JP2013039079A - Method for dissolving stevia extract - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for ameliorating dissolubility of a stevia extract having high content ratio of slightly soluble rebaudioside-A and improving stability of a solution when dissolving the stevia extract in an aqueous solvent such as water to prepare the solution.SOLUTION: The method for dissolving a stevia extract containing 90 wt.% or more of rebaudioside-A having 5.0 g/100 g or less of solubility to water includes mixing a soluble polysaccharide to the stevia extract so that a dry weight ratio of the stevia extract to the soluble polysaccharide is 100:5-0.4:99.6, and dissolving the obtained mixture to dissolve in the aqueous solvent.

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for dissolving a stevia extract containing 90% by weight or more of hardly soluble Rebaudioside-A.

Stevia extract is an extract of Stevia (Asteraceae plant. Scientific name: Stevia rebaudiana BERTONI), usually an extract of Stevia leaves. Because it contains, it is also called a stevia sweetener.
As a sweetening component of stevia extract, including Stevioside, which is a main component, Rebaudioside-A, Rubusoside, Dulcoside-A, Stevioside, Rebaudioside-C, Rebaudioside-B, Rebaudioside-D, Rebaudioside-D, Rebaudioside-D, Steboside-D It has been known.
The sweetness of stevia extract is 200 to 300 times that of sucrose. Thus, the amount of stevia extract used to obtain the same sweetness as sucrose may be very small compared to sucrose, so it is used substantially as a non-caloric sweetener. Stevia extract is a natural sweetener, so it is also used in the food industry and has a lot of food experience (Patent Document 1).
As stevia extract, stevia extract having a high content ratio of stevioside (normal extract) and stevia extract having a high content ratio of Rebaudioside-A (adjusted product) are known. The sweetness of stevia extract with a high content ratio of stevioside is relatively similar to sugar, but has the disadvantage that off-flavors such as bitterness remain in the aftertaste. On the other hand, a stevia extract with a high content ratio of Rebaudioside-A exhibits a good quality sweetness with less off-taste. That is, the stevia extract sweetness component with a high content ratio of Rebaudioside-A is highly purified.

In general, stevia extract containing 90% by weight or more of Rebaudioside-A is produced by extraction, purification, drying, re-dissolution, recrystallization, and drying procedures from plant bodies, but it contains Rebaudioside-A. Stevia extract, which has a high ratio, has low solubility in aqueous solvents, so it is necessary to evaporate a large amount of water during the manufacturing process, greatly reducing production efficiency and filtering to remove foreign substances from the solution. Work in is greatly increased. For this reason, the method of melt | dissolving the stevia extract containing 90 weight% or more of Rebaudioside-A in high concentration was calculated | required. As another problem, sweeteners such as foods and drinks are generally sweeteners maintained at a constant concentration, but stevia extract with a high content ratio of Rebaudioside-A is highly soluble. Although it is low, it is easy to recrystallize, and thus there is a problem that it is difficult to maintain a constant concentration in food and drink.
In order to solve these problems, a method for improving the solubility by using a cyclodextrin complex of stevia extract containing Rebaudioside-A has been disclosed (Patent Document 2).

JP 2000-236842 A Special table 2010-527609

However, the method disclosed in Patent Document 2 has a problem that workability is lowered because many steps are required.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to improve the solubility of stevia extract having a high content ratio of Rebaudioside-A, which is hardly soluble, and when the stevia extract is dissolved in an aqueous solvent such as water to form a solution, An object is to provide means for improving the stability of the solution.

The present invention provides the following [1] to [2].
[1] A method for dissolving a stevia extract containing 90% by weight or more of Rebaudioside-A having a solubility in water of 5.0 g / 100 g or less, wherein the water-soluble polysaccharide is added to the stevia extract in a dry weight ratio. Is mixed with Stevia extract: water-soluble polysaccharide = 100: 5 to 0.4: 99.6, and the resulting mixture is dissolved in an aqueous solvent.
[2] A solid matter with improved solubility obtained by drying the aqueous solution obtained in claim 1.

  According to the present invention, when improving the solubility of a stevia extract containing 90% by weight or more of Rebaudioside-A, which is hardly soluble, and dissolving the stevia extract in an aqueous solvent such as water, The stability of the solution can be improved.

