Tea beverage

Abstract

To provide a tea beverage having the original flavor of tea.SOLUTION: A tea beverage contains ascorbic acid or a salt thereof and Agrimonol B. The concentration of Agrimonol B is 0.0000000001 to 0.0005 mass% (1×10-10 to 5×10-4 mass%).SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a tea beverage.

Background Art

[0002] In commercially available tea beverages, vitamin C may be blended for quality retention (such as antioxidant and anti-browning effects) (see, for example, Patent Document 1). However, blending vitamin C (ascorbic acid) weakens the original flavor of tea, such as bitterness and astringency, so a balance between quality and palatability has been demanded.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide a tea beverage having the original flavor of tea.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] Means for solving the problems of the present invention are as follows. 1. Containing ascorbic acid or its salt and agrimol B, wherein the concentration of the agrimol B is 0.0000000001 to 0.0005% by mass (1×10 -10 ~5×10 -4 % by mass), characterized in that it is a tea beverage. 2. The tea beverage according to 1., characterized in that it is a green tea or roasted barley tea beverage. 3. The tea beverage according to 1. or 2., characterized in that it is a container-packed beverage. 4. The tea beverage according to any one of 1. to 3., characterized in that the agrimol B is derived from an extract of Cinnamomum kanehirae Hayata.

Advantages of the Invention

[0006] According to the present invention, a tea beverage having the original flavor of tea can be provided.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0007] In this specification, the notation "A to B" (A and B are numerical values) means a numerical range including both ends thereof. ·Tea beverage The tea beverage of the present invention contains ascorbic acid or a salt thereof and agrimonol B, wherein the concentration of the agrimonol B is 0.0000000001 to 0.0005% by mass (1×10 -10 ~5×10 -4 % by mass). The tea beverage of the present invention is preferably a container-packed beverage containing ascorbic acid or a salt thereof. Further, the tea beverage of the present invention also contains a powdery or granular form as a raw material for producing the above container-packed beverage.

[0008] In the present invention, as the tea beverage, those conventionally consumed can be used without particular limitation, and examples thereof include extracts of tea leaves of the genus Camellia, grains, leaves other than those of the genus Camellia, roots, and the like.

[0009] Examples of the tea leaves of the genus Camellia include C. sinensis and C. assamica. Examples of the tea beverage extracted from the tea leaves of the genus Camellia include non-fermented tea such as green tea, semi-fermented tea such as oolong tea, and fermented tea such as black tea. Examples of the grains include rice, barley, wheat, adzuki bean, rye, oats, naked oats, etc., beans such as soybeans, black soybeans, azuki beans, broad beans, and kidney beans; corn, buckwheat, sesame, millet, barnyard millet, and panicled millet. Examples of the tea beverage extracted from the grains include barley tea, adzuki bean tea, black bean tea, corn tea, buckwheat tea, and the like. Examples of stems, leaves, and roots other than those of the Camellia genus include rooibos, ashitaba, amachazuru, persimmon, bamboo, young barley leaves, houttuynia, dandelion, and leaves and roots of hibiscus. Examples of tea beverages extracted from these include rooibos tea, persimmon leaf tea, bamboo tea, houttuynia tea, and dandelion tea. The tea of the present invention may be tea extracted from one or more of these. For example, brown rice tea, which is an extract of tea leaves and roasted rice, can be mentioned.

[0010] <Ascorbic acid or its salt> As ascorbic acid (vitamin C) or its salt, those that can be formulated in foods and beverages can be used without particular limitation. For example, one or more of ascorbic acid, sodium ascorbate, calcium ascorbate, ascorbyl palmitate, ascorbyl stearate, etc. can be used. In the tea beverage of the present invention, the concentration of ascorbic acid or its salt is not particularly limited as long as it is within the range that exhibits a quality retention effect. For example, it is about 0.001 to 0.025% by mass.

[0011] <Agrimol B> Agrimol B is the compound shown in Chemical Formula 1 below (molecular weight: 682.75 g / mol). As agrimol B, those chemically synthesized, or those extracted and separated from natural products such as plants and purified as necessary can be used, and they can also be used as a mixture. Commercially available products can also be used.

