JP2009095269A - Gel and/or sol produced from galactomannan reduced in molecular weight and method for utilizing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substance having gel- and/or sol-forming ability in an acidic area, and excellent in moisture-keeping properties and largely deformable properties: and to provide a method for imparting thickening properties, highly water-retaining properties or decay properties due to low load to food utilizing the substance. <P>SOLUTION: The method for producing gel and/or sol includes utilizing interaction of galactomannan reduced in molecular weight to have a specific molecular configuration, with other polysaccharide thickeners. In the method, addition of the gel and/or the sol to food results in imparting thickening properties, highly water-retaining properties, and decay properties due to low load to the food. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a gel and / or sol formed by the interaction between a low molecular weight-treated galactomannan and another thickening stabilizer obtained by subjecting the galactomannan to a low molecular weight treatment. Moreover, this invention relates to the foodstuff or foodstuff material provided with thickening by containing said gel and / or sol.

Some thickeners have been used for over 100 years, but with recent advances in food processing technology, the functions required of thickeners have increased dramatically. On the other hand, the viscosity increases greatly depending on the pH, solid content, salt concentration, etc. of the food used, and in order to exhibit its function, it must interact appropriately and effectively with the ingredients of the food. In today's short product lifetimes, how to use thickening stabilizers in the design of newer products is also a key point for success.

  As an important function of the thickener, there is a gelling function for fixing the liquid in the added food, or a solling function for semi-fixing the liquid. There is no clear distinction between gels and sols, and the states of each other come and go through changes in physical conditions and stimulation. The gel-sol forming function is an indispensable function for adjusting the texture of food. In addition, the gel-sol forming function contributes to uniform dispersion and stabilization of food ingredients.

In addition, the thickener also functions as a moisturizing regulator that uniformly holds the bound water and free water contained in the food by adjusting or preventing the moisture evaporation rate of the added food (non-patented). Reference 1).

Shiro Ohashi: “Science of Food Hydrocolloids”, Katsuyoshi Nishinari, Toshimasa Yano (Asakura Shoten) (1990)

Reflecting the recent health-oriented boom, acidic milk beverages have become a hot topic, but for the purpose of stabilizing proteins in beverages, thickeners that have a gel-soling function in the acidic region are used. In this region, the thickener having a gel-sol forming function is limited, and different thickeners are usually used depending on the pH of the beverage to which the thickener is added. That is, pectin is often used around pH 3.6, soy polysaccharide is often used around pH 4.0, and carboxymethyl cellulose is often used around pH 4.5. On the other hand, gelatin also exhibits a gel-sol forming function around pH 3.6, but is not usually used for acidic milk beverages from the viewpoint of taste and texture. Although curdlan gels even at around pH 2.0, heating is required for gelation, and the gelling function differs depending on the heating temperature and time, so that the gelation is difficult to control, and usually an acidic milk beverage Not used for. In addition, even if you want to use a thickener in foods and drinks containing lactic acid, citric acid, acetic acid, etc., you must use the gel sol function by the thickener unless you adjust the pH to 3.5 or higher. It was impossible, and it was impossible to create a food that appealed to the sour taste with a body feeling by using a thickener.

Gel foods having a pH of 3.7 to 4.4 using HM pectin, colloidal polymer and sucrose fatty acid ester have been disclosed, but there is a problem that mouth melting by HM pectin deteriorates (Patent Document 1). ).

JP-A-60-210955

  The field of swallowing care food has attracted attention from the viewpoint of improving quality of life in the elderly generation of food. When the swallowing function is lowered, it is difficult to swallow liquids such as water as well as solid substances. That is, a food that causes a large deformation with a small stress is desirable as a swallowing care food. Traditionally, starch-based thickeners have been used from the viewpoint of imparting thickening, but starch-based thickeners are not suitable for swallowing foods because they have a large stress to cause large deformation. Moreover, in the gel-like beverage composition for comprehensive nutritional supplementation, agar is used as an essential gelling agent, but there is a problem that the agar is weak against acid, the gel tends to collapse, and water separation tends to occur. Moreover, although it is also described that a thickener such as gellan gum, carrageenan, locust bean gum, guar gum and the like is used in combination with agar, it is not satisfactory in terms of quality and storage stability (Patent Document 2). In recent years, guar gum, xanthan gum and the like that are transparent and have good handling have been used so as not to impair the appearance of the cooked food. In the future, in addition to the deliciousness of swallowing care food, it is expected that the appearance of food and drink will be further improved. Is expected.

