Fatigue reducer and food or drink composition for reducing fatigue

Abstract

To discover a material having a fatigue feeling alleviation action and provide a fatigue feeling alleviation agent containing the same as an active ingredient, and a food and drink composition for fatigue feeling alleviation containing the fatigue feeling alleviation agent.SOLUTION: A fatigue feeling alleviation agent has vinegar-derived acetic acid as an active ingredient, the fatigue feeling including a physical fatigue feeling before sleeping. There is also provided a food and drink composition for fatigue feeling alleviation, containing the fatigue feeling alleviation agent, the fatigue feeling including a physical fatigue feeling before sleeping.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a fatigue reducer containing acetic acid derived from vinegar as an active ingredient, and particularly to a fatigue reducer capable of reducing physical fatigue before going to bed. The present invention also relates to a food or drink composition for reducing fatigue containing the fatigue reducer, and particularly to a food or drink composition for reducing fatigue in the form of a beverage.

Background Art

[0002] In modern Japanese society, the number of people who feel fatigue and listlessness is increasing. In particular, in recent years, as ITization and the 24-hour society have progressed, the opportunity to be stressed has increased, and the increase in the number of people who are troubled by symptoms in which fatigue is not easily recovered even after taking rest or sleep has become a problem. It is considered that fatigue includes not only physical fatigue but also mental fatigue, and there are also those in which physical fatigue and mental fatigue are involved in a complex manner. In particular, the increase in fatigue among modern people is considered to be partly due to a decrease in the quality of sleep and an increase in stress. However, it is difficult to improve the quality of sleep in modern society. On the other hand, although it is considered to exercise to relieve stress, a new problem has arisen in that further physical fatigue is accumulated instead.

[0003] Although pharmaceuticals, quasi-drugs, supplements, etc. are on the market as products that claim to have an effect of reducing fatigue, for modern people, it has become important to relieve fatigue in a more natural way.

[0004] Vinegar is said to have an anti-fatigue effect (see, for example, Patent Document 1), but there are few reports of tests on humans, and there is no sufficient knowledge about what kind of fatigue is reduced.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION

[0006] An object of the present invention is to find a substance having an effect of reducing fatigue, and to provide a fatigue-reducing agent containing the substance as an active ingredient and a food or drink composition for reducing fatigue containing the fatigue-reducing agent.

MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEMS

[0007] As a result of conducting research to solve the above problems, the present inventor has found that acetic acid derived from vinegar has an effect of reducing fatigue, particularly physical fatigue before going to bed, and has completed the present invention. Specifically, the present invention is as follows.

[0008] 〔1〕 A fatigue-reducing agent containing acetic acid derived from vinegar as an active ingredient, wherein the fatigue includes physical fatigue before going to bed. 〔2〕 The fatigue-reducing agent according to 〔1〕, wherein the fatigue includes mental fatigue after waking up. 〔3〕 The fatigue-reducing agent according to 〔1〕 or 〔2〕, wherein the vinegar is black vinegar. 〔4〕 The fatigue-reducing agent according to any one of 〔1〕 to 〔3〕, which is administered once or more a day and 620 mg or more per day in terms of acetic acid. 〔5〕 The fatigue-reducing agent according to 〔4〕, which is administered continuously for one week or more. 〔6〕 The fatigue-reducing agent according to any one of 〔1〕 to 〔5〕, wherein the fatigue is evaluated by a VAS (Visual Analogue Scale) test. 〔7〕 A food or drink composition for reducing fatigue, which contains the fatigue-reducing agent according to any one of 〔1〕 to 〔6〕, wherein the fatigue includes physical fatigue before going to bed. 〔8〕 The food or drink composition for reducing fatigue according to 〔7〕, which is in the form of a beverage. 〔9〕The food or drink composition for reducing fatigue according to 〔7〕or 〔8〕, wherein the acetic acid content is 500 to 3500 mg. 〔10〕A method (excluding medical acts) for exerting a fatigue-reducing effect, which comprises administering a fatigue-reducing agent according to any one of 〔1〕to 〔6〕or a food or drink composition according to any one of 〔7〕to 〔9〕, wherein the fatigue includes physical fatigue before going to bed.

