HK1175661B - Equol-containing fermentation product of soybean embryonic axis - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a fermentation product of a soybean embryonic axis which contains equol and is useful as a material for a food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic or the like. The fermentation product can be produced by fermenting a soybean embryonic axis with a microorganism capable of assimilating at least one daidzein-type substance selected from the group consisting of a glycoside of daidzein, daidzein and dihydrodaidzein to produce equol.

Description

Equol-containing fermented soybean hypocotyl

The present application is a divisional application of an application having an application date of 2006, 12/05, an application number of 200680045856.4 (international application number of PCT/JP2006/324255), entitled "equol-containing fermented soybean hypocotyl and a method for producing the same".

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a fermented soybean hypocotyl (soybean embryo axis) containing equol (equol) and a method for producing the same.

Background

Isoflavones (soybean isoflavone; daidzein, genistein, glycitein) contained in soybean have a structure similar to that of estradiol, and have an antiestrogenic action and an estrogen-like action according to the binding to an estrogen receptor (hereinafter referred to as ER). Until now, epidemiological studies or interventional studies of soybean isoflavones have suggested the prevention effect of hormone-dependent cancers such as breast cancer and prostate cancer by the antiestrogenic action or the improvement effect of climacteric disorder, postmenopausal osteoporosis, and hyperlipidemia by the estrogen-like action.

In recent years, it has been pointed out that the active entity of the physiological action of the above-mentioned soybean isoflavones may be equol, a metabolite of daidzein. That is, it has been reported that equol has a stronger binding ability to ER (particularly binding to ER β) and has a very high migration ability into a target organ such as breast or prostate tissue, as compared with soybean isoflavone. In addition, it has been reported that in the patient-control study, the equol-producing patients were significantly less in the patients with breast cancer and prostate cancer, and that the equol-producing patients were significantly improved when the effects of soybean isoflavone on the improvement of postmenopausal bone density and lipid metabolism were analyzed by classifying the results into equol-producing patients and non-producing patients.

Equol is produced from daidzein by the metabolism of intestinal bacteria, but the equol-producing ability varies among individuals, and it is reported that the proportion of equol-producing persons in japanese is about 50%. That is, about 50% of japanese people cannot produce equol (non-equol-producing people), and in these people, even if they take soybeans or processed foods of soybeans, they cannot enjoy useful physiological effects based on the equol action. Therefore, it is considered that it is effective to take equol itself in order to make the equol non-producer exhibit a useful physiological effect based on the action of equol.

Conventionally, as a method for producing equol, a method has been known in which a starting material containing daidzein is subjected to fermentation treatment by a microorganism that assimilates daidzein to produce equol (hereinafter referred to as equol-producing microorganism). In this production method, as a raw material containing daidzein, soybean, pueraria decoction, red globe grape (red globe grape), alfalfa, and the like are known. Further, equol-producing bacteria are known, and, for example, the present inventors isolated Bacteroides E-23-15(FERM BP-6435), Streptococcus E-23-17(FERM BP-6436), Streptococcus A6G225(FERM BP-6437), and lactococcus 20-92(FERM BP-10036) from human feces (see patent documents 1 and 2).

However, there are also the following problems: when a raw material containing the above-mentioned daidzein compound is simply subjected to a fermentation treatment using an equol-producing bacterium, the amount of equol in the resulting fermented product is insufficient, and the desired useful effect based on the equol action cannot be sufficiently expected even if the fermented product is taken directly.

On the other hand, it is known that soybean hypocotyl parts contain useful components such as isoflavones and saponins at a higher ratio than cotyledon parts used as processed soybean foods, and various uses of extracts thereof have been developed (for example, patent document 3). However, the soybean hypocotyl extract itself has a disadvantage of high cost. In addition, when the soybean hypocotyl extract is used as a raw material for producing equol, there is a problem that it is necessary to add a separate nutrient for fermentation with an equol-producing bacterium. The above reasons have led to the fact that soybean hypocotyl extracts are currently not usable as starting materials for the industrial production of equol.

