JP2012165668A - Ume (japanese apricot) extract - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a plum extract with suppressed agglutination and sufficiently containing the original aroma of plum fruit.
The plum fruit is frozen, sugar extracted, and optionally an alcoholic extract of plum.
[Selection figure] None

Description

  TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a plum extract having a small amount of sprout, and particularly to a plum extract having a small amount of sprout and a large amount of aromatic components.

  Methods for producing plum extract from plum fruit are widely known. Such methods include a method of concentrating plum juice obtained by pressing plum fruit, a method of extracting by osmotic pressure of sugar, a method of extracting by sugar and alcohol, and the like.

  According to Patent Document 1, in the method of extraction by osmotic pressure of sugar, conventionally, the concentration of sugar solution decreases with the progress of extraction, the acid content is low, and the extraction period is relatively long. There were drawbacks such as the inability to prevent the growth of. In order to solve this problem, in Patent Document 1, after changing the pericarp tissue by storing plum fruit at a relatively high temperature, it is immersed in a high-concentration sugar solution to extract the extract from the pulp, and the extraction period Is shortened.

  Patent Document 2 describes a method for producing a plum extract in which the amount of sugar added is such that the Brix degree in the plum extract product is 50 or more in order to prevent the fermentation of the plum extract by microorganisms. Yes. In this method, the extraction was heated so that the product temperature in the container was 30 to 40 ° C. after being charged, maintained for 1 to 5 days, rapidly heated to 50 to 60 ° C., and then rapidly cooled to room temperature. Thereafter, it is carried out by maintaining at room temperature for 1 to 7 days.

  Patent Document 3 describes a method of freezing plum fruit and extracting the plum extract by heating the frozen plum fruit.

JP 58-149665 A JP 58-56624 A JP-A-6-153848

In the above method, the plum extract was extracted by heating or crushing the plum fruit, and thus the extract obtained contained fruit skin and seed-derived agumi.
Moreover, the plum juice and plum extract currently used conventionally did not fully contain the original fragrance of plum fruit.

  This invention makes it a subject to provide the plum extract which eliminated these problems.

The present invention relates to the following.
1. A plum extract with reduced agumi obtained by a method comprising freezing a plum fruit to obtain a frozen plum fruit and immersing the frozen plum fruit in a sugar solution to obtain a sugar extract.
2. The plum extract according to 1, wherein the ratio of the amount of the polymerized polyphenol contained to the acidity of the extract is reduced.
3. Furthermore, the plum extract of 1 or 2 containing the alcohol extract obtained by alcohol-extracting a plum fruit.
4). The plum extract of any one of 1-3 whose content of (gamma) -decalactone exceeds 10 ppb.
5. 5. The plum extract according to 4, wherein the content of γ-decalactone is 100 ppb or more.
6). The plum extract according to any one of 1 to 5, wherein the content of γ-dodecalactone exceeds 0.1 ppb.

By this invention, the content level of the polymerization polyphenol which is an acrid component in a plum extract is restrained low.
Moreover, the plum extract which fully contains the original fragrance of a plum fruit is obtained by mixing the alcohol extract obtained by alcohol-extracting a plum fruit with an extract.

FIG. 1 shows the analysis result of the polymerized polyphenol in the plum extract of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows the analysis results of polymerized polyphenols in commercially available plum juice.

(Egumi)
The sea urchin that is a problem in the present invention is considered to be caused by polymerized polyphenols extracted from the skin and seeds. In the plum extract of this invention, the density | concentration of this component is very low compared with another component.

(Polymerized polyphenol)
Polyphenol is a kind of plant-derived substance (phytochemical) and is a general term for compounds having two or more phenolic hydroxyl groups in one molecule. Polyphenols are roughly classified into non-polymerized polyphenols having a molecular weight of 1,000 or less and polymerized polyphenols in which two or more non-polymerized polyphenols are bonded. That is, the polymerized polyphenol in the present invention is a combination of two or more non-polymerized polyphenols. Polymerized polyphenols are also commonly referred to as tannins. Typical non-polymerized polyphenols include flavonoids (flavonoids include flavones, flavonols, flavanones, flavanolols, isoflavones, anthocyanins, flavanols, chalcones, and aurones as basic skeletons), chlorogenic acid, gallic acid And ellagic acid. On the other hand, polymerized polyphenols are compounds in which two or more non-polymerized polyphenols are bonded, and are broadly classified into condensed polyphenols polymerized by carbon-carbon bonds and hydrolyzable polyphenols polymerized by ester bonds. Examples of the condensed polyphenol include proanthocyanidins, and examples of the hydrolyzable polyphenol include gallotannin and ellagitannin. As a polyphenol monomer contained in ume, rioniresinol is known, and it is considered that a product obtained by polymerization of this is contained in ume.

