The granulation property was evaluated as in Example 1. The case in which the proportion of fine powder of not more than 75 pm was less than 50% was rated as 0, the case in which the proportion was 50% or higher was rated as X. The result indicated that products containing, as dietary fiber materials, barley young leaf powder, or both barley young leaf powder and Angelica keiskel powder had an excellent granulation property due to the addition of a xylooligosaccharide. In addition, an excellent granulation property was also found in the cases where other excipients (crystalline cellulose, lactose) or binder (carboxymethylcellulose) were used together. [0029] As described above, it has been shown that the technique according to the present invention can be applied to a wide variety of dietary fiber materials. It has also been found that excipients or binders can be added to the extent that the desired image for health food is not affected.

- 14 [0030] [Table 2] Table 2 Sample no. 7 8 9 10 11 12 barley young leaf powder 95 40 40 40 40 Component Angelica Keiskei Powder 95 20 20 20 20 xylooligosaccharide 5 5 5 5 5 4 crystalline cellulose 15 lactose 15 carboxymethyl cellulose 1 granulation property 0 0 0 0 0 0 [0031] Example 3 The effect of the method of production on the property of granules was studied with the use of the components shown in Table 3. [0032] Specifically, granules were produced according to fluidized bed granulation or extrusion granulation. For fluidized bed granulation, the method of production as described in Example 1 was employed, provided that in the case of sample 14 xylooligosaccharide was sprayed after being dissolved in water. In the extrusion granulation, on the other hand, the amount of charge was 200 mg, and a mixture kneaded by using a suitable amount of water with a pestle and a mortar was subjected to extrusion granulation through a screen having a pore size of 0.8 mm, and the resulted granules were dried on shelf and sieved by a No. 30 sieve (500 pm) to give granulated materials. [0033] The results are shown in Table 3. The - 15 granulation property was evaluated as in Examples 1 and 2 and the case in which the proportion of fine powder of not more than 75 pm was less than 50% was rated as 0, the case in which the proportion was 50% or higher was rated as X. The result indicated that all samples had an excellent granulation property. The samples were evaluated with regard to redispersibility. For evaluation, 5 g of each sample was suspended in 150 ml of water and after confirming that the suspension became homogeneous, it was left until the solid and the liquid were separated. After the solid-liquid separation, the solution was shaken until homogeneous, and those which took 20 seconds or more for the second solid liquid separation was rated as 0, 10 seconds or more to less than 20 seconds as A, and less than 10 seconds as X. [0034] Of these samples, those prepared by fluidized bed granulation had a greater bulk density and particularly excellent redispersibility in water compared to the sample obtained by extrusion granulation. [0035] Referring to the samples prepared by fluidized bed granulation, the proportion of fine powder of not more than 75 Mm was below the criterion in either case of adding xylooligosaccharide in the form of powder or spraying it as an aqueous solution. This result suggested that the fluidized bed granulation method was a suitable production method.