On the other hand, since the soybean hypocotyls themselves have a characteristic bitter taste, there is a tendency to avoid direct utilization of the soybean hypocotyls themselves, and most of the soybean hypocotyls are discarded. In addition, since soybean hypocotyls contain allergenic substances, like cotyledon parts of soybeans, it is impossible for people with soybean allergy to ingest or administer soybean hypocotyls. Therefore, in order to effectively utilize the soybean hypocotyls, it is important to improve the usefulness of the soybean hypocotyls by further adding value to the soybean hypocotyls themselves.

Patent document 1: international publication No. 99/007392 specification

Patent document 2: international publication No. 2005/000042 specification

Patent document 3: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2002-234844

Disclosure of Invention

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a fermented soybean hypocotyl product containing equol, which is useful as a food material, a pharmaceutical material, a cosmetic material, or the like. Further, the present invention aims to provide a method for producing a fermented soybean hypocotyl product containing equol.

The present inventors have intensively studied to solve the above problems and found that a fermented soybean hypocotyl product containing equol can be obtained by fermenting soybean hypocotyls with a microorganism having an ability to assimilate daidzein compounds to produce equol and producing equol at a high efficiency. Further, it has been found that the equol-containing fermented soybean hypocotyl product thus obtained has reduced allergens contained in the soybean hypocotyl and is therefore useful as a raw material for hypoallergens. Based on the above findings, the present invention has been completed by repeating improvements.

That is, the present invention provides the following equol-containing fermented soybean hypocotyls and use thereof:

item 1. an equol-containing fermented soybean hypocotyl product obtained by fermenting soybean hypocotyls with a microorganism having the ability to produce equol by assimilating at least one daidzein glycosides (daidzein glycosides), daidzein, and dihydrodaidzein.

Item 2 the soybean hypocotyl fermented product of item 1, wherein the microorganism is a lactic acid bacterium belonging to the genus lactococcus.

Item 3 the soybean hypocotyl fermentation product of item 1, wherein the microorganism is lactococcus garvieae (lactococcus garvieae)Lactococcus garvieae)。

Item 4 the fermented soybean hypocotyl product according to item 1, wherein the fermented soybean hypocotyl product contains 0.1 to 20% by weight of equol per dry weight.

Item 5 the fermented soybean hypocotyl according to item 1, wherein the fermented soybean hypocotyl further contains daidzins (daidzins), genistins (genistin), genistein flavonoids (genistin), glycitins (glycitins), and glyciteins (glycitins).

Item 6 the fermented soybean hypocotyl product of item 1, which further contains ornithine.

Item 7. a food product comprising the fermented soybean hypocotyl of item 1.

Item 8 the food product of item 7, being a dietary supplement (dietary supplement).

Item 9 the food product of item 7, wherein the soybean hypocotyl fermentation product is contained in an amount of 0.1 to 90g per 100g of the food product.

The pharmaceutical preparation of item 10, which comprises the fermented soybean hypocotyl of item 1.

The pharmaceutical preparation according to item 11, which is a prophylactic or therapeutic agent for menopausal disorders, osteoporosis, prostatic hypertrophy or metabolic syndrome.

The pharmaceutical preparation according to item 12, which is a blood cholesterol level lowering agent.

The use of the fermented soybean hypocotyl product according to item 1 in the production of a prophylactic or therapeutic agent for menopausal disorders, osteoporosis, prostatic hypertrophy or metabolic syndrome.

The use of the soybean hypocotyl fermentation product of item 1 in the production of an agent for reducing a cholesterol value in blood.

A method for treating a menopausal disorder, which comprises administering an effective amount of the fermented soybean hypocotyl according to claim 1 to a patient suffering from the menopausal disorder.

Item 16. a method for lowering a cholesterol value in blood, comprising administering an effective amount of the soybean hypocotyl ferment of item 1 to a patient in need of lowering a cholesterol value in blood.

Item 17. A cosmetic comprising the fermented soybean hypocotyl of item 1.

The cosmetic according to item 18, wherein the fermented soybean hypocotyl is contained in an amount of 0.1 to 10g per 100g of the cosmetic.