  These polymerized polyphenols appear as peaks of the same elution time (reference elution time: 40 minutes) as theaflavin (manufactured by Kurita Research Center) in the analysis by HPLC under the following conditions.

(HPLC measurement conditions)
Column: TSK-gel ODS-80TsQA (4.6mmφx150mm, Tosoh Corporation)
-Mobile phase: A: Water: Trifluoroacetic acid = 1000: 0.5
B: Acetonitrile: trifluoroacetic acid = 1000: 0.5
・ Flow rate: 1.0ml / min
・ Column temperature: 40 ℃
・ Gradient condition;
Hold at A: B = 100: 0 until 5 minutes after the start of analysis,
A: B = 92.5: 7.5 in 5 to 10 minutes
A: B = 89.5: 10.5 in 10 to 20 minutes
Hold at A: B = 89.5: 10.5 from 20 to 32 minutes,
From 32 minutes to 45 minutes A: B = 73.7: 26.3,
From 45 to 46 minutes A: B = 25: 75,
Holds A: B = 25: 75 from 46 to 51 minutes,
From 51 to 52 minutes A: B = 100: 0,
Hold at A: B = 100: 0 from 52 minutes to 58 minutes ・ Injection volume: 5.0 μL
・ Detection wavelength: 280 nm, quantitative by peak area.
Reference material: Oolong homobisflavan B (abbreviation: OHBF-B)

  Therefore, the amount of polymerized polyphenol can be determined by creating a calibration curve using OHBF-B as a standard substance. The standard substance OHBF-B was synthesized according to, for example, the method described in Chem. Pharm. Bull 37 (12), 3255-3563 (1989) or the method of Example 3 of JP-A-2005-336117. Those (preferably purified to a purity of 98% or more), those isolated from tea leaves, and the like can be used.

  In the extract of the present invention, the content of the polymerized polyphenol is low as compared with other components. For example, the ratio of the amount of polymerized polyphenol contained in the extract to the acidity of the extract is low. Here, the acidity means the citric acid equivalent acidity, that is, the mass percent concentration of citric acid when all the contained acids are assumed to be citric acid. For example, 10 g of extract is mixed with 0.1 N sodium hydroxide. It can be used and titrated until pH = 8, and can be calculated from the titer.

(Aroma component)
The aromatic component in this specification means the aromatic component derived from plum. In the plum extract of the present invention, the content of γ-decalactone and γ-dodecalactone is particularly high. These impart a desirable fruity scent to the extract.

  The plum extract of the present invention preferably contains more than 10 ppb of γ-decalactone, more preferably 100 ppb or more, still more preferably 100 to 500 ppb, and even more preferably 400 to 500 ppb. Preferably, the γ-dodecalactone is contained in an amount of more than 0.1 ppb, more preferably 2 to 7 ppb. These contents are expressed on a weight basis.

(Production method)
The production method of the plum extract of the present invention is not particularly limited. Typically, the plum fruit is frozen to obtain a frozen plum fruit, and the frozen plum fruit is immersed in a sugar solution to obtain a sugar extract. A plum extract is manufactured by the method including this.

Plum fruit The plum varieties of plum fruit used as a raw material in the present invention are not particularly limited. Spring, Purple Queen, Kinoku no Treasure, Minabe 21, NK14, Orange High, Purple Minami High, Yu Jack, Maezawa Koume, Kai Uchida, Yoshimura Koume, Shinshu Bungo, Takada Ume, Shinhei Tao, Tamari Hime, Midori Midori, Fukuo , Red dance, Hanakami, ancient castle, moon world, Umego. The ripeness of the fruit is not particularly limited, and may be immature ome or fully ripe.

Freezing plum fruit In this production method, it is important to freeze plum fruit. Without being bound by theory, it is believed that the ice crystals that form in the plum fruit during freezing puncture the skin and enable efficient extraction.

