A sleep aid made from kabosu essential oil

Abstract

To provide a sleep-improving agent that is safe without side effects and is capable of improving the quality of sleep and the feeling of recovery from fatigue upon waking up to induce comfortable and smooth waking.SOLUTION: Provided is a sleep-improving agent consisting of kabosu essential oil.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a sleep improving agent consisting of kabosu essential oil, and further to foods, drinks, daily necessities or miscellaneous goods containing said improving agent and having a sleep improving effect. [Background Art]

[0002] The number of people engaged in late-night work and shift work has increased, and the "24-hour society", where 24-hour response is required for all matters, has become widespread. Amid great changes to such lifestyles and surrounding environments, an increasing number of people suffer from insomnia due to stress, anxiety and other factors, and are dissatisfied with the quality of their sleep. Moreover, not only elderly people who suffer from reduced sleep time due to light sleep associated with aging, but also many people in younger generations complain of insomnia. It is no exaggeration to say that sleep disorders starting with insomnia are a problem across all generations.

[0003] In recent years, sleep disorders have developed from individual health problems such as daytime sleepiness, hypertension, hyperglycemia and depression into a major social problem that has even been linked to accidents caused by daytime drowsiness, reduced work efficiency, other incidents and accidents, and economic losses. Accordingly, apart from conventional ethical pharmaceuticals such as hypnotics, anti-anxiety drugs, sleeping pills and sleep-inducing agents, demand for over-the-counter sleep improving agents used for temporary insomnia symptoms, and functionally labeled foods claiming to improve symptoms such as difficulty falling asleep and light sleep, has further expanded, and there is growing interest in the development of pharmaceuticals and food products that claim to improve sleep. Approaches to sleep improvement have been attempted from various perspectives, including reducing stress symptoms that cause insomnia, improving the ability to fall asleep, improving sleep duration, improving deep sleep quality, and improving the ability to wake up refreshed.

[0004] Since side effects and dependence problems associated with long-term use have been pointed out for hypnotics and sleep-inducing agents prescribed as pharmaceuticals, there is increasing demand for safe sleep improving agents that do not affect physical condition, and sleep improving agents containing natural-derived ingredients such as specific components in black tea and essential oils of flowers and citrus fruits have been proposed.

[0005] Patent Document 1 proposes a sleep aid containing 3,7-dimethyl-1,5(E),7-octatrien-3-ol (also known as fotrienol), an aromatic component found in black tea, as an active ingredient. Patent document 2 proposes an aqueous solution for improving sleep that contains only volatile organic compounds and exhibits the scent of rose petals. Patent Document 3 proposes a fragrance composition for improving sleep that contains cypress oil derived from hinoki cypress and lavender oil.

[0006] Patent Document 4 proposes an essential oil composition for sleep supplementation or induction, which combines lavender oil or lavandin oil with at least two essential oils selected from the group consisting of neroli oil, orange oil, lemon oil, and mandarin oil, and at least one essential oil selected from the group consisting of hop oil, eucalyptus oil, ambrette seed oil, green tea oil, and jasmine oil. Patent Document 5 proposes a topical skin preparation for improving sleep that contains essential oils obtained from plants belonging to the Rutaceae family, such as bitter oranges.

[0007] Non-patent document 1 mentions that aromatherapy using bergamot essential oil improves sleep quality, particularly for women and people with high levels of anxiety. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0008] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2020 / 059808 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2015-81227 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2011-51970 [Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-355545 [Patent Document 5] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2011-37721 [Non-patent literature]

[0009] [Non-Patent Document 1] Hitomi Takeda, "The Effects of Olfactory and Tactile Stimuli in Aromatherapy on Sleep Quality," Journal of Aromatherapy, Vol. 17, No. 1, 2016, pp. 24-30. [Non-Patent Document 2] Yoshie Goto, Masaki Tokuda, and Nobuhisa Yamamoto, "Research on Improving the Quality of Seafood Using Kabosu Citrus II," Oita Prefectural Industrial Science and Technology Center, Research Report for FY2018 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0010] Citrus essential oils have long been known to have relaxing and refreshing effects, and their potential impact on sleep has led to widespread consideration of their application as sleep aids. However, the actual effectiveness varies depending on the type of citrus essential oil, and individual verification is still necessary. Furthermore, even with citrus essential oils that have been shown to improve sleep, most of the specific effects primarily improve sleep quality from the time of falling asleep to the time of sleep, such as ease of falling asleep, sleep duration, and sleep depth. None of them have shown any significant improvement in psychological state or behavior upon waking.