WO 2004/010796 A1

As described above, a thickener having a gel sol-forming function in the acidic region, and having the resulting gel and / or sol having moisture retention and / or a function of causing a large deformation in foods is extremely unique and useful. The appearance of the thickener was envied.

An object of the present invention is to obtain a gel and / or sol formed by interaction with a low molecular weight-treated galactomannan alone or another thickening stabilizer obtained by performing a low molecular weight treatment, and a method of using the same Is to provide.

As a result of diligent research on various thickeners and related substances in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present inventors have reduced the molecular weight having a specific molecular structure by applying a molecular weight reduction treatment. It has been found that the treated galactomannan has a unique gel-solation function that is also expressed in the acidic region, and that the gel and / or sol has a useful moisturizing property and / or a function of causing a large deformation in food.

In previous studies, it has already been found that a low molecular weight-treated galactomannan having a specific molecular structure by applying a low molecular weight treatment has an effect of preventing freezing denaturation (Patent Document 3). However, it is not known that the low molecular weight-treated galactomannan has unique gel properties.

Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-331145

The galactomannan used as a raw material for the low molecular weight treated galactomannan has a main chain of β-1,4 linked D-mannose units and a side chain of α-1,6 linked D-galactose units. If present, it is not particularly limited to its origin, and it need not be highly purified. As galactomannan, locust bean seed powder is preferable, but as other galactomannan, guar gum, cassia gum, soybean seed coat-derived soy beanful, tamson gum and the like can be mentioned. These are highly safe substances that are used as thickeners in the food industry and as tableting aids in the pharmaceutical industry. Although galactomannans of different origins have different constituent ratios of mannose units and galactose units, the raw material of the low molecular weight treated galactomannan may be a single source or a mixture of different sources, and may be an aqueous solution or suspension. . Furthermore, there is no restriction | limiting in particular in the density | concentration of the galactomannan used as a raw material.

  The molecular weight reduction treatment of the galactomannan is such that the molecular structure obtained after the treatment has a molecular weight of 5-310 kDa, β-1, 4-bonded D-mannose unit main chain and α-1,6-bonded D-galactose. If it has a side chain of the unit and the constituent ratio of D-mannose and D-galactose is 2.5: 1 to 15: 1, it is not particularly limited to the method, and chemistry using an acid catalyst or the like Or a physical method such as a high-pressure hydrothermal reaction using heat or pressure. However, when the selectivity and efficiency of the reaction, the environmental load, and the like are taken into consideration, it is more preferable to perform the molecular weight reduction treatment by a biochemical method such as microbial fermentation or enzymatic reaction. Microorganisms used for fermentation may be naturally occurring wild strains or mutant strains obtained using genetic recombination techniques, but in terms of fermentation rate, ease of handling, safety, etc. Yeast is practical. Many food yeasts can be used in the present invention, but are preferably selected from the genus Candida and the genus Saccharomyces. In addition, the genus Phaffia, the genus Phodotorula, the genus Zygosaccharomyces, the genus Kluyveromyces, the genus Torulaspora, and the like can also be used. These can be cultured alone or in combination.

The said fermentation is performed by the degrading enzyme which yeast inductively produces with the galactomannan which is a raw material. Degrading enzymes that are inducibly produced by yeast contain α-galactosidase, β-mannosidase, and β-mannanase, and the enzyme group catalyzes a low molecular weight reaction of galactomannan as a raw material. Therefore, for production of the low molecular weight-treated galactomannan, not only live yeasts but also the degrading enzyme group, hemicellulase showing substrate specificity for galactomannan and the like can be used. The enzyme may be a naturally occurring wild type or a mutant obtained by subcloning, glycosylation or amino acid modification using a gene recombination technique. Further, it may be a fusion protein with other protein or peptide, or an enzyme fragment. The amount of α-galactosidase, β-mannosidase, and β-mannanase used is not particularly limited, but is preferably 0.0001 unit or more and 1000 units or less per 1 mL of the reaction solution, and more preferably 0.001 unit per 1 mL of the reaction solution. 001 unit or more and 100 unit or less. One unit of α-galactosidase and β-mannosidase is defined as the amount of enzyme that produces 1 mmol of p-nitrophenol per minute from a p-nitrophenolated substrate at 37 ° C. and pH 7.5. One unit of β-mannanase is defined as the amount of enzyme showing a reducing power equivalent to 1 mmol of mannose from mannan at 37 ° C. and pH 7.5.