Advantages of the Invention

[0009] According to the fatigue-reducing agent and the food or drink composition for reducing fatigue according to the present invention, by using acetic acid derived from food vinegar as an active ingredient, it is possible to easily ingest while reducing fatigue, and in particular, it is possible to reduce physical fatigue before going to bed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] 〔Fatigue-Reducing Agent〕 The fatigue-reducing agent according to the present embodiment contains acetic acid derived from food vinegar as an active ingredient. The fatigue reduced by the present embodiment includes physical fatigue before going to bed.

[0012] Here, in the present embodiment, "fatigue" mainly refers to a unique discomfort caused by physical and mental activities and a state of decline in physical activity ability and thinking ability accompanied by a desire for rest. "Feeling of fatigue" refers to the feeling of being aware of the existence of fatigue, and in many cases, discomfort and a decrease in activity desire are recognized. In addition, "physical fatigue" refers to a state of decline in physical activity ability among the above-mentioned fatigue, and the feeling of being aware of it. Such a feeling can be evaluated as "physical tiredness", and can also be evaluated as a decline in the will to engage in physical activities such as overall lethargy, sluggishness, and weakness. "Physical fatigue before going to bed" shall refer to the physical fatigue felt within 30 minutes before going to bed.

[0013] The fatigue reducer according to this embodiment can be particularly preferably applied to the physical fatigue before going to bed on the day when a physical load has been received. Here, the physical load refers to the physical activity that imparts the above-mentioned physical fatigue. The physical load to which this embodiment is applicable is preferably, for example, a physical load such that the heart rate at which the exercise intensity is 50% or more (preferably 50 to 70%) is maintained for 10 minutes or more (preferably about 30 to 60 minutes) based on the calculation formula of the carbon monoxide method. Also, the physical load is preferably carried out between 7 and 14 hours before going to bed. Here, the physical fatigue after the physical load usually recovers with the passage of time from the physical load, and various fatigue substances such as creatine kinase and lactic acid also decrease due to metabolism over time, and furthermore, the heart rate, blood flow, etc. are considered to approach a steady state. However, according to the findings obtained by the present inventors, an event was recognized in which the fatigue that was once thought to have recovered recurs before going to bed. With respect to such an event, according to the fatigue reducer of this embodiment, since the physical fatigue before going to bed after the physical load is reduced, it is particularly suitable as an application target.

[0014] The fatigue reduced by this embodiment preferably further includes mental fatigue after waking up. In this embodiment, "mental fatigue" refers to a state of decline in mental activity ability among the above-mentioned fatigue, and the feeling of being aware of it. Such a feeling can be evaluated as "mental tiredness", and can also be evaluated as a decline in concentration and thinking ability, instability of emotions, etc. Furthermore, when mental fatigue is in a state of being combined with physical fatigue, it can also be evaluated as a decline in the will to engage in physical activities such as overall lethargy, sluggishness, and weakness. "The mental fatigue after waking up" refers to the mental fatigue felt within 30 minutes after waking up.

[0015] It is more preferable that the mental fatigue after waking up, which is reduced according to one aspect of the present embodiment, includes the mental fatigue after waking up on the morning following the exercise load. When physical fatigue accumulates due to exercise load or the like, due to a decrease in activity ability and a decrease in activity motivation, it becomes difficult to move even when one wants to move, mental stress accumulates, and it may fall into a state where physical fatigue and mental fatigue are combined. If it is only mental fatigue, it is conceivable to exercise to eliminate the stress causing it, but when physical fatigue and mental fatigue are involved complexly, new problems such as further accumulation of fatigue due to exercise may occur. According to a preferred aspect of the present embodiment, it is possible to preferably reduce the mental fatigue after waking up on the morning following the exercise load.

[0016] Here, mental fatigue is considered to be caused not only by mental stress received from the outside but also by a decrease in the quality of sleep. Although the mechanism by which the mental fatigue after waking up is reduced in the present embodiment is not necessarily clear, since the fatigue reducer according to the present embodiment can reduce the physical fatigue before going to bed, it is conceivable that this improves the quality of sleep and reduces the mental fatigue after waking up. However, the effect of reducing the mental fatigue after waking up according to a preferred aspect of the present embodiment is not limited to such a mechanism of action.