[0011] The objective of this invention is to provide a sleep aid that is safe, has no side effects, improves sleep quality, enhances the feeling of fatigue recovery upon waking, and induces a comfortable and smooth awakening. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] The inventors of this invention have discovered that inhaling the aroma of kabosu essential oil at bedtime significantly improves sleep quality, particularly reducing morning drowsiness, promoting fatigue recovery, and shortening bed awake latency, thus inducing a more comfortable awakening. This led to the completion of the present invention.

[0013] In other words, the present invention is as follows. [1] A sleep aid made from kabosu essential oil. [[2]] The sleep improving agent according to the above, wherein the kabosu essential oil is obtained from the pericarp of kabosu by a pressing method or an extraction method. [[3]] The sleep improving agent according to the above, wherein the sleep improving effect is exhibited by improving sleep quality, reducing stress, or a comfortable waking induction effect.

[0014] [[4]] The sleep improving agent according to the above, wherein the comfortable waking induction effect is exhibited by at least one selected from the group consisting of reducing sleepiness upon waking, improving the feeling of fatigue recovery, and shortening the bed leaving latency which is the time from the last awakening to getting out of bed on the next morning. [[5]] The sleep improving agent according to the above, which exerts a sleep improving effect on an intake person when it is ingested via the olfactory sense. [[6]] A fragrance composition comprising the sleep improving agent according to the above. [[7]] A cosmetic, food or beverage product, which is formulated with the sleep improving agent described above or the fragrance composition described above, and exerts a sleep improving effect. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] Inhalation or oral ingestion of kabosu essential oil significantly improves the sleep improving effect, specifically the improvement of sleep quality, especially the drowsiness and fatigue upon waking that are part of the comfortable waking induction effect, and particularly shortens the time from waking up to getting out of bed (bed leaving latency). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] [Figure 1] It is a graph showing the amount of change in the total PSQI-J score. [Figure 2] It is a graph showing a comparison of the amount of change in OSA-MA factor scores. [Figure 3] It is a graph showing changes in sleep onset latency (3a), sleep efficiency (3b), the number of mid-sleep awakenings (3c), and bed leaving latency (3d) measured with an activity tracker. [Figure 4] It is a graph showing the amount of change in stress scores. MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0017] [1] Sleep aids (1) Active ingredients The sleep aid of the present invention contains kabosu essential oil as an active ingredient. Kabosu (Citrus sphaerocarpa), a member of the Rutaceae family and Citrus genus, is a fragrant citrus fruit native to Oita Prefecture, characterized by its mild acidity and refreshing aroma. It is used as a condiment or flavoring. The kabosu essential oil used in this invention can be extracted from the peel of the kabosu fruit using methods such as pressing or steam distillation (for details, see the Japan Patent Office Gazette, "Collection of Well-Known and Commonly Used Technologies (Fragrances), Part I: General Fragrances," published January 14, 2000). However, the method of extracting kabosu essential oil is not limited to the above.

[0018] The essential oil components of kabosu peel are most abundant as follows: limonene 74.8%, myrcene 17.6%, γ-terpinene 3.2%, and α-pinene 0.83%, with these four types accounting for over 96% (Non-Patent Literature 2). On the other hand, bergamot essential oil, obtained by pressing the peel of the bergamot fruit (which belongs to the same Citrus genus of the Rutaceae family), contains 38-44% linalyl acetate, 20-30% linalool, and other components such as methyl anthranilate and limonene. Furthermore, the essential oil (Neroli oil) obtained by steam distillation from the flowers of the bitter orange tree (Citrus citrus) of the Rutaceae family consists of linalool (30-40%), with other components including limonene, β-ocimene, nerolidol, linalyl acetate, and α-terpineol. Thus, even essential oils extracted from plants of the same Citrus genus (family Rutaceae) will have different constituent components and compositions depending on the type of plant, so it is quite possible that the fragrance notes will differ and the effects of the aromatic components on the mental state will also differ.

[0019] (2) Sleep improvement This invention is a sleep aid, and "sleep improvement" means reducing stress and qualitatively improving sleep. Specifically, this refers to an improvement in one or more, preferably two or more, of the following: a reduction in the time it takes to fall asleep from wakefulness (improvement of difficulty falling asleep), a reduction in the time spent awake during the night, improved sleep efficiency, reduced morning drowsiness, improved dream quality, improved feeling of fatigue recovery upon waking, and increased satisfaction with sleep duration. It also refers to an improvement in sleep quality based on the alleviation of stress symptoms.