  Conditions such as the freezing temperature and time are not particularly limited, and may be appropriately determined depending on the capacity of the refrigeration equipment, the amount of ume used, and the like. The freezing temperature is typically 0 to -40 ° C. The freezing period is typically 3 months to 1 year. The freezing means is not particularly limited. Typically, a freezer is used.

Sugar extraction Sugar extraction of frozen plum fruit may be performed by a generally known method using a sugar solution.
The sugar contained in the sugar solution is not limited, and for example, sucrose, glucose, fructose and the like can be used alone or in combination. An isomerized sugar or invert sugar may be used as the sugar liquid or as a component of the sugar liquid.

  The conditions for extraction with a sugar solution are not particularly limited, but preferably the Brix of the sugar solution is maintained at 50 ° or more, preferably 55 ° or more, more preferably 60 ° or more during extraction. Thereby, it is possible to increase the extraction speed and perform extraction in a short period of time, and to prevent the growth of microorganisms. On the other hand, when the Brix of the sugar solution exceeds 67 °, the sugar is likely to be precipitated as crystals. Therefore, it is preferable that the Brix of the sugar solution does not exceed 67 °. The term “Brix” used in the present specification with respect to a sugar solution means the weight (g) of soluble solids per 100 g of solution, and usually refers to the value measured with a Brix meter, that is, the refractive index of the solution. Based on the value, the soluble solid weight (g) per 100 g of the solution is converted to the number of grams of sucrose contained in 100 g of the sugar solution.

  Further, in order to prevent the growth of microorganisms and the flavor deterioration of the extract, the extraction temperature and period are preferably 15 ° C. or less and one week. Moreover, if it is this condition, it will be thought that extraction of components, such as superposition | polymerization polyphenol causing cabbage, is suppressed especially well.

Additionally, the sugar solution may be circulated during extraction. Thereby, improvement of extraction efficiency is expected.
What is necessary is just to adjust the ratio of a sugar liquid and a fruit suitably, considering the various factors at the time of manufacture. For example, if an excessive amount of plum fruit is used, the Brix of the sugar solution may be rapidly reduced. Also, an excessive amount of plum fruit may cause clogging of piping when the sugar solution is extracted from the extraction container and circulated in the upper part. In order to prevent these, the amount of plum fruit used may be reduced. On the other hand, when there are too few plum fruits, plum fruits float on the liquid surface and the risk of microbial growth arises. In order to prevent this, the amount of plum fruit should be increased.

  After an appropriate soaking period, the excessive extraction of components such as polymerized polyphenols is prevented by removing the plum fruit from the sugar solution. The removing means of plum fruit is not limited, and a known method such as vibrating sieve or filtration may be used.

(Alcohol extraction and addition of extract)
In the present invention, an alcohol extract obtained by alcohol extraction of plum fruit can be blended with the plum extract. This extract is rich in aroma components of plum fruits such as γ-decalactone and γ-dodecalactone.

  The plum fruit to be used is not particularly limited, and any plum fruit described above in the item of “plum fruit” may be used. However, the plum fruit obtained after performing the above-mentioned sugar extraction is used suitably. This is because the surface area of the ume fruit is increased (many wrinkles are formed on the fruit surface) and is softened, so that extraction can be performed efficiently.

  The alcohol used for alcohol extraction is ethanol or an aqueous solution thereof. When an aqueous ethanol solution is used, the extraction efficiency of the aroma component increases as the ethanol concentration increases. Also, the extraction efficiency increases as the extraction temperature increases. On the other hand, when the extraction time is long, undesired components such as an acrid component may be extracted. Moreover, when there is too much quantity of extraction alcohol, concentration may be needed in order to raise the density | concentration of an aromatic component. Taking these into account, the extraction conditions can be set as appropriate. Typically, the ethanol concentration is 40% to 80%, more preferably 50% to 70%, and even more preferably 60%. Moreover, typical extraction temperature is normal temperature (around 25 degreeC), and typical extraction time is about 24 hours.