[0017] Although the above-mentioned fatigue is a subjective feeling of an individual, it is preferably evaluated objectively as much as possible. For example, it can be evaluated in accordance with the anti-fatigue clinical evaluation guidelines (Japanese Society of Fatigue Science). Further, the above-mentioned fatigue is preferably evaluated by quantifying the feeling of the subject, and is preferably evaluated by a VAS (Visual Analogue Scale) test. More specifically, when evaluating physical fatigue based on VAS, on a scale of 0 to 10.0 cm (usually on a line with a length of 10.0 cm), the state of having no physical fatigue is set as "0" cm, and the maximum physical fatigue that can be experienced is set as "10.0" cm. The physical fatigue felt by the subject himself / herself at a specific time point (immediately after exercise, after a predetermined time has elapsed after exercise, before going to bed, after waking up) is evaluated within the range of 0 (none) to 10.0 (the maximum physical fatigue that can be experienced). According to such VAS, it becomes possible to evaluate symptoms such as fatigue and the degree of its recovery as parameters.

[0018] When evaluating the effects of this embodiment, it can be evaluated by calculating the significance probability (p) as to whether the difference in scores (usually the average value) between the two groups is a significant difference. The calculation of the significance probability p may be performed by a method known in statistics, for example, a t-test. Generally, a significant difference is considered to be p < 0.05 (5%), but evaluation can also be performed based on p ≤ 0.1 as a numerical value suggesting a significant difference.

[0019] The active ingredient of the anti-fatigue agent according to this embodiment is acetic acid derived from vinegar. The above-mentioned vinegar is defined by the vinegar quality display standard, and includes brewed vinegar and synthetic vinegar. The brewed vinegar further includes cereal vinegars such as rice vinegar, rice black vinegar, and barley black vinegar; fruit vinegars such as apple vinegar and grape vinegar; and the like. Among these, black vinegar (rice black vinegar and barley black vinegar) is preferred. In this embodiment, as long as it contains an effective amount of acetic acid, vinegar may be used as the active ingredient as it is, or acetic acid roughly purified from vinegar may be used.

[0020] The anti-fatigue agent of this embodiment may consist only of acetic acid derived from vinegar, or may be a formulation of acetic acid derived from vinegar. When formulating, it can be formulated into any dosage form such as liquid, capsule, powder, granule, tablet, etc. according to conventional methods using pharmaceutically acceptable carriers such as water, dextrin, cyclodextrin and other optional adjuvants. At this time, as the adjuvant, for example, excipients, binders, disintegrants, lubricants, stabilizers, flavoring and odor-correcting agents, etc. can be used. In addition, the anti-fatigue agent can be used by being blended with other compositions (for example, food and beverage compositions described later, etc.). Note that the anti-fatigue agent of this embodiment can be used as an active ingredient by blending other components having an anti-fatigue effect, etc. together with acetic acid derived from vinegar as necessary.

[0021] When formulating the anti-fatigue agent of this embodiment, the content of acetic acid derived from vinegar is not particularly limited and can be appropriately set according to the purpose, administration method, dosage, etc.

[0022] The administration method of the anti-fatigue agent according to this embodiment is preferably oral administration. The number of administrations of the anti-fatigue agent, etc. can be appropriately set according to the symptoms of fatigue, but for example, the number of administrations is preferably 1 or more times a day. The dosage is preferably 500 mg or more per day in terms of acetic acid, and particularly preferably 620 mg or more. The upper limit of the dosage is not particularly limited, but can be 3500 mg or less per day in terms of acetic acid.

[0023] The administration period of the anti-fatigue agent is preferably administered continuously for 2 days or more, and particularly preferably administered continuously for 1 week or more. The timing of administration is not limited to only after or during the physical activity or exercise load that causes physical fatigue, but may also be before the activity from the viewpoint of preventing symptoms such as fatigue. For example, it is also possible to administer the anti-fatigue agent to the subject in advance before the exercise load that causes physical fatigue.

