Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Fat or oil is basic ingredient other than butter in emulsion...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-28
2001-12-04
Paden, Carolyn (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...
Fat or oil is basic ingredient other than butter in emulsion...
C426S590000, C426S611000, C514S182000, C514S533000, C514S824000, C424S439000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06326050
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an oil and fat composition which, when used in daily life similarly to ordinary fats, can lower the blood cholesterol level of a person having a high cholesterol level. It further relates to a food, a drink and a pharmaceutical preparation each containing the oil and fat composition.
2. Prior Arts
Phytosterol is found to be an effective basic material to reduce a hemal (in blood) cholesterol. It is included in vegetable seads. A usual, edible vegetable oil includes about 0.1 to 1.0 wt. % of it.
JP-A 10-179086 (EP-A 839 458) discloses food and drink in which phytosterol is soluble in oil by adding a large amount of vitamin E and an emulsifier. JP-B 56-14087 discloses a process for preparing a filler for soft capsules comprising an oily solvent being compatible with a soy bean residue principally comprising phytosterol. JP-B 6-59164 discloses use as a food additive of a sterine-containing composition of gel type comprising a lipophilic emulsifier having an HLB of less than 8 and an oil or fat being liquid at a normal temperature. Those publications disclose a diacylglycerol as an emulsifier. U.S. Pat. No. 5,843,499 discloses use of a corn fiber oil (about 73% of oil or fat, 6% of diacylglycerol, 4% of free sterol, 14% of sterol ester) as an additive to supplementary food to reduce cholesterol. W098/01461 discloses application to a medicine of an organic metal complex obtained by reacting a trace amount of a di- or more valent metal ion being useful as a catalyst for metabolism and a trace amount of 1,2-diglyceride with phytostetrol.
The compositions of the above discussed prior arts, however, include too small an amount of diacylglycerols to effect an improved metabolism rate of fats. They include a large amount of vitamin E and a food additive of water-including gel, which cannot be taken similarly to fat in daily life.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide an oil and fat composition which lowers the blood cholesterol level of a person having a high cholesterol level when ingested in daily life similarly to ordinary fats and is usable without posing any problem concerning appearance, flavor, heat cooking, etc. when compared with general edible fats. It is to further provide a pharmaceutical preparation, food or drink containing the fat composition.
The present inventors have found that an oil and fat composition obtained by dissolving or containing a phytosterol in a fat comprising one or more specific polyhydric alcohol/fatty acid esters and its use in a manner similar to ordinary edible fats that enables a blood cholesterol concentration to be lowered, and accomplished the present invention.
When a phytosterol is ingested together with cholesterol competitive micelle formation occurs in the small intestine to reduce cholesterol absorption into the body and thus lower the blood cholesterol level. It is therefore important that for heightening the micelle formation by a phytosterol in the small intestine, the phytosterol be dissolved in a fat to be ingested.
The co-inventors of the application have studied these points and found that, when phytosterol is dissolved or dispersed in oil or fat including a large amount of a diacylglycerol, in particular diacylglycerols principally comprising a 1,3-diacylglycerol which is recognized to inhibit in effect accumulation of body fat, phytosterol, even having been crystallized, can be easily dissloved in body and will have an improved effect as such.
The invention provides an oil or fat composition comprising an oil or fat comprising 15 wt. % or more of a diacylglycerol and 1.2 to 20 wt. % of phytosterol, dissolved or dispersed in the fat and oil. The amount of the diacylglycerol of the oil or fat may range from 15 to 95 wt. %, preferably from 30 to 95 wt. %, more preferably from 55 to 95 wt. %, sepecifically preferably from 80 to 95 wt. %. The amount of phytosterol may range from 1.2 to 10 wt. %, preferably from 1.2 to less than 5 wt. %, more preferably from 1.2 to 4.7 wt. %.
The invention provides an oil or fat composition, being lightly colored, comprising an oil or fat comprising 80 wt. % or more of a diacylglycerol, obtained by hydrolyzing fats and oils, distilling the hydrolyzation product to produce fatty acids and glycerin and esterifying them in the presence of an enzyme, and 0.05 to 20 wt. % of phytosterol, dissolved or dispersed in the fat and oil. The amount of phytosterol of the composition may range from 0.05 to 10 wt. %, preferably from 0.05 to less than 5 wt. %, more preferably from 0.05 to 4.7 wt. %.
In both above shown compositions, a ratio of the free to the ester of the phytosterol is preferably 0.25 or more. The fatty acids comprised by the diacylglycerol preferably include 55 wt. % or more of unsaturated fatty acids, more preferably 70 wt. % or more. Specifically it is preferably composed of 20 to 65 wt. % of oleic acic and 15 to 65 wt. % of linoleic acid.
The invention provides a table cooking oil comprising an oil or fat composition as defined above, a food product including the oil or fat composition as defined above, a hemal (blood) cholesterol-reducing pharmaceutical preparation including the oil or fat composition as defined above, an oil or fat-processed food product 3 to 95 wt. % of oil or fat comprising 15 wt. % or more of a diacylglycerol and 1 to 20 wt. % of phytosterol and a beverage product comprising 0.2 to 10 wt. % of an oil or fat comprising 15 wt. % or more of a diacylglycerol and 0.2 to 1 wt. % of phytosterol.
The invention provides also a method of reducing a hemal cholesterol value comprising administering the oil or fat composition as defined above to a person and use of the oil or fat composition as defined above for manufacturing a hemal cholesterol-reducing pharmaceutical preparation.
Since such diacylglycerols as contained in a fat in an amount of 15% by weight or larger improve solubility of a phytosterol in particular as shown in the following Table 1, they can be incorporated into a fat in an amount of 15% by weight or larger, preferably 30% by weight or larger, more preferably 55% by weight or larger, especially preferably 80% by weight. When a larger amount of diacylglycerol is used in combination with phytosterol, a synergistic effect on lipid metabolism is expected.
However, it is preferred that the diacylglycerols be used in an amount of not more that 95% by weight from the viewpoint of cost performance.
Diacylglycerols suitable for use in this invention are those in which the constituent fatty acids comprise C
8—22
saturated fatty acids or unsaturated fatty acids. Since the oil and fat composition of this invention can be used similarly to generally edible fats, it is preferred to use diacylglycerols in which at least 55% by weight, more preferable at least 70% by weight, of the constituent fatty acids are accounted for by unsaturated fatty acids. A larger proportion of the diacylglycerols having such unsaturated fatty acid groups are liquid at least at human body temperature, whereby a lipid metabolism effect attributable to the dissolution of a phytosterol can be expected. In particular, unsaturated fatty acids composed of 20 to 65% by weight of oleic acid and 15 to 65% by weight of linoleic acid are preferable.
The diacylglycerol can be obtained by (1) interesterifying an oil or fat with glycerin or (2) esterifying an fatty acid with glycerin. These reactions may be effected either chemically with a hydroxide catalyst of an alkali metal, alkaline earth metal or enzymatically.
A diacylglycerol having an industrially high purity can be preferably manufactured by (2) the enzymatic method because (1) the chemical method easily degrades quality of the oil or fat such as coloring.
{circle around (1)} An fatty acid obtained by steam-decomposing an oil or fat at 250 to 260° C. and distilling the decomposition product, {circle around (2)} a partial hydrolysis product obtained by steam-decomposing an oil or fat at 200 to 240° C. or {circle around (3)} a partial hydro
Goto Naohiro
Masui Kenji
Nishide Tsutomu
Tanaka Yukitaka
Yasukawa Takuji
Kao Corporation
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
Paden Carolyn
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