  The present invention is a method for dissolving a stevia extract containing 90% by weight or more of Rebaudioside-A having a solubility in water of 5.0 g / 100 g or less (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a hardly soluble stevia extract), The water-soluble polysaccharide is mixed with the stevia extract so that the dry weight ratio of the stevia extract: the water-soluble polysaccharide = 100: 5 to 0.4: 99.6, and the resulting mixture is mixed with an aqueous solvent. The present invention relates to a method for dissolving a stevia extract characterized by being dissolved in

  In the present invention, the stevia extract means an extract of a stevia plant. The standard of stevia extract in the 73rd JECFA (FAO / WHO Joint Food Additives Expert Committee) is: And Rebaudioside-A in a total content of 95% by weight or more. This standard was internationally recognized by the 73rd JECFA (FAO / WHO Joint Food Additives Expert Committee). In the present invention, a stevia extract that conforms to the JECFA standard is preferably used. However, any stevia extract that contains 90% by weight or more of Rebaudioside-A is not a stevia extract that conforms to the JECFA standard. May be used. Further, instead of a stevia extract containing 90% by weight or more of Rebaudioside-A, a chemically synthesized product having the same composition as this may be used.

  The stevia extract containing 90% by weight or more of Rebaudioside-A may be extracted from the whole or a part of Stevia plant, which is a asteraceae plant, usually from a leaf portion, and the extraction conditions are not limited. An example of the manufacturing method is as follows. Extract from Stevia leaves, for example, dried leaves, with an extraction solvent (for example, water or a water-containing organic solvent (water-containing alcohol (such as methanol, ethanol, polyhydric alcohol), water-containing acetone)). The extract is used as it is or after being concentrated, if necessary, using an adsorbent such as cation exchange resin, anion exchange resin, activated carbon, etc. And the sweetening component is adsorbed on the adsorbent. The sweetened component is eluted from the adsorbent with a hydrophilic solvent to obtain a concentrated solution obtained by concentrating the eluent. Further, the concentrated solution is dried to obtain a dried product. This dried product is used as a stevia extract.

  When the stevia extract obtained in this way contains 90% by weight or more of Rebaudioside-A, it can be used as it is in the present invention. On the other hand, in order to adjust the content of Rebaudioside-A in the obtained stevia extract to 90% by weight or more, conventional means such as membrane separation, alcohol extraction (eg, extraction using methanol), crystallization and the like are appropriately applied. May be. These operations may be combined with stirring and heating (for example, about 30 to 70 ° C.) as necessary. In crystallization, an organic solvent (ethanol, methanol, etc.) or a solution obtained by adding water to the organic solvent can be appropriately used as a crystallization solvent.

  In the present invention, the stevia extract containing 90% by weight or more of Rebaudioside-A may be one kind or a combination of two or more kinds. Examples of combinations of two or more types include combinations of two or more types of stevia extracts that differ in extraction conditions, content of Rebaudioside-A, content of sweetening components other than Rebaudioside-A, and the like.

  In general, stevia extract containing 90% by weight or more of Rebaudioside-A is produced by extraction, purification, drying, re-dissolution, recrystallization, and drying procedures from plant bodies, but it contains Rebaudioside-A. As the amount increases, the solubility in water decreases. For this reason, in producing a stevia extract containing 90% by weight or more of Rebaudioside-A, it is necessary to evaporate a large amount of water, greatly reducing the production efficiency, and in filtration for removing foreign substances from the solution. Work is greatly increased.

  In addition, the solubility in water of stevia extract containing 90% by weight or more of Rebaudioside-A varies depending on the particle size, shape, crystallinity, etc., and in the manufacturing process such as extraction, purification, drying, re-dissolution, etc. Stevia extract containing 90% by weight or more of Rebaudioside-A having a high solubility of is selectively extracted. As a result, a stevia extract containing 90% by weight or more of Rebaudioside-A having low solubility in water is generally used by mixing with a stevia extract having a low content of Rebaudioside-A. For this reason, a stevia extract containing 90% by weight or more of Rebaudioside-A that is commercially available has a high solubility in water. In addition, the solubility in water of the stevia extract containing 90 weight% or more of Rebaudioside-A with low solubility is about 1 to 5 g / 100 g.

  In the present invention, the water-soluble polysaccharide means a water-soluble polysaccharide (a sugar formed by binding a large number (for example, 10 or more) monosaccharides). The water-soluble polysaccharide may be a natural product or a synthetic product. One type of water-soluble polysaccharide may be sufficient and the combination of two or more types may be sufficient.

  The water-soluble polysaccharide is preferably a water-soluble polysaccharide that can be used as a food or food additive. Examples of the water-soluble polysaccharide include pectin, guar gum, gum arabic, methyl cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose, pullulan, dextran, starch, amylose, amylopectin, dextrin, cyclodextrin and the like. Among these, it is preferable to include a water-soluble polysaccharide formed by binding glucose as a monosaccharide. Specifically, by including at least one selected from the group consisting of starch, amylose, amylopectin and dextrin, the solubility of stevia extract containing 90% by weight or more of Rebaudioside-A is more remarkably improved. Is preferable. More preferably, the water-soluble polysaccharide contains dextrin. As a result, the stevia composition exhibits less sweetness and better sweetness.

