Drug – bio-affecting and body treating compositions – Plant material or plant extract of undetermined constitution... – Containing or obtained from gramineae
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-25
2002-04-30
Tate, Christopher R. (Department: 1651)
Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions
Plant material or plant extract of undetermined constitution...
Containing or obtained from gramineae
C424S725000, C424S774000, C435S141000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06379717
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to young leaves of a grass plant such as barley, wheat, rye, oats, adlay, Italian ryegrass, and rice, in which the amount of &ggr;-aminobutyric acid having an antihypertensive function contained in the leaves is retained or increased.
2. Description of the Related Art
Green leaves of grass plants, such as the young leaves of barley, wheat, rye, oats, adlay, Italian ryegrass, rice, and the like, are rich in vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and so on. They have therefore received attention for their usability as materials for health food products that provide the effects of adsorbing harmful substances, improving the intestinal environment, suppressing absorption of cholesterol, preventing the postprandial sudden rise in blood sugar, activating superoxide dismutase (SOD), and the like. When such young leaves, for example, are used as a material for health foods, they are presented in various forms. For instance, the young leaves of barley are directly dried and powdered to obtain leaf powder (Japanese Patent No. 2544302), or processed into the forms of juice, extract, and powder of such juice and extract (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 11-75791). In either case, products having useful ingredients such as dietary fiber and vitamins retained therein in a larger amount is more preferable.
Green grass leaves contain enzymes such as chlorophyllase, peroxidase, and polyphenol oxidase that cause degeneration such as the fading of the vivid green color of green leaves. In order to prevent such degeneration, green leaves are generally subjected to hydrothermal treatment (i.e., blanching). During this treatment, ingredients naturally contained in green leaves, such as vitamins, minerals, and chlorophyll, tend to be lost.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present inventors have investigated unknown active ingredients contained in green grass leaves, especially young leaves of a grass plant selected from barley, wheat, rye, oats, adlay, Italian ryegrass, and rice, and found that such leaves contain &ggr;-aminobutyric acid (hereinafter, may be abbreviated as GABA) that is known as an antihypertensive substance. It has also been found that GABA is conventionally lost during the steps of processing the leaves, for example, at various stages for producing food materials using such young leaves. Therefore, conventionally, a product having a higher amount of GABA cannot be obtained.
The present invention provides young leaves of a grass plant which is at least one selected from the group consisting of barley, wheat, rye, oats, adlay, Italian ryegrass, and rice, containing &ggr;-aminobutyric acid in an amount of 500 mg/100 g or more in terms of dry weight.
In a preferred embodiment, the above-mentioned young leaves can be obtained by subjecting harvested young leaves of the grass plant or processed products thereof to at least one treatment selected from the group consisting of incubation treatment, anaerobic treatment, and microwave treatment.
The present invention also provides young leaf powder of a grass plant which is at least one selected from the group consisting of barley, wheat, rye, oats, adlay, Italian ryegrass, and rice, containing &ggr;-aminobutyric acid in an amount of 20 mg/100 g or more in terms of dry weight.
In a preferred embodiment, the above-mentioned young leaf powder can be obtained by subjecting harvested young leaves of the grass plant or processed products thereof to at least one treatment selected from the group consisting of incubation treatment, anaerobic treatment, and microwave treatment, and drying and powdering the treated young leaves.
The present invention further provides young leaf juice of a grass plant which is at least one selected from the group consisting of barley, wheat, rye, oats, adlay, Italian ryegrass, and rice containing &ggr;-aminobutyric acid in an amount of 800 mg/100 g or more in terms of dry weight.
In a preferred embodiment, the above-mentioned young leaf juice can be obtained by subjecting harvested young leaves of the grass plant or processed products thereof to at least one treatment selected from the group consisting of incubation treatment, anaerobic treatment, and microwave treatment, and squeezing the treated young leaves.
The present invention further provides young leaf juice powder of a grass plant which is at least one selected from the group consisting of barley, wheat, rye, oats, adlay, Italian ryegrass, and rice, containing &ggr;-aminobutyric acid in an amount of 800 mg/100 g or more in terms of dry weight.
In a preferred embodiment, the above-mentioned young leaf juice powder can be obtained by subjecting harvested young leaves of the grass plant or processed products thereof to at least one treatment selected from the group consisting of incubation treatment, anaerobic treatment, and microwave treatment, squeezing the treated young leaves, and concentrating, drying, and powdering the juice obtained by the squeezing.
The above-mentioned young leaves, young leaf powder, young leaf juice, and young leaf juice powder of a grass plant are used as materials for food, medicines, or feed.
Thus, the present invention makes possible the objects of: providing young leaves of a grass plant selected from the group consisting of barley, wheat, rye, oats, adlay, Italian ryegrass, and rice, having &ggr;-aminobutyric acid, known as an antihypertensive substance, in which the amount of &ggr;-aminobutyric acid is enriched or retained, and in which the amount of &ggr;-aminobutyric acid is hardly lowered during the steps of processing the leaves or during preservation of the leaves; providing young leaves of a grass plant that have the above-mentioned characteristics and that can retain a vivid green color for a long period of time; and providing young leaf powder, young leaf juice, and young leaf juice powder having the characteristics mentioned above.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present inventors have intensively examined ingredients naturally contained in green grass leaves and found that the green leaves contain &ggr;-aminobutyric acid (GABA), known as an antihypertensive substance. It has also been found that GABA is conventionally lost during the steps of processing green grass leaves, for example, at various stages for producing food materials using green grass leaves. The present inventors have further examined and succeeded in obtaining green grass leaves, especially young leaves of a grass plant selected from barley, wheat, rye, oats, adlay, Italian ryegrass, and rice, which contain retained or increased amount of &ggr;-aminobutyric acid, and thus accomplished the present invention.
The young leaves of a grass plant and the young leaf powder of a grass plant included in the present invention contain &ggr;-aminobutyric acid in an amount of 500 mg/100 g or more and 20 mg/100 g or more in terms of dry weight, respectively. Both the young leaf juice and young leaf juice powder of a grass plant included in the present invention contain &ggr;-aminobutyric acid in an amount of 800 mg/100 g or more in terms of dry weight.
Methods for producing the young leaves of a grass plant, young leaf powder of a grass plant, young leaf juice of a grass plant and young leaf juice powder of a grass plant, each having an increased or retained amount of GABA, are not limited. These products are-produced, for example, by the following methods.
The young leaves of a grass plant having increased or retained amount of GABA can be obtained, for example, by the process of subjecting harvested young leaves of a grass plant or processed products thereof to at least one treatment selected from the group consisting of incubation treatment, anaerobic treatment, and microwave treatment.
As used herein, the term “grass” refers to all the plants belonging to the Gramineae family in the botanical classification. In the present invention, the grass plant is preferably at least one of barley, wheat, rye, oats, adlay, Italian ryegrass, and rice.
The above-mentioned harvested
Flood Michele
Tate Christopher R.
Toyo Shinyaku Co., Ltd.
Webb Ziesenheim & Logsdon Orkin & Hanson, P.C.
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