After extraction, the plum fruit is removed by a known method such as vibrating sieve or filtration, and concentrated if necessary. The obtained extract is blended with a plum extract to give an aroma component of plum fruit.
In addition, the alcohol extract contains the aroma component of plum fruit in a well-balanced manner, and is more preferable than simply using a fragrance containing an aroma component of plum, for example, γ-decalactone and / or γ-dodecalactone. Therefore, the plum extract of the present invention preferably does not contain a fragrance containing γ-decalactone and / or γ-dodecalactone other than the alcohol extract.

Additional process When producing the plum extract, an additional process may be performed as long as the effects of the invention are not adversely affected. For example, after adding an alcohol extract to the extract, solids can be removed by filtration, centrifugation, or the like. However, heating the plum fruit or crushing the plum fruit before extraction should not be performed. This is because there is a high possibility that the content level of the polymerized polyphenol, which is an acrid component, cannot be kept low. In addition, when thawing frozen plum fruits, the elution of the sweet taste components can be kept low and the growth of microorganisms can be prevented by making the juice components not leak out.

(Other ingredients)
An additional component may be added to the plum extract of the present invention as long as the effect is not adversely affected. Such components are, for example, antioxidants, inorganic acids, inorganic acid salts, inorganic salts, pigments, preservatives, seasonings, sweeteners, acidulants, pH adjusters, quality stabilizers.

(Apply)
The plum extract obtained by the present invention has a very good flavor and can be used for food and drink as it is, and can also be used as a beverage base for drinking after dilution. Moreover, the beverage obtained by dilution also has no taste and has a very good flavor.

(container)
The plum extract of the present invention can be provided in a container. Examples of the container include ordinary items such as glass bottles, PET bottles, and metal cans.

Example 1 Production of plum extract and analysis of polymerized polyphenol content (extraction with sugar solution)
The production of the plum extract according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to preferred examples.

  First, 5,600 kg of ume fruits stored frozen at -20 ° C. or lower were shower-washed to remove foreign matters such as sand attached to the ume fruits surface. Subsequently, non-standard plums and foreign matters were removed visually. Separately, 3000 kg of granulated sugar and 1400 kg of warm water were charged into a tank (12000 L), and Brix was confirmed after stirring and dissolving. The Brix in this case was about 67 °.

  The plums that had been washed and sorted were put into a tank by a conveyor, and the temperature was adjusted so that the temperature was 10 to 15 ° C. The syrup at the bottom of the tank was circulated to the top through a pipe at a circulation flow rate of 1 t / hour so that the plum extract was uniformly extracted. In order to prevent the Brix from decreasing due to the ume extract leaching, the Brix of the syrup solution was measured the next day, and the amount of sugar necessary to reach Brix 50 ° or more at the end of extraction was prepared. The reflux syrup was drawn into a separately installed syrup adjustment tank, and the prepared sugar was added and stirred and dissolved. The dissolved sugar solution was returned to the charging tank, and it was confirmed that the target Brix was reached.

  One week later, when the change in acidity extracted from plums stopped, the extraction of plum extract was finished, and plum fruits and syrup were separated by an 80-mesh vibrating sieve. At that time, 200 L of warm water was sprayed onto the plums with a spray ball, and the syrup adhered to the surface of the plums was sent out. The obtained syrup was stored at 10 ° C. or lower after removing pulp components with a 50 μm filter.

(Aroma extract extraction)
In order to extract aroma components from about 3300 kg of plum fruit remaining in the above operation, 460 L of ethyl alcohol water adjusted to 60% was added, and extraction was performed at 15 to 20 ° C. for 24 hours. After extraction, the ume fruit and the extract were separated by an 80-mesh vibrating sieve. The pulp component was removed from the obtained extract with a 50 μm filter.

(Plum extract)
The plum syrup obtained by the said process and the aroma extract were mixed and it was set as the plum extract of this invention. After removing pulp components by diatomaceous earth filtration, heat sterilization was performed at 95 ° C. for 30 seconds, and the mixture was rapidly cooled to 30 ° C. After removing foreign matter with a 100 mesh line strainer, it was filled in a freezing bag and stored in a steel drum.

The obtained plum extract had a Brix, acidity, and pH of 50, 1.3, and 2.7.
(Comparative example)
Commercially available plum juice (concentrated 10 times) was used. This is obtained by concentrating the ume harvested by a general method after steam heating and pressing. The obtained plum extract had Brix, acidity, and pH of 65, 36, and 1.9.