- 16 [0036] [Table 3] Table 3 Sample no. 13 14 15 16 barley young leaf powder 40 40 40 Component Angelica keiskei powder 30 30 30 40 name powdered green tea 10 10 10 30 xylooligosaccharide 5 5** 5 10 lactose 15 15 15 5 granulation method fluidized fluidized extrusion fluidized bed bed granulation bed granulation granulation granulation mesh size % by weight 500 rm (30 mesh) 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 350 Wm(42 mesh) 0.0 0.0 47.8 0.0 particle 250 pm (60 mesh) 3.0 5.9 31.2 2.2 size 150 rn(100 mesh) 18.8 24.8 10.0 12.5 distribution 75 pm (200 mesh). 60.4 56.4 7.7 64.7 75 sm (200 mesh) pass 17.8 12.9 3.2 20.6 total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 granulation property 0 0 0 0 redispersibility 0 0 0 O [0037] Example 4 (Production Example) Each component shown in Table 4 was sieved by a 20 mesh sieve and charged to a fluidized bed granulator (FLOW COATER TYPE 200 manufactured by Freund Corporation) in an amount of 100 kg. After preliminary fluidization, - 17 granulation was conducted for about 65 minutes with spraying water at a rate of 500 g to 800 g/minute (exhaust gas temperature: about 30 0 C, intake-air temperature: 60 0 C). After drying in the granulator for about 10 minutes, granulated materials were taken out and sieved by a No. 15 sieve (1000 pm) to give granulated materials. [0038] The results of the granule size distribution analysis are shown in Table 4. The granulation property was evaluated as in Examples 1 to 3 and the case in which the proportion of fine powder of not more than 75 mm was less than 50% was rated as 0, the case in which the proportion was 50% or higher was rated as X. In all samples, the proportion of fine powder of not more than 75 pm was extremely small, suggesting that preferable granulated materials were obtained. [0039] Furthermore, using these granules, 3 g packages were prepared. As a filling machine, vertical three side packaging machine MC101 (manufactured by SANKO MACHINERY CO., LTD.) was used. Filling into aluminum pouches of a size of 60 mm x 90 mm was conducted according to a three side sealing method with a seal bar of 7 mm. All granule samples had excellent fluidity upon filling, showing an excellent filling property.

- 18 [0040] [Table 4] Table 4 Sample no. 16 17 barley young leaf powder 40 40 Angelica keiskei powder 30 30 Component powdered green tea 10 10 xylooligosaccharide 5 5 dextrin 15 maltitol 14 enzyme-treated rutin 1 granule size mesh size distribution 500 n (30 mesh) 0.0 0.0 350 sm (42 mesh) 1.0 0.9 250 pm (60 mesh) 4.9 5.7 150 sm (100 mesh) 23.3 37.7 75 pm (200 mesh) 53.1 41.9 75 Wm (200 mesh) pass 17.8 13.8 total 100.1 100.0 granulation property 0 0

Claims

1. A method of producing a dietary fiber-containing food product, wherein the method comprises, when granulating a 5 powdery food material containing dietary fiber, granulating with adding xylooligosaccharide to the food material before or during a granulation step, wherein the granulation is conducted by a fluidized bed granulation method, and the xylooligosaccharide is added by adding, spraying or pouring an 10 aqueous solution of xylooligosaccharide to dietary fiber during the granulation step.

2. A method of producing a dietary fiber-containing food product according to claim 1, wherein the dietary fiber containing food product is in the form of granules or fine 15 granules.

3. A method of producing a dietary fiber-containing food product according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the food product comprises xylooligosaccharide in an amount of 3 to 20% by weight based on all solid components. 20

4. A method of producing a dietary fiber-containing food product according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the food material containing dietary fiber is powder made from green leaves of a green plant.

5. A method of producing a dietary fiber-containing food 25 product according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the powder made from green leaves of a green plant comprises at least one of Angelica keiskei powder, barley/wheat young leaf powder and green tea powder.

6. A dietary fiber-containing food product produced by a 30 method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. A dietary fiber-containing food product according to claim 6, comprising enzyme-treated rutin as an antioxidant component. 20

8. A dietary fiber-containing food product according to claim 6 or claim 7, which is a separately packaged product.

9. A dietary fiber-containing food product according to any of. claims 6 to 8, having an indication related to a 5 function of the food.

10. A dietary fiber-containing food product according to claim 9, wherein the functions include prevention or amelioration of symptoms such as arteriosclerosis, anaemia, gastritis, gastric ulcer and constipation, amelioration of 10 liver function, inhibition of adsorption of a harmful substance, improvement of enteric environment, a diet effect, inhibition of cholesterol absorption, inhibition of a rapid increase in blood glucose level after meal, activation of superoxide dismutase, control of enteric function including a 15 proliferative activity of bifidobacteria, prevention of colon cancer, enhancement of mineral absorption, or a function based on an antioxidant effect.

11. A method, according to claim 1, substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to any of the examples. 20