[0012]

Chemical formula

[0013] As for the chemical synthesis of agrimol B, it can be synthesized using phloroglucinol or the like as a starting material. For example, it can be synthesized by the method described on pages 431 to 437 of Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica 1989, 24(6), or the method disclosed in JP-A-11-335256. In addition, there are two types of Agrimol B that can be obtained by synthesis: (S)-(+)-Agrimol B and its optical isomer, (R)-(-)-Agrimol B. Agrimol B may be a single compound consisting of either one of these types, or a mixture consisting of two types.

[0014] From the standpoint of safety, Agrimole B is preferably derived from plants. The plant containing Agrimonia B is not particularly limited as long as it contains Agrimonia B, but Agrimonia pilosa (scientific name: Agrimonia pilosa, also known as Ryugasou) is preferred. Agrimonia is a perennial plant of the genus Agrimonia in the family Rosaceae, and in Japan, it grows wild on forest edges, fields, roadsides, etc. in Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and other areas. The whole plant of Agrimonia that grows wild or is cultivated can be collected and naturally or heat-dried for use as Agrimonia. Dried Agrimonia that is commercially available as a raw material for herbal medicines, folk remedies, and health foods can also be used. Dried whole Agrimonia plants are commercially available under the herbal name Senkakusou.

[0015] When Agrimole B is derived from a plant, one or more of the following may be used: an extract, an extract obtained by purifying and concentrating the extract, a distillate obtained by steam distillation, grated plants containing Agrimole B, juice squeezed from the grated plants, or powders obtained by solidifying liquids containing Agrimole B by methods such as vacuum concentration, spray drying, or freeze drying. Among these, an extract made from water or an organic solvent, or an extract or dried extract obtained from the extract, is preferred because it contains Agrimole B at a high concentration.

[0016] The extraction can be carried out by a known extraction method using water, various organic solvents, or a mixture thereof as an extraction solvent. Before performing the extraction operation, the raw material as it is or roughly shredded may be washed with a hydrophobic solvent, a hydrophilic solvent, or a mixed solvent to remove impurities such as pigments. Examples of the organic solvents used for washing include lower alcohols (e.g., methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isobutyl, or butyl alcohol, etc.), ketones such as acetone and methyl ethyl ketone, nitriles such as acetonitrile, halogenated hydrocarbons such as dichloromethane and chloroform, ethers such as diethyl ether, tetrahydrofuran, and petroleum ether, and ethyl acetate, hexane, cyclohexane, toluene, benzene, etc. Also, before performing the extraction operation, water can be appropriately added to the raw material to moisten it.

[0017] As the extraction solvent, water, the above-mentioned organic solvents, and their mixed solvents can be used. Among these, water, lower alcohols, and a mixed solvent of water and lower alcohols are preferred, and ethanol is preferred as the lower alcohol. To perform extraction with water, for example, 0.5 to 10 parts by weight of water can be added to 1 part by weight of the raw material, and extraction can be carried out at 40 to 120 °C for 5 minutes to 2 hours, preferably 10 to 60 minutes, and more preferably 10 to 20 minutes. At this time, the extraction efficiency can also be increased by stirring. Also, the extraction can be carried out by heating under reflux. After extraction, filtration or pressing is performed using a filter cloth, a filter, or a wire mesh, etc. In this case, the working efficiency may be increased by applying pressure. Also, as an alternative method, the extract can be obtained by centrifugation (1000 to 20000 rpm). In order to increase the recovery rate, this extraction and filtration process can be repeated 1 to 5 times.

[0018] To perform extraction with an organic solvent, for example, 0.5 to 10 parts by weight of an organic solvent can be added to 1 part by weight of the raw material, and an extract can be obtained in the same manner as extraction with water. As the solvent to be used, the above-described organic solvents can be used alone or in combination of two or more, and a water-containing solvent can also be used. In particular, when the raw material is washed with a hydrophobic solvent before extraction to remove unnecessary substances such as pigments, and when the crude extract after extraction is washed with a hydrophobic solvent as described below, the solvents used for extraction are preferably water, a lower alcohol, or a 50 to 80% (v / v) water-containing lower alcohol, and ethanol is preferably used as the lower alcohol. The removal of the solvent can be carried out according to conventional methods such as filtration, centrifugation, and distillation.

