Composition for inducing relaxation effect

Abstract

To provide a composition comprising a combination of herbal medicines having an effect of inducing relaxation.SOLUTION: A composition for inducing a relaxation effect comprises processed ginger, ginseng, and jujube as active ingredients.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a composition for inducing a relaxation effect. [Background technology]

[0002] In today's busy society, daily life is constantly subject to stress, and an increasing number of people are complaining of not only physical ailments but also mental disorders, which can lead to unstable psychological states such as increased anxiety and restlessness.

[0003] Although each herbal medicine has a pharmacological effect on its own, it is used as a Kampo prescription that combines multiple herbal medicines for the treatment and prevention of various diseases and symptoms. As a combination of herbal medicines other than such traditional Kampo prescriptions, for example, a combination of gardenia fruit, dried ginger, licorice root, and deerskin glue has been reported to have effects of improving sleep and memory (Patent Document 1), but the reality is that not much research has been done on this topic. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7176790 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a combination of herbal medicines capable of achieving a relaxation effect-inducing effect. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] As a result of intensive research aimed at solving the above-mentioned problems, the inventors discovered that by combining dried ginger, ginseng and jujube, a new relaxation effect that was previously unknown when each ingredient was used alone is induced, and thus completed the present invention.

[0007] That is, the present invention is a composition for inducing a relaxation effect, which contains dried ginger, ginseng and jujube as active ingredients. Effect of the Invention

[0008] When ingested, the composition of the present invention induces a relaxation effect that was previously unknown with a single herbal medicine, and can provide a variety of relaxation effects, such as relieving stiffness in the neck and shoulders, improving sensitivity to chills, improving psychological state, improving loss of appetite, and improving awakenings during sleep. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a graph showing the results of evaluation by VAS for the item "stiffness in the neck and shoulders" in Test Example 1. [Diagram 2] 1 is a graph showing the results of evaluation by VAS for the item "cold hands and fingers" in Test Example 1. [Diagram 3] 1 is a graph showing the results of evaluation by VAS for the category of “chilliness of the whole body” in Test Example 1. [Figure 4] 1 is a graph showing the results of evaluation by VAS for the item "sense of anxiety" in Test Example 1. [Diagram 5] 1 is a graph showing the results of evaluation by VAS for the item "lack of concentration" in Test Example 1. [Figure 6] 1 is a graph showing the results of evaluation by VAS for the item "no feeling of relaxation" in Test Example 1. [Figure 7] 1 is a graph showing the results of evaluation by VAS for the item "loss of appetite" in Test Example 1. [Figure 8] 1 is a graph showing the results of evaluation by VAS for the item "impatience / irritability" in Test Example 1. [Figure 9] 1 is a graph showing the results of evaluation by VAS for the item "mental fatigue" in Test Example 1. [Figure 10] 1 is a graph showing the results of VAS evaluation of the item “I wake up many times during the night” in Test Example 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] The composition for inducing a relaxation effect of the present invention uses dried ginger, ginseng and jujube as active ingredients.

[0011] Dried ginger is a herbal medicine made from the parboiled or steamed rhizome of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe), a plant of the Zingiberaceae family.

[0012] Ginseng is a medicinal herb derived from the roots of Panax ginseng (CA Meyer) of the Araliaceae family, with the fine roots removed, or from the roots that have been lightly boiled.

[0013] Jujube is a medicinal herb originating from the fruit of the jujube plant (Ziziphus jujuba Miller var. inermis Rehder), which belongs to the Rhamnaceae family.

[0014] In the composition of the present invention, these herbal medicines may be used as they are, or may be in the form of herbal powder obtained by shredding or crushing the herbal medicines, or in the form of herbal extracts obtained by extracting the herbal medicines with a solvent such as water or ethanol. The herbal extracts may be in the form of concentrated soft extracts or dried extract powders.

[0015] The mass ratio of dried ginger, ginseng, and jujube in the composition of the present invention is not particularly limited, but from the viewpoint of inducing a relaxation effect, the mass ratio of dried ginger to ginseng (in the case of a herbal extract, the weight converted into herbal medicine) is preferably 10:3 to 4:1. Also, the mass ratio of dried ginger to jujube (in the case of a herbal extract, the weight converted into herbal medicine) is preferably 5:3 to 1:1.

[0016] In the present invention, the induction of a relaxation effect includes the improvement of various conditions that are not recognized as diseases, such as the relief of stiff neck and shoulders, the improvement of coldness such as cold fingers and coldness throughout the body, the improvement of psychological conditions such as anxiety, lack of concentration, lack of relaxation, loss of appetite, impatience and irritability, and mental fatigue, and the improvement of mid-sleep awakenings such as waking up multiple times during sleep, etc. In the present invention, the improvement of the above symptoms or conditions also includes their preventive use.

[0017] The composition of the present invention includes human or animal medicines, quasi-drugs, foods, feeds, etc. Examples of dosage forms of medicines and quasi-drugs include tablets, capsules, granules, powders, chewable tablets, syrups, etc. In preparing these preparations, in addition to the active ingredients of dried ginger, ginseng, and jujube, pharma- ceutically acceptable excipients, binders, bulking agents, disintegrants, surfactants, lubricants, dispersants, buffers, preservatives, flavorings, flavorings, coating agents, carriers, diluents, etc. may be appropriately combined and produced by conventional methods.