  In the present invention, the dry weight ratio in the mixture of the hardly soluble stevia extract and the water-soluble polysaccharide needs to be hardly soluble stevia extract: water-soluble polysaccharide = 100: 5 to 0.4: 99.6. The flame retardant stevia extract: water-soluble polysaccharide is preferably 100: 10 to 100: 30. Thereby, the solubility of a hardly soluble stevia extract can be improved.

  The flame retardant stevia extract and water-soluble polysaccharide mixture (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “stevia mixture”) of the present invention may further contain other components within the scope of the object of the present invention. Good. Examples of such components include known additives. Examples of known additives include sweeteners (eg, sugar alcohol, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, aspartame, etc.) other than the stevia composition of the present invention.

  In the present invention, as a method for dissolving the mixture of the flame retardant stevia extract and the water-soluble polysaccharide, the dry weight ratio is flame retardant stevia extract: water-soluble polysaccharide = 100: 5 to 0.4: 99.6. What is necessary is just to mix so that it may become, and other conditions are not specifically limited. In mixing, the flame retardant stevia extract and the water-soluble polysaccharide may be mixed as they are, but the flame retardant stevia extract solution (solution in an aqueous solvent, usually an aqueous solution) and A solution of a water-soluble polysaccharide (solution in an aqueous solvent, usually an aqueous solution) may be mixed. In mixing, stirring may be added as necessary.

  The stevia mixture of the present invention has excellent solubility and excellent dissolution stability. Moreover, the solid substance which improved the solubility obtained by drying the aqueous solution of a stevia mixture also has the outstanding solubility, and is excellent in dissolution stability. Furthermore, since the aqueous solution of a stevia mixture and the solid substance which dried the aqueous solution exhibit good quality sweetness, it can be utilized as one component of food / beverage products, such as a sweetener, and can be utilized as a food / beverage product additive. Although there is no restriction | limiting in particular in the kind of food / beverage products, since the effect of this invention is exhibited if it is food / beverage products containing water (for example, juice, carbonated drinks, coffee drinks, tea drinks, milk drinks, alcoholic drinks). ,preferable. Although there is no restriction | limiting in particular in the kind of food-drinks additive, For example, a sweetener is mentioned.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the solubility of stevia residue in an aqueous solvent and prevent recrystallization. In other words, a stevia extract containing 90% by weight or more of Rebaudioside-A that is hardly soluble in an aqueous solvent can be stably dissolved in an aqueous solvent at a concentration that cannot be dissolved alone.

Specific examples are shown below, but the present invention is not limited thereto.
In the following examples, the qualitative test of stevia conducted in accordance with the Food Additives Official Law 8th edition means the following test.

Weigh 0.06 to 0.12 g of the sample accurately, dissolve in acetonitrile / water mixture (4: 1) to make exactly 100 ml, and use this as the test solution. Separately, Stevioside for quantification is dried, and about 0.05 g thereof is accurately weighed and dissolved in an acetonitrile / water mixture (4: 1) to make exactly 100 ml, which is used as a standard solution. Measure 10 μl each of the test solution and standard solution, and perform liquid chromatography under the following operating conditions. Stevioside peak area A _a of the test solution, Dulcoside-A of the peak area A _b, Rebaudioside-C of the peak area A _d, Rebaudioside-A of the peak area A _c, and respectively measure the peak area A _s of Stevioside the standard solution To do. The content of each steviol glycoside is determined by the following formula.
(Steviol glycoside content Stevioside content (% by weight) = (Stevioside sample for quantification (mg) / Dry sampled sample (mg)) × (A _a / A _s ) × 100
Dulcoside-A content (% by weight) = (collection amount of stevioside for determination (mg) / sample collection amount in terms of dry matter (mg)) × (A _b × 0.98 / A _s ) × 100
Rebaudioside-A content (% by weight) = (collection amount of stevioside for quantification (mg) / sample collection amount in terms of dry matter (mg)) × (A _c × 1.20 / A _s ) × 100
Rebaudioside-C content (% by weight) = (collection amount of stevioside for quantification (mg) / sample collection amount in terms of dry matter (mg)) × (A _d × 1.88 / A _s ) × 100
Total content of steviol glycosides (% by weight) = Stevioside content (% by weight) + Dulcoside-A content (% by weight) + Rebaudioside-A content (% by weight) + Rebaudioside-C content (% by weight)
(Operating conditions)
Detector Ultraviolet absorptiometer (measurement wavelength 210nm)
Column packing 5 μm amino group-bonded silica gel for liquid chromatography Column tube Stainless steel tube with inner diameter of 4.6 mm and length of 15 cm Column temperature 40 ° C.
Mobile phase Acetonitrile / water mixture (4: 1)

[Experiment 1]
A Stevia extract (hereinafter referred to as Stevia sweetener 1) having a Rebaudioside-A content of 91% by weight and a total content of 4 components of Stevia (Stevioside, Dulcoside-A, Rebaudioside-C, Rebaudioside-A) of 95% by weight. ) Was investigated. Stevia sweetener 1 was prepared as follows.