The method according to item 19, which is a method for producing an equol-containing fermented soybean hypocotyl, characterized by treating a soybean hypocotyl with fermentation using a microorganism having the ability to assimilate at least one daidzein compound selected from the group consisting of daidzein glycoside, daidzein, and dihydrodaidzein to produce equol.

The fermented soybean hypocotyl product of the present invention contains useful components such as equol and isoflavones or saponins other than equol, and is therefore useful in the fields of foods, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and the like. In particular, the fermented soybean hypocotyl product of the present invention produces a particularly large amount of equol as compared with a fermented product obtained by fermenting a starting material containing daidzein, such as soybean, pueraria decoction, red globe grape, alfalfa, or the like, and can further exhibit useful physiological effects based on equol.

Further, the fermented soybean hypocotyl product of the present invention has an advantage that it can be safely taken or applied to even a person allergic to soybean as a hypoallergenic material because it reduces the allergen contained in the soybean hypocotyl. The fermented soybean hypocotyl product of the present invention is produced from discarded soybean hypocotyls produced during processing of soybean food, and is industrially highly valuable from the viewpoint of effective utilization of resources.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a graph showing the concentration of equol in the fermentation broths obtained in examples 1 to 3.

FIG. 2 is a graph showing the results (electrophoretogram) of the detection of total proteins contained in the fermented soybean hypocotyl, soybean cotyledon and soybean hypocotyl obtained in example 1.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing the results (electrophoretogram) of detection of major allergens (Gym4, Gm30K, Gm28K) contained in soybean hypocotyl fermented product, soybean cotyledon and soybean hypocotyl obtained in example 1.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the results (electrophoretograms) of major allergens (7S globulin mix, oleosin and trypsin inhibitor) contained in soybean hypocotyl, soybean cotyledon and soybean hypocotyl obtained in example 1.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments embodying the present invention will be described in detail.

In the present invention, as the equol-producing bacterium, a microorganism having an ability (metabolic activity) to assimilate at least one daidzein compound selected from the group consisting of daidzein glycoside, daidzein, and dihydrodaidzein to produce equol is used. Specific examples of the daidzein glycoside include daidzin, malonyl daidzin, and acetyl daidzin.

The microorganism (equol-producing bacterium) is not particularly limited as long as it is acceptable in food hygiene and has the above-mentioned ability, and it is known that, for example, a microorganism having the above-mentioned ability is present among the following microorganisms: lactococcus garvieae: (Lactococcus garvieae) And the like belonging to the genus lactococcus; streptococcus intermedius (Streptococcus intermedius) Streptococcus aryngitis (S.angina)Streptococcus constellatus) And the like belonging to the genus Streptococcus; pseudobacterium ovorans: (A), (B)Bacteroides ovatus) And the like belonging to the genus Bacteroides. Among equol-producing bacteria, lactic acid bacteria belonging to the genus lactococcus, the genus Streptococcus, and the like are preferred, lactic acid bacteria belonging to the genus lactococcus are more preferred, and lactococcus garvieae is particularly preferred. The microorganism having the above-mentioned ability can be isolated from human feces by using the presence or absence of the equol-producing ability as an indicator. As the above equol-producing bacterium, lactococcus 20-92(FERM BP-1) which was isolated and identified from human feces by the present inventors has been deposited0036), Streptococcus E-23-17(FERM BP-6436), Streptococcus A6G225(FERM BP-6437) and Bacteroides E-23-15(FERM BP-6435), the above deposited bacteria can be used in the present invention. Lactococcus 20-92 is preferably used among the above-mentioned deposited bacteria.

In the present invention, soybean hypocotyls are used as the fermentation raw material. It is known that soybean hypocotyls are parts forming sprouts and roots when soybeans germinate, and contain a large amount of daidzein compounds such as daidzein glycoside or daidzein. The soybean hypocotyls used in the present invention are limited to those containing daidzein compounds without loss, and the production area or the presence or absence of processing of soybeans is not limited. For example, it may be raw soybean hypocotyls; soybean hypocotyls separated from soybeans subjected to heat treatment, drying treatment, cooking treatment, etc.; soybean hypocotyls obtained by subjecting hypocotyls separated from unprocessed soybeans to heat treatment, drying treatment, cooking treatment or the like. In addition, the soybean hypocotyl used in the present invention may be a soybean hypocotyl subjected to a degreasing treatment or a deproteinization treatment. The shape of the soybean hypocotyl used in the present invention is not particularly limited, and may be a powdery form or a ground or crushed soybean hypocotyl. From the viewpoint of more efficiently producing equol, it is preferable to use a powdery soybean hypocotyl.

