Drug – bio-affecting and body treating compositions – Extract – body fluid – or cellular material of undetermined... – Blood
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-08
2001-11-06
Saucier, Sandra E. (Department: 1651)
Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions
Extract, body fluid, or cellular material of undetermined...
Blood
C426S657000, C530S350000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06312733
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The subject of the present invention is ice crystal growth inhibiting agents, a process for preparing such agents and a process for using these agents in the manufacture of a food product.
BACKGROUND OF ART
It is known that ice crystal growth inhibiting agents called “thermal hysteresis proteins” have the capacity to bind to ice crystals and to reduce their growth (Biophysical Journal, February 1991, p 409-418). Two properties of these agents have been demonstrated: they have the capacity to reduce the apparent freezing temperature of a solution without affecting its thawing temperature and they also have the capacity to inhibit the recrystallization of ice crystals (Cryobiology, vol. 25, 1988, p 55-60).
Furthermore, three types of ice crystal growth inhibiting agents have been demonstrated in certain Arctic and Antarctic fish in particular (The FASEB Journal, May 1990, p 2460-2468). These agents are of a protein structure or of a glycoprotein structure. They were isolated from the plasma or the serum of these fish and then purified. However, they are also present in other tissues.
It is also known to use ice crystal growth inhibiting agents to improve the quality of food products such as frozen desserts, frozen pastes or fresh products, such as tomatoes. DNA Plant Technology Corp has synthesized an artificial protein which is an ice crystal growth inhibiting agent similar to those which can be found in certain fish or other organisms capable of living under very low temperature conditions (Food Processing, October 1992, p 55).
However, up until now, no ice crystal growth inhibiting agent has been isolated in
Zoarces viviparus
, a fish living in particular on the coasts of Norway and on the coasts of the Baltic Sea.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The aim of the present invention is to provide new ice crystal growth inhibiting agents having a remarkable level of activity and capable of being advantageously used in particular in the freezing or texturing of products such as food products for example.
To this effect, the ice crystal growth inhibiting agents according to the present invention are agents extracted from
Zoarces viviparus
having a molecular weight of 4-5.5 kDa, capable of being obtained by a process in which
Zoarces viviparus
serum is collected, the serum proteins are isolated, the proteins are separated by gel filtration and the protein fraction having a thermal hysteresis of 1-1.8° C. is isolated.
Preferably, these ice crystal growth inhibiting agents exhibit a thermal hysteresis of 1.3-1.5° C.
It has been observed, surprisingly, that these ice crystal growth inhibiting agents effectively make it possible to reduce the size of the ice crystals during the freezing of food products such as ice creams, frozen desserts or frozen pastes for example and thus confer a more unctuous texture on the latter.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In the remainder of the description, the expression “crystal inhibiting agent” will be used in the sense of “ice crystal growth inhibiting agent”.
In the remainder of the description, the expression “typical size of the crystals” will be used in the sense of “size of the ice crystals which is predominantly found”.
In the remainder of the description, the expression “equivalent diameter” will be used in the sense of “diameter of a circle which has the same surface area as the image of the crystal considered”.
In the process for preparing an extract of ice crystal growth inhibiting agents according to the present invention,
Zoarces viviparus
serum containing the said agents is prepared.
To do this,
Zoarces viviparus
blood may be extracted, it may be cooled, the supernatant constituting the
Zoarces viviparus
serum containing the ice crystal growth inhibiting agents may be collected and then the supernatant may be frozen, for example.
The
Zoarces viviparus
blood may be extracted with the aid of a treated capillary, in particular a capillary treated with sodium heparin, for example.
The
Zoarces viviparus
blood may be cooled to 0-5° C. so as to, in particular, inhibit the activity of the proteases and peptidases contained in the blood, for example.
The supernatant constituting the
Zoarces viviparus
serum containing the ice crystal growth inhibiting agents may be collected by centrifuging
Zoarces viviparus
blood at 1000-5000 g at 0-5° C. for 5-15 min, for example. To do this, a Heraeus Minifuge GL type centrifuge, marketed by Heraeus SA, 23, route des Jeunes, CH-1227 Carouge-Geneva, may be used for example.
The supernatant may be frozen at a temperature of between −15° C. and −40° C., for example.
The present invention also relates to a process for reducing the size of ice crystals, in which at least one ice crystal growth inhibiting agent extracted from
Zoarces viviparus
is added to a food product. It is possible in particular to add 0.01-10% of ice crystal growth inhibiting agents according to the present invention to a food product during its preparation.
The food product thus prepared may then be frozen for example. It may in particular be frozen at a temperature of between −15° C. and −40° C.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5869092 (1999-02-01), Hays et al.
patent: WO 92 12722A (1992-08-01), None
Greenwood et al., “Effect of chronic irradiation on th humoral immune response of a marine fish, the eelpout,Zoarces vivparus”,Internat. J. Rad. Biol. 67 (1): 71-77 (1995).*
Korsgaard, “Calcium Metabolism in Relation to Ovarian Functions During Early and Late pregnancy in the vivparous blenny,Zoarces viviparus”,J. Fish Biol. 44 (4): 661-672 (1994).*
Cheng et al., “Structures of Antifreeze Peptides from the Antarctic Eel Pout, Austrolycicthys brachycephaulus”, BBA 997: 55-64 (Jan. 1989).*
Schrag et al., “Primary and Secondary Structur of Antifreeze Peptides from Arctic and Antarctic Zoarcid Fishes”, BBA 915: 357-70 (May 1987).*
Swientek, R.J., “Frozen foods with ‘fresh’ qualities; Antifreeze polypeptides and proteins inhibit ice crystal formation”; Food Processing, p. 55, (October 1992).
Knight, C.A., et al., “Adsorption of &agr;- helical antifreeze peptides on specific ice crystal surface planes”, Biophysical Journal, vol. 59, pp. 409-418, (Feb. 1991).
Knight, C.A., et al., “Solute Effects on Ice Recrystallization: An Assessement Technique”; Cryobiology, vol. 25, pp. 55-60, (1988).
Davies, P.L., et al., “Biochemistry of fish antifreeze proteins”, The FASEB Journal, vol. 4, pp. 2460-2468, (May 1990).
Food Technology, vol. 47, No. 1, Jan. 1, 1993, pp. 82, 84-88, 90, Feeney et al. “Antifreeze proteins: Properties, Mechanism of Action, and Possible Applications”.
Polar Biology, vol. 1, No. 2, 1982, pp. 115-123, T. Schneppenheim, “Freezing-Point Depressing Peptides and Glycoproteins from Artic-Boreal and Antarctic Fish”.
Canadian Journal of Zoology, vol. 66, No. 2, 1988, pp. 2611-2617, Davies, Hew Fletcher, “fish antifreeze proteins: physiology and evolutionary biology”.
Jann Alfred
Lundheim Rolv
Nestec S.A.
Saucier Sandra E.
Winston & Strawn
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