[0019] A preferred extraction method from *Kinmizuhiki* can be carried out, for example, as follows. Collect the whole plant growing wild or cultivated, and use the one that has been naturally dried or heat-dried. Then, cut it into small pieces and immerse it in about 10 times the amount of water or ethyl alcohol with a water content concentration of 0 to 99.5% (v / v), preferably ethyl alcohol with a water content concentration of 1 to 50%, particularly preferably ethyl alcohol with a water content concentration of 5 to 10% for 3 to 5 days for extraction at room temperature, or attach a reflux condenser and extract at 50 to 80°C for 5 to 24 hours, and filter to recover the extract. This extract is dried into a dry extract by removing water and ethanol using a vacuum drying device such as a rotary evaporator or a freeze-drying device.

[0020] Next, the dried extract is concentrated. In the concentration step, it is concentrated by washing with 0 to 40% ethyl alcohol to remove 0 to 40% ethyl alcohol-soluble components. Specifically, the dried extract is washed with 0 to 40% ethanol, particularly preferably 10 to 30% ethanol, and after removing 0 to 40% ethanol, particularly preferably 10 to 30% ethanol-soluble components by means such as filtration, the filter residue is dried under reduced pressure using a vacuum drying apparatus such as a rotary evaporator or a freeze dryer to remove water and ethanol, whereby a dried extract with more concentrated agrimol B can be obtained. The concentrated dried extract is redissolved in 50 to 99.5% ethanol, particularly preferably 70 to 90% ethanol, and a desired concentration of concentrated powder can be obtained by adding an excipient used for formulation and freeze-drying.

[0021] The concentration of agrimol B in the tea beverage of the present invention is 0.0000000001 to 0.0005 mass% (1×10 -10 ~5×10 -4 ). The concentration of agrimol B in green tea beverages and barley tea beverages is preferably 5×10 -10 mass% or more, more preferably 1×10 -9 mass% or more, still more preferably 5×10 -9 mass% or more, even more preferably 1×10 -8 mass% or more, and preferably 1×10 -4 mass% or less. In the tea beverage of the present invention, the blending amount of agrimol B with respect to 100 parts by mass of vitamin C or its salt is preferably 1×10 -7 parts by mass or more and 1 part by mass or less, more preferably 5×10 -6 parts by mass or more, still more preferably 1×10 -5 parts by mass or more, and even more preferably 5×10 -5 parts by mass or more.

Examples

[0022] Hereinafter, examples of the present invention will be described, but the present invention is not limited to these examples only, and various modifications are possible within the technical idea of the present invention.

[0023] (1) Test sample Kinhimizuki extract (manufactured by Maruzen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.)

[0024] (2) Quantification of agrimonol B content in Kinhimizuki extract (Preparation of sample solution) The Kinhimizuki extract and 10% by volume of DMSO were placed in a volumetric flask, dispersed by ultrasonic waves, and then acetonitrile was added to make up the volume. The solution filtered through a 0.45 μm filter was used as the sample solution. The agrimonol B concentration of the sample solution was measured by HPLC under the following conditions, and the agrimonol B content in the Kinhimizuki extract was quantified from the measured value. (Analysis conditions) Column: Ascentis Express C18 (Supelco, 10 cm × 4.6 mm, 2.7 μm) Mobile phase: 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid water / 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid-containing acetonitrile solution = 10 / 90 Column temperature: 40 °C Flow rate: 1.4 mL / min Detection: UV288 nm Injection volume: 20 μL (Quantification value of agrimonol B) The Kinhimizuki extract contained 0.452% by mass of agrimonol B.

[0025] (3) Evaluation method Six professional panelists conducted a sensory evaluation of the flavor of each beverage according to the evaluation criteria described in Table 1 below. The temperature of each beverage during the evaluation was approximately 20 °C.

Table 1

[0026] For each beverage, evaluation was carried out according to the following criteria based on the average value of the scores. ◎: Average value is 2.5 or more 〇: Average value is 2 or more and less than 2.5 △: Average value is 1 or more and less than 2 ×: The average value is less than 1 -: Evaluation not possible Regarding the above "-" evaluation, when more than half of the panelists gave a "-" evaluation, the final evaluation was set to "-".