[0024] According to the fatigue-reducing agent according to the above-described specific embodiment, it is possible to reduce the physical fatigue feeling before going to bed, and preferably, it is also possible to reduce the mental fatigue feeling after getting up. Further, by administering such a fatigue-reducing agent, it can be a method (excluding medical acts) for exerting the effect of reducing fatigue (especially the physical fatigue feeling before going to bed), which corresponds to one aspect of the method for exerting the fatigue-reducing effect according to the present invention.

[0025] 〔Food and drink composition for reducing fatigue〕 The food and drink composition for reducing fatigue according to the present embodiment contains the fatigue-reducing agent according to the above embodiment. The fatigue feeling reduced by the present embodiment includes the physical fatigue feeling before going to bed. The method of intake, the number of intakes, the intake amount, the intake period, etc. of the food and drink composition are not particularly limited, but it is preferably the same as the above-described fatigue-reducing agent.

[0026] Here, the food and drink means something that has little risk of harming human health and is ingested orally or through the digestive tract in normal social life. Therefore, the "food and drink" in the present embodiment widely includes general foods, health foods (functional foods and drinks), health functional foods (foods for specified health uses, functional labeled foods, nutritional functional foods), etc. that are ingested orally. The food and drink according to the present embodiment is preferably a food and drink capable of displaying the fatigue-reducing effect of acetic acid derived from vinegar on the food and drink or its packaging, and particularly preferably a health functional food (food for specified health uses, functional labeled foods, nutritional functional foods).

[0027] The form of the food and drink composition is not particularly limited, but from the viewpoint of ease of intake, it is preferably in the form of a beverage or a capsule, and particularly preferably in the form of a beverage. Among beverages, acetic acid beverages, nutritional drinks, sports drinks, fruit drinks, vegetable drinks, vegetable and fruit juice mixed drinks, functional drinks, carbonated drinks, milk-based drinks, coffee drinks, tea drinks, etc. can be exemplified. In particular, as beverages having various physiological effects and contributing to health, if they are acetic acid beverages, nutritional drinks, sports drinks, etc., they are preferable because they have good taste and the fatigue-reducing effect is also expected. When in the form of a beverage, it can be provided as a so-called RTD (Ready to Drink) beverage that can be consumed directly, or as a so-called concentrated type beverage that can be diluted with water or the like and then consumed.

[0028] When the form of the food and beverage composition according to this embodiment is an RTD beverage, for example, when the intake amount per time is added to a container containing 150 to 600 mL or 150 to 600 g, efficient intake can be achieved in a short time. Examples of such containers include a container containing 500 mL or 500 g, a container containing 350 mL or 350 g, a 200 mL container or a container containing 200 g. In addition, the acetic acid content in the food and beverage composition according to this embodiment is preferably 500 to 3500 mg per bottle or per piece in consideration of the intake amount per time, and particularly preferably 620 to 1000 mg.

[0029] In addition to the above-mentioned fatigue reducer, the food and beverage composition according to this embodiment can appropriately add general food materials used in the manufacture of food and beverages. Examples of such food materials include various carbohydrates, sweeteners, acidulants, table salt, emulsifiers, thickeners, flavors, amino acids, fruit juices, etc. Examples of carbohydrates include sugars such as sucrose, isomerized sugar, glucose, fructose, palatinose, trehalose, lactose, xylose; sugar alcohols such as sorbitol, xylitol, erythritol, lactitol, palatinit, reduced maltose, reduced maltose syrup; etc., and molasses such as blackstrap molasses may also be used. Examples of sweeteners include high-intensity sweeteners such as sucralose, aspartame, stevia, and acesulfame potassium. In addition, acidulants such as citric acid, lactic acid, and malic acid; emulsifiers such as sucrose fatty acid ester, glycerin fatty acid ester, and lecithin; thickening (stabilizing) agents such as carrageenan, xanthan gum, guar gum, pectin, and locust bean gum; fruit juices such as lemon juice, orange juice, and berry juice may be added. Furthermore, in addition to these, it is also possible to add vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin B groups, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E; minerals such as calcium, iron, manganese, zinc; and so on.