[0020] In this invention, "middle-of-the-night awakening" refers to a state in which a person wakes up between falling asleep and waking up, and "middle-of-the-night awakening time" is defined as the cumulative time spent awake after waking up in the middle of sleep until falling asleep again. Furthermore, "sleep efficiency" refers to the actual amount of sleep during sleep, and is a value that shows the ratio of the time spent sleeping (total sleep time) excluding awakenings during sleep to the time spent sleeping from falling asleep to waking up (total time in bed). In other words, the longer the time spent awake during the night, the lower the sleep efficiency. For example, many sleep disorders in the elderly are interrupted sleep disorders, such as early awakening or waking up many times during the night and being unable to fall back asleep. This is harmful, and in such cases, it indicates a decrease in sleep efficiency. In this invention, "comfortable waking" refers to a state in which either, preferably both, of the following are improved: increased drowsiness upon waking and improved feeling of fatigue recovery, and furthermore, the latency time to get out of bed is shortened. Here, "bed vacancy latency" refers to the time from waking up until getting out of bed, that is, the time required from the last moment of wakefulness the following morning until the time of getting out of bed.

[0021] (3) How to take sleep aids The method of taking the sleep aid of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as the active ingredient of the sleep aid, kabosu essential oil, is taken into the body by inhalation through the nostrils, oral ingestion, or absorption through the skin. Specifically, methods include artificially diffusing fragrances into the air using diffusers, nebulizers (diffusers and atomizers that use steam or ultrasound), aromatherapy candles, etc., and inhaling them mainly through the nostrils, as well as inhaling fragrances that naturally evaporate from cosmetics used on clothing, skin, and hair, or from oral compositions such as food and beverages. When using an ultrasonic diffuser, add approximately 0.05-0.15% of kabosu essential oil (about 2-3 drops per 100ml of water) to the amount of water in the container. During the day, place it on a stable surface or on the floor in your main activity area such as the entrance, restroom, living room, office, or kitchen. When sleeping, place it at your feet or beside your pillow, turn it on, and let the essential oil fragrance disperse along with the steam.

[0022] [2] Flavor composition The sleep-improving agent of the present invention can be added to cosmetics or food and beverages on its own, but it can also be used as a fragrance composition in combination with other fragrance materials for cosmetics or food and beverages. Other fragrance materials can be broadly used, regardless of whether they are natural or synthetic fragrances. Examples include the fragrances described in the Japan Patent Office Gazette "Collection of Well-Known and Commonly Used Technologies (Fragrances) Part II: Food Fragrances" (published January 14, 2000, Japan Patent Office) and "Collection of Well-Known and Commonly Used Technologies (Fragrances) Part III: Cosmetic Fragrances" (published June 2001, Japan Patent Office).

[0023] When used as a fragrance composition, the content of the sleep-improving agent in the composition is preferably in the range of 0.01 to 90% by mass. The sleep-improving agent of the present invention can be added to various cosmetics and food products, either as is or as a fragrance composition in combination with other fragrance materials, by dissolving it in solvents such as ethanol, propylene glycol, glycerin, or medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) as needed. Furthermore, by adding commonly used emulsifiers and excipients and formulating them according to conventional methods, they can be used as emulsified fragrances and powdered fragrances.

[0024] The sleep aid of the present invention may also contain, as necessary, various additives commonly used in cosmetics and food and beverages, such as antioxidants, salt, sugars, colorants, emulsifiers, preservatives, seasonings, sweeteners, color fixatives, and pH adjusters.

[0025] [3] Cosmetics Examples of cosmetics include fragrance products (perfumes, eau de parfums, body colognes, etc.), skincare cosmetics (lotions, emulsions, creams, lipsticks, foundations, facial cleansers, etc.) Examples of household products include soaps, body washes, body care products, bath additives, antiperspirant deodorants, etc., hair care cosmetics (shampoos, rinses, conditioners, hair treatments, hair oils, hair tonics, hair growth products, hair coloring products, hair styling products, permanent wave solutions, etc.), laundry detergents, fabric softeners, garment finishing agents, various cleaning agents (for textiles, leather, hard surfaces, household, toilet, and bathroom use, etc.), air fresheners, scented toilet paper, waxes, and essential oils. When used in cosmetics, the amount of sleep aid in the cosmetic product should preferably be 0.0001% or more, and the sleep aid can also be used as is in the form of an aroma oil, etc.

[0026] [4] Oral composition Examples of oral compositions include beverages, confectionery, processed foods, dairy products, flavorings, processed foods such as powdered beverages and powdered soups, and oral hygiene agents, but more specifically, the following can be listed.

