Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Fermentation processes – Of farinaceous cereal or cereal material
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-29
2001-02-20
Hendricks, Keith D. (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Fermentation processes
Of farinaceous cereal or cereal material
C426S618000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06190708
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to enzyme suspensions comprising enzyme preparations for enzymatic hydrolysis of cereal starch. In another aspect it relates to methods of producing homogeneous and stable cereal suspensions prepared by using the enzyme preparations.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The beneficial health effects of dietary fibers are well-known. In this context there has been a growing interest in food products made from grains, such as oats and barley.
In many respects, oats are different than other grains. They have higher protein and fat content than comparable cereals as well as a high &bgr;-glucan content.
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in food products made from oats. The main reason for this is that oat fibers have been found to have a wholesome effect by lowering the serum cholesterol level of hypercholesteremic individuals. Another reason is that oats contain protein of high food value as well as a considerable proportion of mono and polyunsaturated fats. In addition, oats contain many essential amino acids and minerals.
A great advantage of oats is that the whole grain can be used for making various products once the hull has been removed. In oats, the most nutritious substances are distributed fairly evenly in the whole grain. In other grains, the nutritious substances are frequently concentrated in specific parts of the grain.
The nutritional aspects of oat components have prompted the introduction of oats or parts thereof into several different food products. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,063 (G. F. Inglett) discloses the preparation of water-soluble dietary fibre compositions by treating ground oat products with &agr;-amylases. The &agr;-amylase serves to thin the oat starch, and any &agr;-amylase may thus be used. The produced pulverulent dietary fibre compositions are used as additives in food products, such as fat substitutes. However, these products not only lack desirable aromatics of natural oats, but are also deprived of agreeable natural oat flavorings.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,686,123 (to L. Lindahl et al) discloses a homogeneous and stable cereal suspension having the taste and aroma of natural oats. The disclosed cereal suspension is prepared by treating a suspension of oatmeal with &bgr;-amylase, which has no glucanase and proteinase activity, in a first enzyme treatment step which specifically generates maltose and maltodextrin units. Then the suspension is treated with &agr;-amylase, which also has no glucanase and proteinase activity, in a second enzyme treatment step which specifically generates maltose units. This oat suspension is a milky product which can be used as an alternative to milk, especially for lactose-intolerant people. It may also be used as the basis of or an additive in the manufacture of ice-cream, gruel, yogurt, milkshakes, health drinks and snacks. However, this process is time consuming because of the sequential treatments with different hydrolases, thereby increasing the cost of production. Moreover, sequential enzyme treatments eliminate any possible positive synergic effects that may occur when combining of enzymes. Furthermore, the overall viscosity and/or sugar content of the cereal suspension cannot be efficiently controlled or manipulated.
In view of these shortcomings, there is a need for enzyme preparations that hydrolyze cereal starch in a more cost-efficient and timely manner while producing a cereal suspension product that retains the flavoring and aromatic qualities of natural cereal and in which the viscosity, sugar content, and overall texture can be regulated or modified for a preferred end product.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
For purposes of this invention, the terms and expressions below appearing in the specification and claims are intended to have the following meanings:
“Preprocessed cereal suspension” as used herein means a product that has been previously processed by the method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,686,123.
“Cereal substrate” as used herein means a suspension selected from the group consisting of cereal meal suspension, preprocessed cereal suspension and mixtures thereof
“Oatmeal suspension” as used herein means a suspension comprising oat flour and/or rolled oats.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide an enzyme modified suspension comprising a cereal substrate suspension and an enzyme preparation for enzymatic hydrolysis of constituents in the cereal substrate suspension whereby the specific properties of the cereal substrate suspension, such as viscosity and/or sugar ratio content modified and/or manipulated by combinations of various hydrolases and isomerases.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an efficient, selective and economical method for producing a cereal suspension having the aroma and/or flavor of natural cereals and having the unexpected improvement of regulating the viscosity and/or sugar content of the cereal suspension through treatment with a spectrum of new enzyme preparations.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a homogeneous and stable cereal suspension having the aroma and/or flavor of natural cereals and containing intact &bgr;-glucans that are components of a cereal substrate suspension.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a method for preparing the homogeneous and stable cereal suspension having the aroma and taste of natural cereals and containing intact &bgr;-glucans.
All of the above objects may be accomplished by an enzyme modified suspension comprising a cereal substrate suspension and an enzyme preparation for enzymatic hydrolysis of constituents in the cereal substrate suspension. The enzyme preparation comprises at least one hydrolase with the ability to hydrolyze &agr;-glycosidic bonds of the constituents of a cereal substrate suspension, and optionally, combining the at least one hydrolase with an isomerase. The constituents may include, but are not limited to, amylose, amylopectin, maltodextrins, maltose, maltotriose and a mixture thereof. More specifically, the above objects may be accomplished by an enzyme modified suspension comprising a cereal substrate suspension and an enzyme preparation wherein the enzyme preparation comprises at least one hydrolase having the ability to hydrolyze &agr;-glycosidic bonds of constituents of a cereal substrate suspension. It is preferred that the enzyme preparation has no glucanase and/or proteinase activity. The preferred hydrolase may be selected from the group consisting of &bgr;-amylase, &agr;-amylase, amyloglucosidase and pullulanase, with the proviso that when the enzyme preparation comprises &bgr;-amylase or &agr;-amylase there is a mixture of at least one other of the named &agr;-glycosidic hydrolases. It is further preferred that when the enzyme preparation comprises both &bgr;-amylase and &agr;-amylase they are combined simultaneously in the cereal substrate suspension. In addition to the above-identified hydrolases, the enzyme preparations of the present invention may further comprise an isomerase, such as glucose isomerase.
The previously discussed enzyme preparations may be utilized to produce a homogeneous and stable improved cereal suspension having the aroma and taste of natural cereals and containing intact &bgr;-glucans, the improved cereal suspension prepared by the method comprising the steps:
a) providing a cereal substrate suspension;
b) treating the cereal substrate suspension of step (a) with an enzyme preparation as previously discussed, namely an enzyme preparation for enzymatic hydrolysis of a cereal starch in the suspension comprising at least one hydrolase enzyme having the ability to hydrolyze &agr;-glycosidic bonds. Preferably, a &agr;-glycosidic hydrolase is selected from the group consisting of &bgr;-amylase, &agr;-amylase, amyloglucosidase, pullulanase and mixtures thereof, with the proviso that when the enzyme preparation comprises &bgr;-amylase or &agr;-amylase there is a mixture of at least one other of the named &agr;-glycosidic hydro
Cereal Base CEBA AB
Hendricks Keith D.
Simpson, Simpson & Snyder, L.L.P.
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