Yeast and enzyme groups that are used as a catalyst or catalyst for the production of the low molecular weight treatment galactomannan can be subjected to a low molecular weight treatment in a free form or an immobilized form. The immobilized form refers to cross-linking to a support and inclusion / encapsulation in a semipermeable membrane.

A method for gelling acidic region foods and / or food materials, a method for imparting moisture retention and / or a function of causing large deformation to foods, characterized by using low molecular weight-treated galactomannan, and using the same It becomes possible to provide cooking.

  The gel and / or sol (hereinafter abbreviated as low molecular weight-treated galactomannan gel / sol), which forms the center of the present invention, is formed by interaction with a low molecular weight-treated galactomannan alone or other thickening stabilizer. . Thickening stabilizers include gum arabic, carragum, gati gum, tragacanth gum, starch, locust bean gum, tara gum, guar gum, psyllium seed gum, tamarind seed gum, pectin, agar, carrageenan, alginates, glucomannan, xanthan gum, gellan gum, Curdlan, pullulan, gelatin and the like are mentioned, but there is no particular limitation as long as it forms a gel and / or sol by interaction, and the total concentration is 0.5% or more, and two or more kinds may be used in combination. I do not care. In general, galactomannans exhibit a strong interaction with carrageenan, xanthan gum and agar, and therefore, use in combination with these is desirable. The ratio between the low molecular weight-treated galactomannan and the thickening polysaccharide is preferably 7.5: 2.5 to 2.5: 7.5.

The form of the low molecular weight-treated galactomannan is not particularly limited, but it may be a single or a preparation containing saccharides, sugar alcohols and other ingredients as bulk agents, and the form may be liquid or powder, and the particle size or dosage form It may be in any form without depending on.

There are no particular restrictions on the method for producing the low molecular weight treated galactomannan gel / sol. Since the low molecular weight-treated galactomannan has better solubility than general galactomannan, it is possible to produce a gel / sol of 0.001 to 10% by weight, but less than 0.001% by weight. Then, the superiority of the low molecular weight treated galactomannan gel / sol cannot be exhibited. In addition, due to the high solubility of the low molecular weight-treated galactomannan, heating is not necessary even during dissolution, or mild heating is sufficient, and unstable components that lose their function due to heating are gelled and / or solated. It is also possible to do.

The low molecular weight-treated galactomannan has the property of gelling / solling even in the acidic region of pH 2-4. Although there is no restriction | limiting in particular in adjustment of pH, The case where pH is adjusted with lactic acid, a citric acid, and an acetic acid is common.

Nursing care foods can be easily categorized as “Category 1” (hardness upper limit 5 × 10 ⁵ N / m ² ) to “Category 4” (hardness upper limit 5 × 10 ³ N / m ² ) Hardness upper limit 3 × 10 ³ N / m ² ) and thickening adjustment are classified into 5 categories (Non-patent Document 2). The concentration of the low molecular weight-treated galactomannan gel / sol varies depending on each target food to be added, but it can be applied to each category by adjusting the addition concentration. Hardness is measured in accordance with the “Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare Special Use Foods Test Method for Elderly Foods”.

Japan Nursing Food Council: Universal Design Food Voluntary Standard

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to examples. As galactomannan, locust bean gum (LBG) is used, and low molecular weight-treated locust bean gum (SCLBG) obtained by subjecting to low molecular weight treatment by microbial fermentation is used. The present invention is not limited to these examples.

S.C.LBG (30 mg / mL) and xanthan gum (15.0 mg / mL) or κ-carrageenan (7.5 mg / mL) or agar (10 mg / mL) were dissolved by heating and pH adjustment (pH 4. 0) A disk was formed and cooled to prepare a gel disk. The resulting gel disk was measured for breaking strength with a rheometer. The same operation was performed using LBG (10 mg / mL) as a control. Despite the high concentration of S.C.LBG, the obtained gel was soft and had the property of being easily disintegrated at a low load. The results are shown in FIG.

S.C.LBG (5.0 mg / mL) and carrageenan (10.0 mg / mL) were each adjusted to pH 2.5 with citric acid, dissolved by heating, and the same operation as in Example 1 was performed. Then, the breaking strength of the obtained gel was measured. The same operation was performed using LBG (5.0 mg / mL) as a control. S. C. LBG and carrageenan formed a gel by interaction, but no gel formation was observed with the combination of LBG and carrageenan. Each of the obtained gels was frozen at −20 ° C. and then thawed at room temperature. As a result of comparing the amount of water separation on the gel surface, the S.C.LBG gel had a water separation amount of 1 compared to the LBG gel. / 3 or less. The results are shown in FIG.