[0018] The dosage of the composition of the present invention is not particularly limited and can be set as appropriate. For example, the daily dosage for an adult is approximately 0.4 to 0.6 g of dried ginger, 0.10 to 0.14 g of ginseng, and 0.3 to 0.5 g of jujube (in the case of herbal extracts, the weight is calculated based on the herbal medicine).

[0019] When the composition of the present invention is used as a food, the form of the food may be, for example, jelly, hard candy, soft candy, gummy candy, chewing gum, wafer, biscuit, chocolate, bread, noodles, sausage, and other foods, nutritional foods, and other foods, as well as nutritional supplement compositions in the same form as the above-mentioned medicines (tablets, capsules, chewable tablets, syrups, etc.). In preparing these foods, in addition to the active ingredients of dried ginger, ginseng, and jujube, other food ingredients, sweeteners, gelling agents, colorants, fungicides, acidulants, seasonings, pH adjusters, leavening agents, solvents, softeners, oils, emulsifiers, preservatives, aromatics, stabilizers, colorants, antioxidants, moisturizers, thickeners, etc. may be appropriately combined and produced according to conventional methods. Foods include functional foods, foods for specified health uses, and foods with functional claims.

[0020] The composition of the present invention may be labeled with, for example, an indication that it improves stiffness in the neck and shoulders, prevents or improves cold fingers, prevents or improves coldness throughout the body, reduces anxiety, improves or maintains concentration, provides a sense of relaxation, improves loss of appetite, reduces impatience and restlessness, reduces mental fatigue, improves awakening during the night, etc. The act of labeling includes inscription on the main body, container, packaging, etc. of a product containing the composition of the present invention, inscription on documents such as instructions, package inserts, pamphlets, and other printed materials disclosing product information, inscription on various leaflets, advertisements used for promotion including the Internet, etc. EXAMPLES

[0021] The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to examples and test examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

[0022] Example 1 Preparation of tablets containing dried ginger, ginseng and jujube Ten times the amount of purified water was added to the cut dried ginger, ginseng and jujube, and the mixture was heated to 95-100°C with stirring, and then extracted for about 60 minutes. After the extraction was completed, the extract was separated into solid and liquid, and the separated liquid was concentrated under reduced pressure and then dried by spray drying to obtain dried ginger, ginseng and jujube extract powders. The obtained dried ginger, ginseng and jujube extract powders were mixed with lactose, microcrystalline cellulose and magnesium stearate and pressed into tablets using a tablet press to produce tablets containing 0.5 g of dried ginger, 0.14 g of ginseng and 0.4 g of jujube per 3 tablets (containing a total of 90 mg of dried ginger extract powder, ginseng extract powder and jujube extract powder).

[0023] Test Example 1 Human trials The subjects were healthy women aged 35 to 50 years, 30 in each group. The tablets prepared in Example 1 were taken once a day for 12 weeks, and 4, 8, and 12 weeks after the start of intake, the following items were evaluated using a visual analogue scale (VAS): "stiffness in the neck and shoulders," "cold fingers," "coldness throughout the body," "anxiety," "lack of concentration," "no sense of relaxation," "loss of appetite," "impatience and irritability," "mental fatigue," and "waking up many times during the day" (herbal medicine group). As a control, the subjects were given tablets that did not contain dried ginger, ginseng, or jujube extract powder, and similarly evaluated using a VAS (control group). The results are shown in Figures 1 to 10.

[0024] As these results show, the combined use of dried ginger, ginseng and jujube improved symptoms such as "stiffness in the neck and shoulders," "cold hands and fingers," "coldness throughout the body," "anxiety," "lack of concentration," "lack of relaxation," "loss of appetite," "nervousness and impatience," "mental fatigue," and "waking up frequently during the day," and it was confirmed that these effects increased over time. [Industrial Applicability]

[0025] By ingesting the composition of the present invention, it is possible to obtain effects such as relieving stiffness in the neck and shoulders, improving sensitivity to chills, improving psychological state, improving loss of appetite, and improving awakenings during sleep, which were not previously known with each herbal medicine alone, and the composition is useful as a medicine, food, etc. for inducing a relaxation effect.

Claims

1. A composition for inducing a relaxation effect, comprising dried ginger, ginseng and jujube as active ingredients.

2. 2. The composition for inducing a relaxation effect according to claim 1, wherein the relaxation effect is improvement of stiff neck and shoulders, improvement of chills, improvement of psychological state, improvement of loss of appetite, or improvement of awakening during the night.

3. 3. The composition for inducing a relaxation effect according to claim 2, wherein the chill is chill in the hands and feet or chill in the whole body.

4. 3. The composition for inducing a relaxation effect according to claim 2, wherein the improvement in the psychological state is a reduction in anxiety, an increase in concentration, an impatience, or a reduction in mental fatigue.

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