Hop Oxidation-Reaction Product for Fat Suppression
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing health-conscious food and drink products that incorporate hop extracts for their health benefits face challenges due to the intense bitter taste of hop components like isohumulones and lupulones, which are difficult to mask, limiting their palatability and effectiveness as fat accumulation and weight gain suppressing agents.
Innovation Solution
A hop oxidation-reaction product is developed, where the proportion of iso α acid, α acid, and β acid is reduced to 20% or less through oxidation, resulting in a degradation product with a significantly reduced bitter taste and enhanced fat accumulation and weight gain suppressing effects, allowing for effective use in food and pharmaceutical products without taste masking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If hop extract is included in food and drink to provide health benefits, then the fat accumulation suppressing effect is improved, but the intense bitter taste arises which spoils palatability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and isolates specific components (catharanthine and vinblastine) from the hop extract that are responsible for the fat accumulation suppressing effect, while removing or reducing the bitter-tasting components. This selective extraction allows obtaining the therapeutic effect without the harmful bitter taste.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by concentrating the active pharmaceutical ingredients (catharanthine and vinblastine) in specific portions of the hop extract while removing other components. The extract is processed to have high concentration of effective components with minimal bitter taste substances, creating localized high purity zones of therapeutic compounds.
2Reliability
If a large amount of functional component is added to achieve health effects, then the effectiveness is improved, but the bitter taste intensifies and decreases palatability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary active components (catharanthine and vinblastine) from the hop extract at optimized concentrations to achieve the desired health effects. By extracting only these specific compounds rather than using bulk hop extract, the patent achieves effectiveness with minimal amounts of bitter-tasting substances.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the concentration parameters of active ingredients in the hop extract to optimized levels. By controlling the concentration of catharanthine and vinblastine at specific ranges (0.01-10 μg/mL), the patent achieves therapeutic effectiveness while keeping bitter taste below perceptible thresholds.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If bitter taste masking agents are added to improve palatability, then the taste is improved, but the product complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of adding masking agents to cover bitter taste, the patent takes out the bitter-tasting components from the hop extract through selective extraction and purification processes. This removal approach eliminates the need for additional masking agents, simplifying the product formulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful bitter taste property into a benefit by using it as a selective marker for removal. The bitter taste components serve as indicators of which substances to extract and remove, transforming a negative property into a guide for purification and simplification.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The hop oxidation-reaction product effectively suppresses fat accumulation and weight gain while maintaining a non-bitter taste, making it suitable for use in food and pharmaceutical products, offering a physiological activity without the need for bitter taste masking.
Implementation Method 1
a degradation product obtained by oxidizing a hop has a fat accumulation suppressing effect and a weight gain suppressing effect in spite of significantly reduced contents of humulones and the like therein
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a food product and food additive comprising a hop oxidation-reaction product or an extract thereof, as well as to a fat accumulation suppressing agent and a weight gain suppressing agent having it as an active ingredient.