[0027] Examples of beverages include soft drinks, lactic acid drinks, dairy drinks, fruit juice-free drinks, fruit juice-containing drinks, carbonated drinks, alcoholic beverages, and energy drinks. Examples of confectionery include jelly, bavarian cream, mousse, cake, candy, biscuits, cookies, chocolate, gum, ramune candy, tablets, ice cream, sherbet, and popsicles.

[0028] Examples of processed foods include mayonnaise, salad dressings, sauces, condiments, snacks (potato chips, fried rice crackers, karinto, donuts), and frozen prepared foods (noodles, etc.). Examples of dairy products include ice cream and yogurt.

[0029] Examples of oral hygiene products include toothpaste, mouthwash, gargles, breath fresheners, and bad breath preventatives. When used in an oral composition, the content of the sleep-improving agent in the composition is preferably in the range of 0.000001 to 0.1% by mass. [Examples]

[0030] The present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

[0031] [1] Overview of the exam (1) Test samples used in the test The kabosu essential oil used was purchased from Ogawa Fragrance Oita Saeki Farm Co., Ltd. This product is an essential oil extracted from the peel of kabosu fruit grown in Oita Prefecture by steam distillation (65% limonene, 21% myrcene, 6% γ-terpinene, 1.3% α-pinene). Deionized water was used as the placebo. Test samples 1 and 2 used in the experiment are shown in Table 1.

[0032] [Table 1]

[0033] (2) Test method (a) Subjects The study included 12 men and women (6 men and 6 women) aged 30 to under 46 who reported experiencing insomnia, and the subjects were divided into two groups: Group 1 and Group 2.

[0034] (b) Exam content Three drops (0.1 ml) of the test sample were added to a container of an ultrasonic atomizing diffuser containing 100 ml of tap water, and the diffuser was placed within 1 meter of the bedside but higher than the bedside. . The diffuser was operated for a total of three hours, from one hour before bedtime to two hours after bedtime, and the subjects inhaled the sprayed mist while breathing naturally. This was continued for one week for each of the two test products.

[0035] The study was a crossover study between Group 1 and Group 2. Group 1 was tested with test product 1 from day 1 to day 7, and with test product 2 from day 8 to day 14. Group 2 was tested in the reverse order. To evaluate the sleep-improving effects of each test product, two types of sleep questionnaires were used as subjective evaluations: the "Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index-J (PSQI-J)" and the "OSA Sleep Inventory MA version."

[0036] In addition, sleep activity measurements were taken using a small activity tracker as an objective evaluation. Furthermore, the "SCL (Stress Checklist) 30" was used as a self-awareness questionnaire to assess stress symptoms. Sleep questionnaires and attitude questionnaires were administered on day 1 (preliminary examination), day 8, and day 15 of the study. Activity levels were measured from day 1 to day 15 by attaching microtags to the body, except during bathing. Table 2 shows the outline of the exam.

[0037] [Table 2]

[0038] Here, we will explain each evaluation method used to determine the sleep improvement effect. The Pittsburgh Questionnaire (PSQI-J), a type of sleep questionnaire, consists of seven subscales: sleep quality, time to fall asleep, sleep duration, sleep efficiency, difficulty sleeping, use of sleeping pills, and daytime activity disturbance. The total score from these subscales is used to evaluate sleep quality (overall sleep assessment). A higher total score indicates a greater sleep disorder, and it is also used in the medical field for screening sleep disorders.

[0039] The "OSA Sleep Questionnaire MA Version," one of the sleep questionnaires, is a questionnaire consisting of 16 questions across five factors: Factor 1: Morning sleepiness, Factor 2: Falling asleep and maintaining sleep, Factor 3: Dreaming, Factor 4: Fatigue recovery, and Factor 5: Sleep duration. This is a psychological scale that evaluates how well a person feels after waking up. Higher scores on each factor indicate a better state of sleep, but it is not used for screening sleep disorders like the PSQI-J.

[0040] The Stress Checklist (SCL), a questionnaire for assessing awareness, was created in 1980 by Katsura et al. of Nihon University with the aim of easily checking stress levels. It consists of 30 questions focusing on symptoms of autonomic nervous system dysfunction. Because it can be easily administered, it is useful as a primary screening method for stress checks. A score of 5 or less is considered normal, 10 or less indicates mild stress, 20 or less indicates stress, and 21 or more indicates severe stress. In other words, the more items that apply, the higher the score and the more severe the stress symptoms are judged to be.