[0030] The food and drink composition according to this embodiment can be produced according to a conventional method. For example, in the form of a beverage, acetic acid as it is or acetic acid roughly purified from vinegar is added, and other food materials are appropriately added to prepare a beverage stock solution, and then it may be sterilized and filled into a container. Examples of the sterilization method include airflow sterilization, high-pressure sterilization, heat sterilization, etc. In the case of heat sterilization, for example, it can be sterilized at 110 to 130 °C, and further at 115 to 125 °C. Examples of the container include paper containers, PET bottles, cans (aluminum, steel), bottles (glass), retort pouches, etc.

[0031] According to the food and drink composition for reducing fatigue according to the above-described embodiment, the food and drink composition that can be easily ingested can reduce the physical fatigue before going to bed, and preferably can also reduce the mental fatigue after getting up. In addition, by ingesting such a food and drink composition, it can be used as a method (excluding medical acts) for exerting the effect of reducing fatigue (especially the physical fatigue before going to bed), which corresponds to one aspect of the method for exerting the fatigue-reducing effect according to the present invention.

Example

[0032] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail by showing production examples, test examples, etc., but the present invention is not limited to the following production examples, test examples, etc.

[0033] 〔Production Example〕Production of Example Beverage and Placebo Beverage A beverage stock solution having the formulation shown in Table 1 was prepared, heat-sterilized, and filled into 200 mL paper packs to produce two types of black vinegar beverages (Example Beverage and Placebo Beverage). In the case of the example beverage, black vinegar (manufactured by Yokoi Brewing Industry Co., Ltd., product name "Brown Rice Black Vinegar No. 2") was used. On the other hand, in the placebo beverage, an equivalent amount of the black vinegar from which acetic acid had been removed (8-fold concentrated acetic acid-reduced black vinegar) was blended and adjusted so that the flavor and the like were equivalent to those of the example beverage.

[0034]

Table 1

[0035] 〔Test Example〕Verification of the effect of reducing fatigue by drinking black vinegar Using the example beverage and the placebo beverage obtained in the above production example, the effect of reducing fatigue was verified as follows. An ergometer (Aerobic Bike (registered trademark) ai, manufactured by Combi Co., Ltd.) was used for the exercise load, and the VAS (Visual Analog Scale), which is a self-assessment scale, was used to evaluate the reducing effect on physical and mental fatigue.

[0036] Nineteen healthy adult men and women (39.84 ± 3.93 years old) randomly selected were used as subjects. The subjects were those who had not habitually exercised in the past year, and the criterion for "not habitually exercising" was defined as exercising less than once a week. All the subjects were randomly divided into two groups, group A and group B, and a total of two tests, a test of ingesting the example beverage and a test of ingesting the placebo beverage (crossover test), were conducted. The subjects were made to ingest 200 mL of the example beverage (acetic acid content: 659.4 mg / bottle) or the placebo beverage (59.0 mg / bottle) once a day at a free timing.

[0037] The test for confirming the effect of reducing fatigue was conducted according to the following schedule (see Table 2). (1) Group A was made to ingest the example beverage and group B was made to ingest the placebo beverage for one week each (200 mL / bottle, freely ingested once a day, and the ingestion timing for each time was arbitrary for the subjects between waking up and going to bed). (2) Exercise load test after the ingestion period (2-1) An exercise load of 60% intensity was carried out for 50 minutes (2-2) Post-exercise fatigue survey (VAS) (2-3) Fatigue survey 60 minutes after exercise (VAS) (2-4) Fatigue survey 7 to 14 hours after exercise and within 30 minutes before bedtime (VAS) (2-5) Fatigue survey within 30 minutes after waking up (VAS) (3) A one-week washout period was set during which the subjects were not allowed to consume the test beverage and the placebo beverage. (4) The groups A and B were switched (group A: placebo beverage, group B: test beverage), and the tests in (1) and (2) were conducted (crossover test).

[0038]

Table 2

[0039] The exercise load was carried out using an ergometer, and the exercise intensity of the air bike (registered trademark) was set at 60%. This condition was assumed to be an exercise near the anaerobic threshold (AT), which is the boundary between aerobic exercise and anaerobic exercise. Therefore, not only light exercise but also the labor of daily life was evaluated under this condition. The test was carried out under the condition of a constant heart rate by setting the target heart rate according to the carbon monoxide method so that the exercise intensity would be 60%. More specifically, the target heart rate was set in the formula of target heart rate = {(220 - age) - resting heart rate} × exercise intensity (0.6) + resting heart rate so that the exercise intensity would be 60%.

