A low net carbohydrate soft baked snack having a good texture, flavor, structure, and shelf stability is described. A soft baked snack includes a beneficial combination of fiber, sugar alcohol, including erythritol, and protein. Methods of making a soft baked snack are also described.

A composition comprising, as an active ingredient, a cell body of a fig-derived lactic acid bacterium belonging to Lactobacillus paracasei, a cultured or fermented product thereof, or a polysaccharide produced thereby is effective in improving, preventing or treating an inflammatory bowel disease and can be particularly used as a food or drink, a medicament or a feed for improving, preventing or treating ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease.

A method for making highly soluble Stevia sweetener compositions is described. The resulting sweetener compositions readily provide high concentration solutions, and also possess superior taste qualities. The compositions can be used as sweeteners, sweetness enhancers, and flavor enhancers in foods, beverages, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

A method for making highly soluble Stevia sweetener compositions is described. The resulting sweetener compositions readily provide high concentration solutions, and also possess superior taste qualities. The compositions can be used as sweeteners, sweetness enhancers, and flavor enhancers in foods, beverages, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

A ready-to-use emulsified food formulation containing a vegetable in a finely divided form, vegetable oil, water, and an oleaginous seed in a finely divided form and, present in an amount of between 0.1% and 15% by weight, is disclosed. The emulsified food formulation is free of thickeners, emulsifiers and stabilizers and is obtained by homogenization carried out at a pressure greater than or equal to 10000 kPa. The emulsified food formulation is characterized by having a modal diameter of the particles contained therein of greater than or equal to 300 μm and by containing a vegetable fiber in a finely divided form having a fiber content of greater than (70)% w/w and a water binding capacity of greater than 5 g water/g dry matter.

The present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition for preventing or treating hair loss, a health functional food composition or a cosmetic composition, including a specific compound or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof as an active ingredient, wherein the compound exhibits an excellent hair growth recovery effect in hair follicle tissues in which hair growth is inhibited without cytotoxicity, and thus hair loss can be more effectively prevented, improved, or treated.

A nutrient-germinant composition to aid in spore germination and a method for increased spore germination efficiency. The composition comprises L-amino acids, D-glucose and/or D-fructose, a phosphate buffer, an industrial preservative, and may include bacteria spores or they may be separately combined for germination. The method comprises providing a nutrient-germinant composition and bacteria spores, preferably of one or more Bacillus species, and heating to a preferred elevated temperature range of 41° C. to 44° C. for an incubation period of around 2 to 60 minutes. The nutrient-germinant composition is preferably in a concentrated liquid form that is diluted just prior to initiating the germination/incubation method at the point of use. The method may also include dispensing a germinated spore solution to a point-of-use/consumption, such as animal feed, water, or bedding, or a wastewater system or drain.

Legume plant-based proteins, especially pea protein, are used as a primary source for twin-screw extrusion to manufacture an intermediate moisture, texturized protein piece that can be further processed by controlled hydration and coated with a batter, breading, or coating to produce a comestible product. Protein is the predominate ingredient (70-95%) in the extruded piece. In the preferred embodiment, the protein is pea powder and flavor is provided by addition of yeast extract to impart beef, chicken, or pork flavor. Additional components in the form of hydrophilic polymers and alkalai are also added prior to extrusion to insure desired texture and handling properties. The hydrophilic polymers impart functional properties such as water-binding, thereby aiding in foaming, emulsifying, texturizing, and gelation, important to manufacturing an intermediate moisture texturized plant-protein product by extrusion.

Provided is a digestive enzyme agent which can promote the liberation of a protein into BCAAs in an in vivo environment. A digestive enzyme agent comprising a protease derived from a koji mold can promote the liberation into BCAAs in an in vivo environment.

The present invention addresses the problem of providing a means for efficiently producing a plant protein concentrate to be utilized in foods, beverages, etc. The present invention also addresses the problem of raising the utility value of plant proteins and contributing to the improvement of quality in existing uses and the discovery of new uses by making it possible to produce a plant protein concentrate having improved physical properties (especially solubility). The yield of plant protein is improved by treating a plant protein raw material such as peas, soybeans, almonds, etc., with a protein deamidase.