[0041] Sleep activity measurement involves wearing a band equipped with a microtag-type activity tracker (MTN-220, manufactured by Accorz Corporation) on the abdomen, except when bathing, to measure activity levels related to falling asleep, sleeping, and waking up based on body movements. In this invention, the following parameters were measured: sleep latency (time until falling asleep), bed latency (time until waking up), sleep efficiency (total sleep time / total time in bed), and number of awakenings during the night (number of times awake for 10 minutes or more).

[0042] The collection and analysis of measurement data were performed using "Sleep Sign®," sleep analysis software for basic research manufactured by Kissei Comtec Co., Ltd. A decrease in sleep latency, bed mobilization latency, and number of awakenings during the night, along with an increase in sleep efficiency, indicates an improvement in the patient's condition.

[0043] [Example 1] (Evaluation of qualitative changes in sleep using the Pittsburgh Questionnaire) Figure 1 shows the change in PSQI-J total score (average value for all subjects) before and after each administration period of placebo and kabosu essential oil. Upon examining the results, the placebo group showed only a slight decrease in the overall PSQI-J score after the administration period, while the kabosu essential oil group showed a significant decrease in the overall PSQI-J score after the administration period. This indicates that sleep disorders were improved. These results confirm the effectiveness of kabosu essential oil in improving sleep quality.

[0044] [Example 2] (Evaluation of improvement in sleep quality using the OSA Sleep Questionnaire MA version) Figure 2 shows the change in scores for each factor (OSA-MA factor) of the OSA Sleep Questionnaire MA version before and after the trial for both kabosu essential oil and placebo (average value for all subjects). Figure 2 shows that in all five factors (1-5), the kabosu essential oil group showed a greater increase in scores compared to the placebo group, with particularly significant increases in factor 1 (morning drowsiness) and factor 4 (fatigue recovery). This indicates that the aroma of kabosu essential oil not only improves overall sleep quality, but also exhibits particularly remarkable effects in reducing morning drowsiness and increasing satisfaction with fatigue recovery.

[0045] [Example 3] (Variable evaluation of sleep and wake-up times using an activity tracker) Figure 3 shows the average values ​​of each variable measured by an activity tracker before and after the trial period for both the kabosu essential oil and placebo groups. The results in Figures 3a, 3b, and 3c show that the sleep latency and the number of awakenings during the night significantly decreased before and after the kabosu essential oil test, and sleep efficiency significantly increased. These findings indicate that the aroma of kabosu essential oil significantly improved sleep quality. Furthermore, the significant reduction in bed-get-out latency shown in Figure 3d supports the idea that a comfortable awakening was induced by the effects of reduced morning drowsiness and improved satisfaction with fatigue recovery, as shown in Figure 3 for Example 2.

[0046] [Example 4] (Evaluation of stress symptoms using SCL30) Figure 4 shows the results obtained using a stress checklist for placebo and kabosu essential oil. This shows the change in stress score (average value for all subjects) before and after the test. Figure 4 shows that stress scores significantly decreased before and after the kabosu essential oil test, confirming that the aroma of kabosu essential oil improved stress symptoms. These results confirm that the aroma of kabosu essential oil has the effect of inducing a comfortable awakening by reducing stress and improving sleep quality, as well as reducing morning drowsiness and enhancing the feeling of fatigue recovery.

Claims

1. A sleep aid for improving sleep quality or inducing a comfortable awakening, comprising kabosu essential oil derived from the peel of kabosu fruit, which is ingested at bedtime via the sense of smell.

2. The sleep aid for improving sleep quality or inducing a comfortable awakening, as described in claim 1, characterized in that the kabosu essential oil is obtained from the peel of kabosu by pressing, extraction, or steam distillation.

3. The sleep aid for improving sleep quality or inducing a comfortable awakening, according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the effect of inducing a comfortable awakening is demonstrated by one or more of the following: reduction of drowsiness upon waking, improvement of the feeling of fatigue recovery, and reduction of bed latency, which is the time from the last awakening to getting up the following morning.

4. A fragrance composition for improving sleep quality or inducing a comfortable awakening, comprising a sleep-improving agent for improving sleep quality or inducing a comfortable awakening according to any one of claims 1 to 3, and which is ingested at bedtime via the sense of smell.

5. A cosmetic product or food product for improving sleep quality or inducing a comfortable awakening, which contains a sleep-improving agent for improving sleep quality or inducing a comfortable awakening according to any one of claims 1 to 3, or a fragrance composition for improving sleep quality or inducing a comfortable awakening according to claim 4, and is ingested at bedtime via the sense of smell.

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