The fermentation treatment of soybean hypocotyl is carried out by adding water to soybean hypocotyl to adjust water content, and inoculating the above equol-producing strain.

The amount of water to be added to the soybean hypocotyl is appropriately set depending on the kind of equol-producing bacteria used, the kind of fermentation tank, and the like. In general, at the start of fermentation, the soybean hypocotyl and water coexist in the following ratio: the amount of water is 400 to 4000 parts by weight, preferably 500 to 2000 parts by weight, and more preferably 600 to 1000 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the soybean hypocotyl (in terms of dry weight).

In addition, in the fermentation of soybean hypocotyls, a nitrogen source such as yeast extract, polypeptone, meat extract or the like may be added to soybean hypocotyls as a fermentation raw material as needed in order to promote the fermentation efficiency, increase the taste of the fermentation product or the like; carbon sources such as glucose and sucrose; inorganic salts such as phosphates, carbonates, and sulfates; vitamins; amino acids, and other nutritional ingredients. In particular, when an equol-producing bacterium having the ability to convert arginine to ornithine (hereinafter referred to as "ornithine-equol-producing bacterium") is used as the equol-producing bacterium, ornithine can be contained in the resultant fermented product by adding arginine to the soybean hypocotyl and fermenting. In this case, the amount of arginine added is, for example, about 0.5 to 3 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of soybean hypocotyl (in terms of dry weight). Specifically, the equol-producing bacterium having the ability to convert arginine to ornithine may be selected from the group consisting of lactococcus formates, and specifically, lactococcus 20-92(FERM BP-10036) may be mentioned.

The pH of the fermentation material (soybean hypocotyl-containing material) to be used is not particularly limited as long as it allows the equol-producing bacteria to grow, but it is preferable to adjust the pH of the fermentation material to about 6 to 7, preferably about 6.3 to 6.8, in advance, from the viewpoint of promoting the growth of the equol-producing bacteria.

In addition, isoflavone containing the above daidzein compound can be added into the fermentation material (soybean hypocotyl-containing material). By adding isoflavone separately to the fermentation material in advance, the equol content in the resultant fermented soybean hypocotyl can be further increased, and the usefulness thereof can be further improved.

The fermentation of soybean hypocotyls is carried out under environmental conditions that satisfy the culture characteristics of the equol-producing strain used. For example, when the above-specifically exemplified equol-producing bacteria are used, fermentation of soybean hypocotyls is carried out under anaerobic conditions.

The fermentation temperature may be a temperature suitable for growth of the equol-producing bacteria, and examples thereof include 20 to 40 ℃, preferably 35 to 40 ℃, and more preferably 36 to 38 ℃.

The fermentation time may be appropriately set depending on the amount of equol produced, the amount of daidzein compound remaining, the type of equol-producing bacteria, and the like, and may be usually 1 to 10 days, preferably 2 to 7 days, and more preferably 3 to 5 days.

Equol is produced and accumulated in the fermented soybean hypocotyl obtained by fermentation under the above conditions, and the useful physiological action of equol can be exhibited. The content of equol in the fermented soybean hypocotyl varies depending on the equol-producing bacterium used, the fermentation conditions, and the like, but it is usually 1 to 20mg, preferably 2 to 12mg, and more preferably 5 to 8mg, of equol per dry weight of the fermented soybean hypocotyl (when the dry weight of the fermented soybean hypocotyl is 1 g).

