Drug – bio-affecting and body treating compositions – Plant material or plant extract of undetermined constitution...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-01
2003-10-14
Tate, Christopher R. (Department: 1651)
Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions
Plant material or plant extract of undetermined constitution...
C424S400000, C424S439000, C424S442000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06632458
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cruciferous plants rich in &ggr;-aminobutyric acid (hereinafter, abbreviated as GABA). More particularly, the present invention relates to cruciferous plants, cut pieces of the plants, juice of the plants and cut pieces, and dried powder of the plants, the cut pieces, and the juice that maintains green color and has a high GABA content, a method for producing the same, and foods, beverages, and medicine materials made of the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Since GABA has a hypotensive function, studies have been made for producing foods containing a large amount of GABA for those suffering from hypertension. For example, “gabalong” tea is known where picked tea-leaves are left in an anaerobic atmosphere during a tea production process to allow a large amount of GABA to be accumulated in the tea-leaves. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No.8-173111 describes production of coffee leaves having a high GABA concentration. Specifically, coffee leaves are left in an anoxic atmosphere, then heat-treated at a high temperature of 110° C. or more, and dried. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 9-205989 describes increasing the GABA content in tea-leaves by irradiating the tea-leaves with infrared.
The tea-leaves obtained in the above conventional methods are of the type of pouring boiling water to the tea-leaves to extract ingredients thereof. Therefore, only effective ingredients that are soluble in water are ingestible.
Cruciferous plants such as kale contain a large amount of vitamins and the like and thus have received attention for their usability as health food. Juice and dried powder have already been produced from a cruciferous plant such as kale to be used for beverages and foods. In order to maintain the green color of a cruciferous plant, as well as dried powder and juice produced therefrom, blanching is performed where a cruciferous plant is subjected to high-temperature treatment using extremely hot water or the like. However, effective ingredients of the cruciferous plant tend to be lost during this hot-water treatment. This method therefore fails to provide a processed cruciferous plant that keeps effective ingredients from being lost while maintaining the green color.
For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-42841 describes a method for producing juice from a cruciferous plant. In this method, a cruciferous plant (e.g., cabbage) is shredded, and vitamin C is added thereto. The resultant cabbage shredded pieces are heat-treated and then squeezed to produce juice. According to this method, however, nutrients in the plant that are sensitive to heat are disadvantageously decomposed during the heat treatment.
Japanese Patent Gazette No.2796227 describes a method for producing dried powder from a cruciferous plant. In this method, the plant is treated at a comparatively low temperature by combining 12 to 13 hour preliminary drying and far infrared radiation. This method still has a shortcoming that only nutrients inherently possessed by a cruciferous plant such as kale are provided for ingestion. If a nutrient or a medicinal ingredient (e.g., GABA) can be additionally included in the cruciferous plant, it will be possible to ingest the effective ingredient (e.g., GABA) in a large amount directly, not through extraction as described above. Such a cruciferous plant will provide an additional effect as health food.
In consideration of the above, desired are dried powder, juice, and dried powder of juice of a cruciferous plant that contain an additional nutrient or medicinal ingredient.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
As a result of vigorous study on cruciferous plants, the present inventors have found that cruciferous plants contain GABA, an ingredient having a hypotensive function, and succeeded in increasing the GABA content in cruciferous plants. The present invention is based on this success. Cruciferous plants are especially suitable as objects subjected to treatments for increasing the GABA content, and thus GABA-enriched cruciferous plants have been successfully obtained.
The present invention provides a GABA-enriched cruciferous plant, which is edible as it is. The GABA-enriched cruciferous plant may be dried, to provide dried powder containing a large amount of GABA. The GABA-enriched cruciferous plant may also be squeezed, to provide juice containing an abundance of GABA. Further, by drying the juice, dried powder of juice containing an abundance of GABA is provided. Thus, there is provided health food having a new effect of hypotensive function in addition to the conventional effects of juice and dried powder of a cruciferous plant.
The present invention provides a cruciferous plant, cut pieces of the plant, or juice of the plant or the cut pieces, containing GABA in an amount of 50 mg/100 g or more.
In a preferred embodiment, the cruciferous plant, the cut pieces of the plant, or the juice of the plant or the cut pieces maintains a green color.
The present invention further provides a cruciferous plant, cut pieces of the plant, or juice of the plant or the cut pieces, containing GABA in an amount of 10 mg/100 g or more, which are blanched and maintain a green color.
The present invention provides a method for producing a cruciferous plant or cut pieces of the plant containing GABA in an amount of 50 mg/100 g or more, wherein the method comprises enriching GABA in a cruciferous plant or cut pieces of the plant,
wherein enriching GABA includes at least one treatment selected from the group consisting of anaerobic treatment, 25 to 50° C. thermal retention treatment, and glutamic acid treatment.
In a preferred embodiment, the method further comprises microwave treatment.
In a yet preferred embodiment, the cruciferous plant or the cut pieces of the plant is subjected to the treatment to maintain a green color.
The present invention also provides a method for producing juice of a cruciferous plant containing GABA in an amount of 50 mg/100 g or more, wherein the method comprises: enriching GABA in a cruciferous plant or cut pieces of the plant; and squeezing the enriched cruciferous plant or cut pieces of the plant,
wherein enriching GABA includes at least one treatment selected from the group consisting of anaerobic treatment, 25 to 50° C. thermal retention treatment, and glutamic acid treatment.
Further, the present invention provides a method for producing juice of a cruciferous plant containing GABA in an amount of 50 mg/100 g or more, wherein the method comprises enriching GABA in the juice of a cruciferous plant or cut pieces of the plant,
wherein enriching GABA includes at least one treatment selected from the group consisting of anaerobic treatment, 25 to 50° C. thermal retention treatment, and glutamic acid treatment.
In a preferred embodiment, the method further comprises microwave treatment.
In a more preferred embodiment, the treated juice maintains a green color.
The present invention provides a dried powder of a cruciferous plant or cut pieces of the plant containing GABA in an amount of 180 mg/100 g or more.
The present invention further provides a method for producing dried powder of a cruciferous plant or cut pieces of the plant containing GABA in an amount of 180 mg/100 g or more, wherein the method comprises: enriching GABA in a cruciferous plant or cut pieces of the plant; and drying the enriched cruciferous plant or cut pieces of the plant,
wherein enriching GABA includes at least one treatment selected from the group consisting of anaerobic treatment, 25 to 50° C. thermal retention treatment, and glutamic acid treatment.
The present invention also provides dried powder of a cruciferous plant or cut pieces of the plant, containing GABA in an amount of 10 mg/100 g or more and maintaining a green color.
In a preferred embodiment, the dried powder further contains vitamin B1 in an amount of 0.1 mg/100 g or more and vitamin C in an amount of 100 mg/100 g or more.
Furthermore, the present invention provides a method for producing dried powder of
Hattori Toshimitsu
Takagaki Kinya
Tsusaki Shinji
Tate Christopher R.
Toyo Shinyaku Co., Ltd.
Webb Ziesenheim & Logsdon Orkin & Hanson, P.C.
Winston Randall
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