Drug – bio-affecting and body treating compositions – Plant material or plant extract of undetermined constitution... – Containing or obtained from vaccinium
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-04
2004-06-22
Lilling, Herbert J. (Department: 1651)
Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions
Plant material or plant extract of undetermined constitution...
Containing or obtained from vaccinium
C424S736000, C424S766000, C426S416000, C426S531000, C426S616000, C426S655000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06753019
ABSTRACT:
This invention relates to a food supplement, derived from fruit or vegetable fibres, which has beneficial effects for bowel health.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFA's) are known to have significant physiological effects on the large bowel. In particular, SCFA's are considered to play a role in the protection against bowel cancer and the development of pathogenic organisms and the development of colonic ulceration and other diseases of the bowel.
SCFA's (acetate, propionate and butyrate) are produced in the large bowel by microbial fermentation. The benefits attributed to these compounds are variously thought to be the result of either reduced pH or beneficial changes to the molar ratios of acetate, propionate and butyrate or some combination of these. The concentration of SCFA's, pH and in particular butyrate concentration are putative indicators of bowel health.
More particularly, butyrate is considered to offer protection against bowel cancer. As most intestinal cancers occur in the distal colon, an increased level of butyrate in this region is a key objective in controlling the incidence and development of this type of cancer.
In the processing of fruit and vegetable for consumption, a considerable amount of the fruit or vegetable remains unused because it is either unpalatable or inconvenient to use. This represents a somewhat inefficient use of resources and leads to a waste disposal problem and a loss of potentially valuable resources.
It is also desirable to have a fibre additive for foods that is a substitute, or a partial substitute for ingredients of commonly used foods substances such as flour in bread. Also desired is that these substitutes do not add to the calorific content of the foods, and in many instances that these substitutes do either not contribute flavours at all or at least do not contribute off flavours. A number of examples of fibre food additives are made from waste from fruit or vegetable processing, and one such example is the use of treated citrus albedo for inclusion of a flour substitute in various cereal products such as bread in U.S. Pat. No. 4526794 by Altomare et al.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
It is a finding of this invention that the use of a mixture of fibre extracts from two or more types of fruit or vegetables can have a beneficial effect on the large bowel.
Fibre extracts from apple slices and from the albedo of oranges were extracted by a counter current method and added as a supplement to a standard feed for pigs and to a diet for humans. An unexpected beneficial change in indicators of gut health was found when mixtures of the two fibre extracts were used when compared to the use of each fibre extract separately.
The effect is manifest in an increased production of short chain fatty acids in the large bowel, of which butyrate is the fatty acid that is increased to the greatest degree particularly in the distal colon. The experiments conducted to date are suggestive that the physiology of the large intestine is also somewhat modified in so far as the wall of the large intestine is thickened albeit by a statistically not significant amount, indicating that there may be stimulation of growth.
The term fibre in the context of this invention is intended to convey the meaning of material that is substantially indigestible in the small intestine such that it passes into the large bowel of a human or other omnivorous animal species.
It is thus proposed that in a broad form that the present invention could be said to reside in a food supplement, said food supplement derived from fibre extracts from two or more types of fruit or vegetables, the fibre extracts having had a majority of soluble solids removed therefrom.
At present the reason why such combinations of fibre extracts exert their effect is unknown, it is however thought that removal of a majority of the soluble solids is essential for this to have effect. One hypothesis is that insoluble fibre components presented in this way have a more beneficial action in promoting colonisation of beneficial bacteria in the large intestine, thereby acting as a prebiotic.
The removal of soluble solids also has the side benefit of maximising the potential value obtained from the precursor product in so far as it may be possible to sell some or all of the soluble solids. Additionally the insoluble solids that remain are more convenient for food use because they may be dried and hence put into a wider range of foods than would be possible with soluble materials. Insoluble solids from which soluble solids have been removed also have a tendency to be more stable microbiologically and not to produce off flavours, there is also the possibility that any anti microbial substances (that might otherwise adversely affect beneficial large bowel microflora) present in parts of the fruit are also removed.
The two or more types of fruit or vegetable may be selected from the group consisting of grape, citrus, apple, tomato, carrot, mango, papaya, banana, pineapple, kiwi fruit, spinach and melon.
Preferably the two or more types of fruit or vegetables are selected from the group consisting of, grape, orange, apple, tomato, melon, cranberry and grapefruit.
In an alternative form a first of the two or more fruit and vegetables is a citrus fruit and a second fruit is selected from the group consisting of grape, apple, tomato, carrot, mango, papaya, banana, pineapple, kiwi fruit, spinach, melon and cranberry and more preferably the second fruit is selected from the group consisting of grape, apple, tomato, melon and cranberry. In one convenient form the citrus fruit is an orange.
In another alternative form a first of the two or more fruit and vegetables is an apple, and a second fruit is selected from the group consisting of grape, citrus, tomato, carrot, mango, papaya, banana, pineapple, kiwi fruit, spinach, a melon, and more preferably the second fruit is selected from the group consisting of grape, citrus, tomato, and melon.
In one specific form the fibre extracts from two fruits are used, the two fruits being orange and apple.
Citrus fruits that might be used including orange, grapefruit, tangelo, tangerine, lemon, o kinnow fruit and varietals. When dealing with citrus by product parts, citrus “cups” can be used. Cups are halves of the outer portion of citrus fruits comprising the skin (flavedo) and the pith (albedo) and represent the portion of citrus fruit remaining after conventional juice extraction. Preferably the starting material for fibre extraction is a shaved skin, whereby the flavedo has been removed. The benefit of using albedo is that processing is simplified, so that the strongly flavoured portion of the skin is not included.
For pineapples, the “zenith” solids, which comprise the outer skin and inner core of pineapple can be used. Also whole pineapples can be used.
When papaya is the precursor just the flesh and skin are to be processed. When the seed is included the resultant product has a higher fibre content. Likewise mangos, without seed can be processed.
When a melon is used it might be selected from the group consisting of watermelon, rock melon, honeydew melon or champagne melon.
Without being bound by the same, a possible explanation for the beneficial effects of the combinations of fibre extracts is that the two fibre components each offer different levels of minerals, neutral non starch polysachharides and uronic acids and that a synergy is afforded by a combination of fruits or vegetables having the different levels. Soluble and insoluble neutral non starch polysaccharides, and soluble and insoluble uronic acids provide four possible substrates for microbial growth in the colon. These four possible substrates may result in a series of microbial populations being established along the large bowel, each acclimatised to a preferred substrate and each producing different SCFA's. In this way, the varying molar ratios of the individual SCFA's may be explained.
The high level of calcium and other elements are considered to provide benefici
Bird Anthony R
Denton Derek
Lang Timothy
Topping David
Coleman Henry D.
Food Ingredients Technologies Intangibles (Bermuda) Limited
Sapone William J.
Sudol R. Neil
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