After adding to the well-melted whole egg so that it might become 0.5 mg / mL of final concentration S.C.LBG, the breaking strength of the obtained steamed egg was measured after cooking with a steamer for 10 minutes. The same operation was performed using sucrose (200 mg / mL) and LBG (0.5 mg / mL) as controls. The breaking strength of the steamed egg to which S.C.LBG was added was about half that of the steamed egg to which LBG was added. At this time, the steamed egg to which S.C.LBG was added was in the middle of “Category 3” and “Category 4” of the universal design food product standard, and was suitable as a nursing food. The results are shown in FIG.

Water is added to 40 g of ground corn, 2.5 g of super white sugar, 25 g of milk, 2.0 g of fresh cream, 1.0 g of salad oil, 0.5 g of onion powder, 0.5 g of seasoning, 0.3 g of salt, and 0.01 g of white pepper. S.C.LBG and carrageenan were added to a solid content of 16.5% as appropriate so that the final concentration was 4.0 mg / mL, respectively, and then heated to prepare corn soup. The finished corn soup was given a moderate viscosity to assist swallowing, had no inherent stickiness of gel, and had a natural texture.

Fructose glucose liquid sugar 3.0 g, powdered fermented milk 0.2 g, calcium lactate 0.34 g, vitamin C 0.05 g, citric acid 0.4 g, and 100 mL of water added to a final concentration of 3.0 mg / mL respectively. After adding S.C.LBG and carrageenan, add 0.2g of fragrance after warming and dissolving, cool and solidify, adjust the milky drink jelly, fill the tea pack with the Chua Pack jelly, did. The finished Chupac pack jelly was pH 4 but gelled, easily disintegrated in the mouth, and had a good texture with no aftertaste.

The low molecular weight-treated galactomannan of the present invention is a gel / sol that has a unique gel-solation function that is expressed even in the acidic region, and that the gel and / or sol is greatly transformed into useful moisture retention and / or food. It is possible to develop foods that meet the diversification of consumer tastes by using these functions to give foods a texture that could not be expressed in the past. Become. On the other hand, it will contribute to improving the quality of life of elderly people by being used in the field of nursing foods that have been limited in variation.

The figure which showed the breaking strength of the gel formed with low molecular weight processing galactomannan and various thickening stabilizers Diagram showing the breaking strength of gel formed with low molecular weight treated galactomannan and carrageenan The figure which showed the breaking strength of the steamed egg containing the low molecular weight processing galactomannan

Claims (6)

A molecular weight of 5 to 310 kDa, β-1 obtained by subjecting at least one or two or more selected from galactomannan groups having different origins to a raw material in a pH 2 to 4 acidic region and subjecting it to a low molecular weight treatment. , 4-linked D-mannose unit main chain and α-1,6-linked D-galactose unit side chain, the composition ratio of D-mannose and D-galactose being 2.5: 1 to 15: 1 A gel and / or sol formed by containing a low molecular weight-treated galactomannan which is A molecular weight of 5 to 310 kDa, β-1 obtained by subjecting at least one or two or more selected from galactomannan groups having different origins to a raw material in a pH 2 to 4 acidic region and subjecting it to a low molecular weight treatment. , 4-linked D-mannose unit main chain and α-1,6-linked D-galactose unit side chain, the composition ratio of D-mannose and D-galactose being 2.5: 1 to 15: 1 A gel and / or sol formed in such a manner that the total concentration of the low molecular weight-treated galactomannan and the other thickening stabilizer is 0.5% or more. 3. The gel according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the gel and / or the disintegration is less than 5 × 10 ⁵ N / m ² compared to the case of using galactomannan before the molecular weight reduction treatment. Or sol. A jelly comprising the gel and / or sol according to claim 1. A nursing food comprising the gel and / or sol according to claim 1. The molecular weight obtained by subjecting foods and / or food materials in the acidic region of pH 2 to 4 to at least one or more selected from galactomannan groups of different origins and subjecting them to low molecular weight treatment It has a main chain of 5-310 kDa, β-1,4-linked D-mannose units and a side chain of α-1,6-linked D-galactose units, and the constituent ratio of D-mannose and D-galactose is 2. A method of imparting thickening, high water retention and disintegration due to low load by containing 0.001 to 10% of a low molecular weight-treated galactomannan that is 5: 1 to 15: 1.

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