[0027] "Test 1" One tea bag (2.5 g of green tea) of green tea (Hatcha Co., Ltd., matcha green tea, tea bag) without ascorbic acid (vitamin C) was extracted with 150 ml of water at 80°C for 3 minutes to obtain a green tea beverage. The obtained green tea beverage was cooled to approximately 20°C, L-ascorbic acid (Eiken Shosha) was added, and the flavor was evaluated. The results are shown in Table 2.

Table 2

[0028] By blending ascorbic acid (vitamin C) into the green tea beverage, the flavor of the green tea decreased in a concentration-dependent manner. When ascorbic acid was blended in excess, the flavor of the green tea decreased and the sour taste of ascorbic acid became stronger, resulting in a beverage that could no longer be considered green tea. Subsequent investigations were carried out at an ascorbic acid concentration of 0.027% by mass, at which the flavor of the green tea decreased the most without perceiving the sour taste of ascorbic acid.

[0029] "Test 2" A green tea beverage was obtained in the same manner as in Test 1. Ascorbic acid was added at a concentration of 0.027% by mass, and Agrimol B was added to the extract of Cinchona officinalis so that the concentration of Agrimol B became a predetermined value. The mixture was shaken well and stirred. The evaluation results are shown in Table 3.

[0030]

Table 3

[0031] It was confirmed that by adding Agrimol B, the flavor of the green tea, which had decreased by blending ascorbic acid into the green tea beverage, could be restored.

[0032] "Test 3" A green tea beverage was obtained in the same manner as in Test 2, except that sodium ascorbate (manufactured by Eisai Co., Ltd.) was used at 0.12% by mass instead of ascorbic acid. The evaluation results are shown in Table 4. Note that when sodium ascorbate was used at 0.12% by mass, the flavor of green tea decreased without any sour taste being felt.

[0033]

Table 4

[0034] It was confirmed that by adding Agrimol B, the flavor of green tea that had decreased due to the addition of sodium ascorbate to the green tea beverage could be restored.

[0035] "Test 4" A test for suppressing the decrease in the flavor of green tea by Agrimol B was conducted instead of the extract of Kinmizuhiki. A green tea beverage was obtained in the same manner as in Test 1, and ascorbic acid was added at a concentration of 0.027% by mass and Agrimol B was added at predetermined concentrations corresponding to Examples 1 to 4, and the mixture was stirred with a stirrer for preparation. Similarly, sodium ascorbate was added at a concentration of 0.120% by mass and Agrimol B was added at predetermined concentrations corresponding to Examples 5 to 7. · Agrimol B Agrimol B (manufactured by Biorbyt) was dissolved and prepared in 90% ethanol to a concentration of 1×10 -2 % by mass to obtain a stock solution. This stock solution was adjusted with water to the amounts corresponding to Examples 1 to 4 and Examples 5 to 7 and used for the test. As a result of the test, the same results as those of Examples 1 to 4 and 5 to 7 were shown.

[0036] From the above, it was confirmed that by adding Agrimol B, the flavor of green tea that had decreased due to the addition of ascorbic acid or sodium ascorbate to the green tea beverage could be restored.

[0037] "Test 5" A test for suppressing the decrease in the flavor of tea by Agrimol B in barley tea was conducted. Using barley tea (Hakubaku Co., Ltd., Tea Bag Barley Tea) without ascorbic acid (vitamin C), the evaluation of the barley tea beverage was conducted in the same manner as in Test 2. The test was carried out at an ascorbic acid concentration of 0.012% by mass and a sodium ascorbate concentration of 0.15% by mass. At this concentration, the flavor of the barley tea decreased without feeling the sour taste. The results are shown in Tables 5 and 6.

[0038]

Table 5

[0039]

Table 6

[0040] It was confirmed that by adding agrimol B, the flavor of the barley tea that had decreased by blending ascorbic acid or sodium ascorbate in the barley tea beverage could be restored.

Claims

1. containing ascorbic acid or its salt and agrimol B, The concentration of the agrimol B is 0.0000000001 to 0.0005% by mass (1×10 －１０ to 5×10 －４ % by mass), and the tea beverage is characterized by this.

2. The tea beverage according to claim 1, which is a green tea or barley tea beverage.

3. The tea beverage according to claim 1 or 2, which is a container-packed beverage.

4. The tea beverage according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the agrimol B is derived from a kinnmizu extract.

Images