The fermented soybean hypocotyl may contain daidzein such as daidzin, malonyl daidzin, acetyl daidzin, daidzein, and dihydrodaidzein (hereinafter, these components are referred to as "daidzein"), in addition to equol; genistein such as genistin, malonyl genistin, acetyl genistin, genistein, and dihydrogenistein (hereinafter, these components are referred to as "genistein"); various isoflavones such as glycitein (glycitein), malonylglycitein, acetylglycitein, glycitein, dihydroglycitein, etc. (hereinafter, these ingredients are referred to as "glycitein"), and the useful physiological activities of the isoflavones can also be exhibited. The content of isoflavone (containing equol) in the fermented soybean hypocotyl product is 5 to 20mg, preferably 5 to 15mg, and more preferably about 8 to 15mg per 1g of the fermented soybean hypocotyl product in dry weight.

In addition, isoflavones in the fermented soybean hypocotyl have a composition different from isoflavones contained in the soybean hypocotyl in terms of the composition of isoflavones other than equol. In particular, in the fermented soybean hypocotyl, the content ratio of the total of genistein which may act as endocrine disruptors to the total amount of isoflavone in the fermented soybean hypocotyl is preferably reduced to 15% by weight or less, more preferably to 12% by weight or less, and the fermented soybean hypocotyl is advantageous from the viewpoint of the composition of isoflavone as compared with the fermented soybean hypocotyl before fermentation.

Specific examples of the fermented soybean hypocotyl include fermented products composed of the following isoflavones (the unit "mg" below indicates the total amount of each isoflavone per 1g (dry weight) of the fermented soybean hypocotyl):

equol: 1 to 20mg, preferably 2 to 12mg,

daidzein species: 0.1 to 30mg, preferably 0.1 to 1.5mg,

genistein: 0.05 to 2.5mg, preferably 0.05 to 2mg,

glycitein: 0.1 to 4mg, preferably 2 to 3.5 mg.

The composition ratio of each isoflavone contained in the fermented soybean hypocotyl may be in the following range (the unit "% by weight" below represents the ratio to the total amount of all isoflavones contained in the fermented soybean hypocotyl):

equol: 30 to 75 wt%, preferably 40 to 70 wt%, more preferably 45 to 70 wt%,

daidzein species: 1 to 20 wt%, preferably 2 to 15 wt%, more preferably 4 to 12 wt%,

genistein: 0.1 to 20 wt%, preferably 1 to 15 wt%, more preferably 1 to 10 wt%,

glycitein: 10 to 50 wt%, preferably 15 to 35 wt%, more preferably 25 to 35 wt%.

Since the fermented soybean hypocotyl product of the present invention contains isoflavones having a composition that could not be achieved by the prior art, it can be said that the fermented soybean hypocotyl product contains isoflavones having the above isoflavone composition from other viewpoints.

In order to produce a fermented soybean hypocotyl having the isoflavone of the above-mentioned composition, lactococcus 20-92(FERM BP-10036) is particularly preferably used as the equol-producing bacterium.

Further, since the fermented soybean hypocotyl product also contains saponin derived from soybean hypocotyl, useful physiological activities (for example, antiviral activity) based on the saponin action can be obtained. The saponin content in the soybean hypocotyl fermented product was as follows: the fermented soybean hypocotyl product contains 10-80 mg of saponin per 1g of dried fermented soybean hypocotyl product, preferably 20-50 mg, and more preferably 30-40 mg.

As described above, ornithine is contained in a fermented soybean hypocotyl obtained by adding arginine to a soybean hypocotyl and fermenting the soybean hypocotyl using an ornithine-equol producing bacterium. Specifically, the content of ornithine in the fermented soybean hypocotyl product is about 5 to 2mg, preferably about 8 to 15mg, more preferably about 9 to 12mg per 1g of the fermented soybean hypocotyl product in dry weight.

The fermented soybean hypocotyl obtained by fermentation under the above conditions may be used as it is in a fermented state as a raw material for foods, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and the like, or may be dried to form a dry solid as needed, and used as the raw material. In order to improve the storage stability of the fermented soybean hypocotyl, it is preferable to form the fermented soybean hypocotyl into a solid state by a heat drying treatment in advance. The fermented soybean hypocotyl after the heat drying treatment may be powdered as necessary to prepare a powder.