(Analysis of polymerized polyphenols)
The plum extract and the plum juice of the comparative example were filtered through a membrane filter (Cellulose Acetate 0.45 μm manufactured by ADVANTEC), and injected into HPLC for quantification. The measurement conditions are as follows.

(HPLC measurement conditions)
Column: TSK-gel ODS-80TsQA (4.6mmφx150mm, Tosoh Corporation)
-Mobile phase: A: Water: Trifluoroacetic acid = 1000: 0.5
B: Acetonitrile: trifluoroacetic acid = 1000: 0.5
・ Flow rate: 1.0ml / min
・ Column temperature: 40 ℃
・ Gradient condition;
Hold at A: B = 100: 0 until 5 minutes after the start of analysis,
A: B = 92.5: 7.5 in 5 to 10 minutes
A: B = 89.5: 10.5 in 10 to 20 minutes
Hold at A: B = 89.5: 10.5 from 20 to 32 minutes,
From 32 minutes to 45 minutes A: B = 73.7: 26.3,
From 45 to 46 minutes A: B = 25: 75,
Holds A: B = 25: 75 from 46 to 51 minutes,
From 51 to 52 minutes A: B = 100: 0,
Hold at A: B = 100: 0 from 52 minutes to 58 minutes ・ Injection volume: 5.0 μL
・ Detection wavelength: 280 nm, quantitative by peak area.

  The results are shown in FIG. 1 (present invention) and FIG. 2 (comparative example). As shown in these figures, it has been clarified that the content of the polymerized polyphenol in the plum extract of the present invention is extremely small. In the figure, the peak of the polymerized polyphenol appears in a portion having a retention time of about 40 to 50 minutes surrounded by a thick frame.

In the plum extract of the present invention, practically no egumi was felt.
Example 2 Analysis of aroma components Plum extract of the present invention obtained in Example 1 (Example 1) and another extract of the present invention in which frozen plums are sugar-immersed at room temperature (sugar solution circulation process and aroma extract) The fragrance component was measured with respect to (without addition of).

  SBSE (Stir Bar Sorptive Extraction) method was used for the measurement, and analysis was performed by stirring adsorption with a Twister (Stir Bar coated with polydimethylsiloxane; manufactured by GERSTEL). The analysis conditions are as follows.

(Analysis sample preparation)
Sample weight (weighed): 10 g
Adsorption temperature: 25 ° C (room temperature)
Adsorption time: 30 minutes (Analytical equipment and conditions)
TDS condition (Thermo Desorption System)
DesorptionTemp. 20 ℃ (0.5min) to 200 ℃ (60 ℃ / min, 4.5min hold)
Splitless
Instrument GERSTEL TDS2
GC-MS condition
Column Inert Cap WAX-HT (60m × 0.25mm ID, Film 0.25μm)
Column Temp. 70 ℃ (5min) to 260 ℃ (3 ℃ / min)
Injection Temp.-150 ℃ ~ 240 ℃ (12 ℃ / sec, 5min hold)
Flow Rate 1.9mL / min
Splitless 1min
Instrument Agilent GC 6890, MSD 5973N
The results are shown in Table 1, and it was revealed that the present invention product (Example 1) to which the aroma extract was added was rich in γ-decalactone and γ-dodecalactone showing a fruity fragrance. .

The functional threshold in water is 1 to 11 ppb for γ-decalactone and 7 ppb for γ-dodecalactone.
The plum extract of Example 1 of the present invention was actually excellent in terms of fruity flavor.

Claims (6)

  A plum extract with reduced agumi obtained by a method comprising freezing a plum fruit to obtain a frozen plum fruit and immersing the frozen plum fruit in a sugar solution to obtain a sugar extract.   The plum extract of Claim 1 in which the ratio with respect to the acidity of the said extract of the quantity of the polymerization polyphenol contained is reduced.   Furthermore, the plum extract of Claim 1 or 2 containing the alcohol extract obtained by alcohol-extracting a plum fruit.   The plum extract of any one of Claims 1-3 whose content of (gamma) -decalactone exceeds 10 ppb.   The plum extract of Claim 4 whose content of (gamma) -decalactone is 100 ppb or more.   The plum extract of any one of Claims 1-5 whose content of (gamma) -dodecalactone exceeds 0.1 ppb.