<Stevia sweetener 1>
9 parts of methanol was added to 1 part of a commercially available stevia extract (Morita Chemical Industry, Rebaudio P9) containing abundant Rebaudioside-A, B and C, and suspended by stirring. The mixture was heated from room temperature to 55 ° C. while continuing to stir, and then cooled to room temperature by stirring and cooling. Thereafter, stirring was continued for 12 hours or more to obtain a suspension. The suspension was filtered and dried, and the obtained crystals were pulverized to obtain Stevia sweetener 1 powder. The solubility of Stevia sweetener 1 in water was 4 g / 100 g.

[Example 1]
After mixing 4.5 g of Stevia sweetener 1 in 50 ml of water at 25 ° C., a 50 ml solution in which 0.5 g of dextrin was dissolved was added and stirred. As a result, it was dissolved in 30 minutes or less. Moreover, as a result of leaving the solution of the obtained stevia sweetener 1 at 4 degreeC for 12 hours, the undissolved substance did not generate | occur | produce.

[Example 2]
Stevia sweetener 1 32g at 25 ° C
After mixing in 50 ml of water, a 50 ml solution in which 8 g of dextrin was dissolved was added and stirred, and dissolved in 1 hour. Moreover, as a result of leaving the solution of the obtained stevia sweetener 1 at 4 degreeC for 12 hours, the undissolved substance did not generate | occur | produce.

[Experiment 2]
The solubility of Stevia sweetener 2 with Rebaudioside-A content 97% was investigated. The total content of Stevia 4 components (Stevioside, Dulcoside-A, Rebaudioside-C, Rebaudioside-A) in Stevia sweetener 2 was 98% by weight. Stevia sweetener 2 was prepared as follows.

<Stevia sweetener 2>
9 parts of methanol was added to 1 part of a commercially available stevia extract (Morita Chemical Industry, Rebaudio P9) containing abundant Rebaudioside-A, B and C, and suspended by stirring. The mixture was heated from room temperature to 55 ° C. while continuing to stir, and then cooled to room temperature by stirring and cooling. Thereafter, stirring was continued for 12 hours or more to obtain a suspension. This suspension was filtered and dried, and the obtained crystals were pulverized to obtain Stevia sweetener 2 powder.
The solubility of Stevia sweetener 2 in water was 4 g / 100 g.

[Example 3]
After mixing 4.5 g of Stevia sweetener 2 in 50 ml of water at 25 ° C., a 50 ml solution in which 0.5 g of dextrin was dissolved was added and stirred. As a result, it was dissolved in 30 minutes or less. Moreover, as a result of leaving the solution of the obtained stevia sweetener 2 at 4 degreeC for 12 hours, the undissolved substance did not generate | occur | produce.

[Example 4]
After mixing 32 g of Stevia sweetener 2 in 50 ml of water at 25 ° C., a 50 ml solution in which 8 g of dextrin was dissolved was added and stirred, and dissolved in 1 hour. Moreover, as a result of leaving the solution of the obtained stevia residue 1 at 4 degreeC for 12 hours, the undissolved substance did not generate | occur | produce.

[Example 5]
After mixing 4.5 g of Stevia sweetener 2 in 50 ml of water at 25 ° C., a 50 ml solution in which 0.5 g of amylose was dissolved was added and stirred. As a result, it was dissolved in 30 minutes or less. Moreover, as a result of leaving the solution of the obtained stevia sweetener 2 at 4 degreeC for 12 hours, the undissolved substance did not generate | occur | produce.

[Example 6]
After mixing 32 g of Stevia sweetener 2 in 50 ml of water at 25 ° C., a 50 ml solution in which 8 g of amylose was dissolved was added and stirred, and dissolved in 1 hour. Moreover, as a result of leaving the solution of the obtained stevia residue 1 at 4 degreeC for 12 hours, the undissolved substance did not generate | occur | produce.

Claims (2)

  A method for dissolving a stevia extract containing 90% by weight or more of Rebaudioside-A having a solubility in water of 5.0 g / 100 g or less, wherein the water-soluble polysaccharide is added to the stevia extract in a dry weight ratio of the stevia extract. Extract: A method for dissolving a stevia extract, wherein the water-soluble polysaccharide is mixed so as to be 100: 5 to 0.4: 99.6, and the resulting mixture is dissolved in an aqueous solvent.   The solid substance which improved the solubility obtained by drying the aqueous solution obtained in Claim 1.