As described above, the fermented soybean hypocotyl product of the present invention contains various useful physiologically active substances such as equol, and thus can exhibit various physiological activities or pharmacological activities. For example, the fermented soybean hypocotyl product of the present invention is useful for preventing or improving diseases or symptoms such as climacteric disorder, osteoporosis, prostatic hypertrophy, and metabolic syndrome, reducing the cholesterol level in blood, whitening skin, improving acne, regulating the intestine, improving obesity, and inducing diuresis. Among them, the fermented soybean hypocotyl product of the present invention is particularly useful for preventing or improving symptoms of indefinite complaints or symptoms accompanying menopause (for example, osteoporosis, climacteric disturbance) in middle-aged and elderly women. Further, ornithine is also produced and accumulated in a fermented soybean hypocotyl obtained by fermenting an arginine-containing fermentation raw material using an ornithine/equol-producing bacterium, and therefore the fermented soybean hypocotyl can also have useful physiological effects based on ornithine, such as improvement of liver function, promotion of growth hormone secretion, immune activation, increase of muscle mass, improvement of basal metabolic capacity, and the like.

When the fermented soybean hypocotyl product of the present invention is used as a food material, the fermented soybean hypocotyl product can be prepared into, for example, beverages, granules, capsules, tablets, powders, dairy products, chewing gums, gum drops (gum drops), puddings, bars (bars), and other solid foods. The food containing the fermented soybean hypocotyl has useful physiological activity of equol, and physiological activity of isoflavone, saponin, etc., and thus has high usefulness and excellent health care effect. In addition, when a fermented soybean hypocotyl obtained by fermenting an arginine-containing fermentation raw material with an ornithine/equol-producing bacterium is used, ornithine may be contained in the food, and therefore the usefulness as a food can be further improved.

The food containing the fermented soybean hypocotyl of the present invention can be used as a general food, and also as a specific health food, a dietary supplement, a functional food, a food for patients, and the like. In particular, a food containing the fermented soybean hypocotyl of the present invention is useful as a dietary supplement.

In the food containing the fermented soybean hypocotyl product of the present invention, the blending ratio of the fermented soybean hypocotyl product in the food can be appropriately set according to the kind of the food, the content of equol, the age or sex of the subject to be ingested, the expected effect, and the like. For example, the total amount of the fermented soybean hypocotyl (in terms of dry weight) is 0.1 to 90g, preferably 0.1 to 10g, more preferably 0.5 to 2g, based on 100g of the food.

The daily intake of the food containing the fermented soybean hypocotyl varies depending on the equol content in the fermented soybean hypocotyl, the age or weight of the ingestor, the number of times of ingestion, and the like, and for example, the intake for 1 day of an adult is an amount corresponding to 0.1 to 10g of the fermented soybean hypocotyl.

When the fermented soybean hypocotyl product of the present invention is used as a pharmaceutical raw material, the fermented soybean hypocotyl product can be formulated into pharmaceutical preparations in the form of tablets, pills, powders, liquid preparations, suspensions, emulsions, granules, capsules, suppositories, and the like. The pharmaceutical preparation containing the soybean hypocotyl fermented product of the present invention is useful as a prophylactic or ameliorating agent for diseases or symptoms such as climacteric disorder (irregular complaint symptom of climacteric symptom, osteoporosis, and hyperlipidemia), osteoporosis, prostatic hypertrophy, and metabolic syndrome, a lowering agent for blood cholesterol level, an intestinal regulation agent, an obesity ameliorating agent, a diuretic, and the like. In particular, a pharmaceutical preparation containing a soybean hypocotyl fermentation product is preferably used for preventing or treating symptom of indefinite complaint or symptom accompanied by menopause (for example, osteoporosis, climacteric disorder, etc.) in middle-aged and elderly women.

The amount of the pharmaceutical preparation containing fermented soybean hypocotyl varies depending on the equol content in the fermented soybean hypocotyl, the age or body weight of the subject to be administered, the symptoms, the number of administrations, and the like, and cannot be uniformly specified, and for example, the amount of the fermented soybean hypocotyl administered per 1 day for an adult is an amount corresponding to 0.5 to 6g in terms of dry weight.