[0040] In the VAS test in this test example, the subjects were asked "Do you feel physical fatigue?" and "Do you feel mental fatigue?" at specific time points (immediately after exercise, 60 minutes after exercise, before bedtime, after waking up). The state of "none at all" was set as 0.0 cm, and the maximum physical fatigue (or mental fatigue) that could be experienced was set as 10.0 cm. The subjects were asked to mark their own state on a line segment from 0.0 cm to 10.0 cm. For the evaluation of the VAS test, the position on the line segment marked by the subjects was measured with a ruler, and the numerical value measured to the first decimal place was adopted.

[0041] For each of the cases of ingesting the example beverage and the placebo beverage, the numerical values of the VAS method evaluation results at the above-specified time points were tabulated for all subjects, and the average values were calculated. Also, regarding whether the difference between these average values was a significant difference, it was evaluated by calculating the significance probability (p). The significance probability p was calculated by performing a t-test using SPSS 14.0. As the criterion for judgment, p ≤ 0.05 was regarded as having a significant difference, and p ≤ 0.1 was regarded as having a significant tendency, and the evaluation was carried out. The results are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0042] (Results and Discussion) Regarding physical fatigue, the average of the VAS results of the placebo beverage group for physical fatigue before going to bed was 4.0, while that of the example beverage group was 3.0. Since the significance probability p of both groups was 0.027, it was recognized that the physical fatigue before going to bed was significantly reduced in the example beverage group. Here, in the placebo beverage group, the value before going to bed (same 4.0) increased compared to that 60 minutes after the exercise load (VAS result average value: 3.2), and an event was recognized that the physical fatigue returned before going to bed, but no recurrence was observed in the example beverage group.

[0043] Also, regarding mental fatigue, the significance probability p of both groups of the mental fatigue after waking up was 0.093 for the placebo beverage group (VAS result average value: 1.4) and the example beverage group (same 0.9), and a tendency was recognized that the mental fatigue after waking up was reduced in the example beverage group.

Industrial Applicability

[0044] According to the present invention, while it is possible to easily ingest, it is possible to reduce fatigue, and in particular, it is possible to reduce physical fatigue before going to bed.

Claims

**Claim 1** An anti - fatigue agent containing acetic acid derived from vinegar as an active ingredient, wherein the fatigue includes physical fatigue before going to bed 7 to 14 hours after exercise load, the physical fatigue before going to bed 7 to 14 hours after the exercise load is greater than the physical fatigue 60 minutes after the exercise load, the anti - fatigue agent is administered once or more a day continuously for one week or more, and is administered at 500 mg or more per day in terms of acetic acid, An anti - fatigue agent. **Claim 2** The anti - fatigue agent according to claim 1, wherein the fatigue includes mental fatigue after waking up on the day following the exercise load. **Claim 3** The anti - fatigue agent according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the vinegar is black vinegar. **Claim 4** The anti - fatigue agent according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which is administered at 620 mg or more per day in terms of acetic acid. **Claim 5** The anti - fatigue agent according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the fatigue is evaluated by VAS (Visual Analogue Scale) test. **Claim 6** A food or drink composition for reducing fatigue, containing the anti - fatigue agent according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the fatigue includes physical fatigue before going to bed 7 to 14 hours after exercise load, the physical fatigue before going to bed 7 to 14 hours after the exercise load is greater than the physical fatigue 60 minutes after the exercise load, the food or drink composition for reducing fatigue is ingested once or more a day continuously for one week or more, and is ingested at 500 mg or more per day in terms of acetic acid, A food or drink composition for reducing fatigue. **Claim 7** The food or drink composition for reducing fatigue according to claim 6, which is in the form of a beverage. **Claim 8** The food or drink composition for reducing fatigue according to claim 6 or 7, which contains 500 - 3500 mg of the acetic acid per intake.

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