Further, when the fermented soybean hypocotyl product of the present invention is used as a raw material for cosmetics, the fermented soybean hypocotyl product can be prepared into various cosmetics in desired forms such as paste, mousse, gel, liquid, emulsion, suspension, paste, ointment, and sheet. The cosmetic can be used as basic cosmetic such as emulsion, cream, lotion, oil and film; detergents such as face cleaners, detergents, body detergents and the like; a cleaning wipe; various cosmetics such as detergents are useful. The cosmetic containing the fermented soybean hypocotyl of the present invention is useful as a whitening cosmetic or an acne-improving cosmetic.

In the cosmetic containing the fermented soybean hypocotyl product of the present invention, the blending ratio of the fermented soybean hypocotyl product in the cosmetic can be appropriately set according to the kind of the cosmetic, the content of equol, and the like. For example, the total amount of the fermented soybean hypocotyl (in terms of dry weight) is 0.1 to 10g, preferably 0.5 to 5 g, based on 100g of the cosmetic.

Examples

The present invention will be described in detail below based on test examples, and the like, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

Examples 1 to 3

Powdery soybean hypocotyls, arginine and water were mixed in accordance with the composition shown in table 1 to prepare a soybean hypocotyl solution (raw material). Lactococcus 20-92(FERM BP-10036) was inoculated into 5ml of the soybean hypocotyl solution, and the resulting solution was subjected to static culture at 37 ℃ for 96 hours under anaerobic conditions. After the culture, the obtained fermentation liquid (culture solution) was heat-sterilized at 100 ℃ for 1 minute, then dried at 80 ℃ and further powdered by a homogenizer to obtain a powdered fermented soybean hypocotyl.

FIG. 1 shows the concentration of equol in the culture broth after 96 hours of culture. Also, table 1 shows the viable cell count and pH in the culture solution after 96 hours of culture, the amount of the powdery soybean hypocotyl fermentation product obtained, and the equol concentration in the powdery soybean hypocotyl fermentation product. From these results, it was confirmed that equol can be produced with high efficiency by fermenting powdery soybean hypocotyls using an equol-producing bacterium.

[ Table 1]

Examples # each was carried out using 3 batches of powdered soybean hypocotyls (N ═ 3). The analytical results shown in the table are mean ± SD values.

Example 4

Lactococcus 20-92(FERM BP-10036) was inoculated into 5ml of a soybean hypocotyl solution containing 10 wt% of powdery soybean hypocotyl and 0.1 wt% of L-arginine, and subjected to static culture at 37 ℃ under anaerobic conditions for 96 hours to thereby perform fermentation treatment. After the cultivation, the obtained fermentation broth (culture broth) was heat-sterilized at 100 ℃ for 1 minute, then dried at 80 ℃ and further powdered by a homogenizer to obtain a powdered fermented soybean hypocotyl.

The powdered soybean hypocotyls used as the raw material (shown in tables 2 and 3 before fermentation) and the resulting powdered fermented soybean hypocotyls (shown in tables 2 and 3 after fermentation) were analyzed for their content. The results of the analysis of soybean isoflavones are shown in Table 2, and the results of the analysis of nutrients are shown in Table 3. From these results, it was also confirmed that a fermented soybean hypocotyl product containing a high content of equol could be produced by fermenting soybean hypocotyls with lactococcus 20-92. In addition, it is clear that the content of oligosaccharides such as raffinose and stachyose is the same before and after fermentation, and is hardly affected by fermentation. On the other hand, it was confirmed that arginine was converted into ornithine by fermentation treatment. Therefore, not only equol but also ornithine is produced by adding arginine to soybean hypocotyls and subjecting the soybean hypocotyls to fermentation treatment with lactococcus 20-92.

[ Table 2]

N.D. indicates no detection

[ Table 3]

N.D. indicates no detection

Examples 5 to 11

Powdered soybean hypocotyl fermentates were prepared under the same conditions as in example 3 above, except that 7 batches of powdered soybean hypocotyls different from example 3 above were used (examples 5 to 11). The composition of isoflavones contained in the resultant fermented soybean hypocotyl was analyzed. The results are shown in Table 4. From these results, it was confirmed that the fermented soybean hypocotyls of examples 5 to 11 had a high equol content and contained isoflavones having a composition that could not be achieved by the prior art.

[ Table 4]

In the table, the upper numerical value indicates the content (mg) of each isoflavone per 1g of the fermented soybean hypocotyl, and the lower numerical value indicates the ratio (wt%) of each isoflavone to the total amount (100 wt%) of isoflavones contained in the fermented soybean hypocotyl.

Example 12

A powdered soybean hypocotyl fermented product was prepared under the same conditions as in example 3 above, except that a different lot of powdered soybean hypocotyl from example 3 above was used. Every 1g of the obtained fermented product of soybean hypocotyl contains 6.5mg of equol, 0.6mg of daidzein, 0.6mg of genistein, and 3.2mg of glycitein. In addition, in the soybean hypocotyl fermented product, the content of the aglycone (aglycon) is 90 wt% or more of the total isoflavone content.

Using the thus-obtained fermented soybean hypocotyl, tablets having the following composition (weight of each tablet was 2.51g, and 1 tablet contained 10.9mg of equol) were prepared.

Example 13

Using the fermented soybean hypocotyl used in example 12 above, granules of the following composition were prepared.

Example 14

The fermented soybean hypocotyl of example 1 was used to prepare a cosmetic having the following composition.

Example 15

The fermented soybean hypocotyl of example 1 was used to prepare a cosmetic having the following composition.

Test example 1

It is known that soybean hypocotyls contain allergens such as Gym4, Gm30K, Gm28K, 7S globulin mix (β -glycinin), oleosin, trypsin inhibitor and the like. Then, the presence or absence of the allergen in the fermented soybean hypocotyl prepared in the above examples was determined by the following test.

First, an appropriate amount of the fermented soybean hypocotyl obtained in example 1 was added to an extraction buffer (Tris HCl ph7.5, containing 1M EDTA and an appropriate amount of a protease inhibitor), and the mixture was sufficiently stirred to extract water-soluble components. Then, the solid content was removed by filtration to obtain an extract. The total protein contained in the extract thus obtained was detected by a protein analysis system manufactured by Bio-rad. The major allergens contained in the obtained extract were further detected by Western blotting (Gym4, Gm30K, Gm28K, 7S globulin mix, oleosin, trypsin inhibitor). For comparison, total protein and allergen were detected in the same manner using soybean cotyledon powder and soybean hypocotyl powder instead of fermented soybean hypocotyl.

The results are shown in FIGS. 2 to 4. FIG. 2 shows the results of total protein detection; FIG. 3 shows the results of detection of Gym4, Gm30K, and Gm 28K; FIG. 4 shows the results of the detection of 7S globulin mix, oleosin, and trypsin inhibitor.

From these results, it was confirmed that major allergens contained in soybeans or soybean hypocotyls were reduced in the fermented soybean hypocotyls.

Claims (6)

1. A fermented soybean hypocotyl product contains ornithine,

and contains 1-20 mg of equol per 1g of the fermented soybean hypocotyl in dry weight,

0.1 to 1.5mg of at least one daidzein compound selected from the group consisting of daidzin, malonyl daidzin, acetyl daidzin, daidzein, and dihydrodaidzein, and

0.05-2.5 mg of at least one genistein selected from genistin, malonyl genistin, acetyl genistin, genistein and dihydrogenistein.

2. The fermented soybean hypocotyl product according to claim 1, further comprising 0.1 to 4mg of at least one glycitein selected from the group consisting of glycitin, malonyl glycitin, acetyl glycitein, glycitein and dihydroglycitein per 1g of the fermented soybean hypocotyl product in a dry weight.

3. The fermented soybean hypocotyl product according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising 10 to 80mg of a saponin per 1g of the fermented soybean hypocotyl product in a dry weight.

4. The fermented soybean hypocotyl product according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the content of allergen in the soybean hypocotyl is reduced.

5. The fermented soybean hypocotyl product according to claim 4, which is a raw material for food or medicine.

6. A food, a pharmaceutical or a cosmetic containing the fermented soybean hypocotyl according to claim 1 or 2.