COMPOSITION FOR FOODS AND BEVERAGES AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING SAID COMPOSITION

Abstract

A composition for foodstuff, having a mass ratio of a total content of D-isoleucine, D-leucine, and D-valine to the content of D-alanine (D-isoleucine, D-leucine, and D-valine/D-alanine) of 0.1 or more. The composition of the present invention is useful in the fields of foodstuff, and the like.

Claims

1. A composition for foodstuff, having a mass ratio of a total content of D-isoleucine, D-leucine, and D-valine to the content of D-alanine (D-isoleucine, D-leucine, and D-valine/D-alanine) of 0.1 or more.

2. The composition for foodstuff according to claim 1, wherein the content of D-alanine is 14.0 mg/L or less, and wherein the content of D-isoleucine is 1.0 mg/L or more.

3. The composition for foodstuff according to claim 1, wherein the content of D-alanine is 14.0 mg/L or less, and wherein the content of D-leucine is 1.0 mg/L or more.

4. The composition for foodstuff according to claim 1, wherein the content of D-alanine is 14.0 mg/L or less, and wherein the content of D-valine is 1.0 mg/L or more.

5. The composition for foodstuff according to claim 1, wherein the content of D-alanine is 14.0 mg/L or less, and wherein a total content of D-isoleucine, D-leucine, and D-valine is 1.0 mg/L or more.

6. The composition for foodstuff according to claim 1, which is a lactic acid fermented extract or a processed product thereof.

7. The composition for foodstuff according to claim 6, wherein the lactic acid fermented extract is obtained by a method comprising fermenting a malt extract with Lb. fermentum.

8. The composition for foodstuff according to claim 1, for use in beer-taste beverages.

9. A method for producing a composition for foodstuff as defined in claim 1, comprising fermenting a malt extract with Lb. fermentum.

Description

EXAMPLES

[0031] The present invention will be specifically described hereinbelow by the Examples, without intending to limit the scope of the present invention to the following Examples.

Example 1

[0032] Malt extracts were fermented with a specified lactic acid bacterium, to give a lactic acid fermented extract. Specifically, 2.5 g of malt extracts “Malt Ace 20” manufactured by ORIENTAL YEAST CO., LTD., 0.1 g of L-aspartic acid, 0.1 g of L-glutamic acid, and 96.3 g of water were mixed, and the mixture was sterilized in a water bath at 90° C. for 1 minute, and then cooled to a culture temperature for the lactic acid bacteria. To a cooled raw material mixture was inoculated with 1 g of a suspension of 1×10.sup.8 (cfu/g) commercially available lactic acid bacteria Lb. fermentum, and the incubation was carried out under general culture conditions for the lactic acid bacteria, to carry out lactic acid fermentation. A liquid mixture after the lactic acid fermentation was centrifuged to remove insoluble solid ingredients, to give a composition for foodstuff of Example 1 (Lactic acid fermented extract 1).

Comparative Example 1

[0033] The same procedures as in Example 1 were carried out except that rice extracts “Hakko-mai Ekisu (fermented rice extracts)” manufactured by TA IYO CORPORATION was used in place of the malt extracts, that Pediococcus acidilactici (Ped. acidilactici) was used as lactic acid bacteria, and that the culture conditions were changed to 37° C. for 22 hours, to give a composition for foodstuff of Comparative Example 1 (Lactic acid fermented extract 2). The details of the compositions for foodstuff obtained are shown in Table 1.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Ex. 1 Comp. Ex. 1 (1) D-Ala, mg/L 11.9 14.2 (2) D-Ile, mg/L 21.8 0.4 (3) D-Leu, mg/L 22.2 0.3 (4) D-Val, mg/L 9.5 0.1 Total amount of (2) to (4), mg/L 53.5 0.8 ((2) + (3) + (4))/(1) 4.5 0.06

[0034] A lactic acid fermented extract of each of Examples and Comparative Examples was added in an amount listed in Table 2 to 100 parts by mass of a commercially available beer-taste alcoholic beverage having a malt ratio of from 10 to 35%. The relative scoring was carried out on the bases of the following criteria by defining the evaluation of the beverage before addition of the lactic acid fermented extract as “1 point.” The scoring was carried out with an increment of 0.25, and a mean score of six specialized panelists was calculated. On the basis of this mean score, the extent of the enhanced effects of the sharpness was indicated by symbols “×” to “⊚,” in accordance with the following criteria. When the judgments were “Δ” or higher, it is found that the sharpness is enhanced. The evaluation of the beverage before addition of the lactic acid fermented extract was referred to as Reference Example 1. The results are shown in Table 2.

(Scores for Sharpness)

[0035] 1: Not tasted at all; [0036] 2: Faintly tasted; [0037] 3: Distinctively tasted; and [0038] 4: Highly Strongly tasted.

(Evaluation Criteria for Sharpness)

[0039] ×: Score for sharpness is 1.0 or more and less than 1.5; [0040] Δ: Score for sharpness is 1.5 or more and less than 2.5; [0041] ◯: Score for sharpness is 2.5 or more and less than 3.5; and [0042] ⊚: Score for sharpness is 3.5 or more.

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Ref. Ex. 1 (without addition) Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Lactic acid fermented extract of 0 0.3 1.0 0 Ex. 1, parts by mass Lactic acid fermented extract of 0 0 0 1.0 Comp. Ex. 1, parts by mass Sharpness X ◯ ⊚ X

[0043] A lactic acid fermented extract of each of Examples and Comparative Examples was added in an amount listed in Table 3 to 100 parts by mass of a commercially available nonalcoholic beer-taste beverage. The relative scoring was carried out on the bases of the following criteria by defining the evaluation of the beverage before addition of the lactic acid fermented extract as “1 point.” The scoring was carried out with an increment of 0.25, and a mean score of six specialized panelists was calculated. On the basis of this mean score, the extent of the enhanced effects of the sharpness was indicated by symbols “×” to “⊚,” in accordance with the following criteria. When the judgments were “Δ” or higher, it is found that the sharpness is enhanced. The evaluation of the beverage before addition of the lactic acid fermented extract was referred to as Reference Example 2. The results are shown in Table 3.

(Scores for Sharpness)

[0044] 1: Not tasted at all; [0045] 2: Faintly tasted; [0046] 3: Distinctively tasted; and [0047] 4: Highly Strongly tasted.

(Evaluation Criteria for Sharpness)

[0048] ×: Score for sharpness is 1.0 or more and less than 1.5; [0049] Δ: Score for sharpness is 1.5 or more and less than 2.5; [0050] ∘: Score for sharpness is 2.5 or more and less than 3.5; and [0051] ⊚: Score for sharpness is 3.5 or more.

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Ref Ex. 2 (without addition) Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 Lactic acid fermented extract of 0 0.3 1.0 0 Ex. 1, parts by mass Lactic acid fermented extract of 0 0 0 1.0 Comp. Ex. 1, parts by mass Sharpness X ◯ ⊚ X

[0052] It can be seen from Tables 2 and 3 that the beer-taste alcoholic beverages of Levels 1 and 2 and the nonalcoholic beer-taste beverages of Levels 4 and 5, each in which the lactic acid fermented extract of Example 1 was added, have excellent sharpness.

[0053] To each of a commercially available beer-taste alcoholic beverage having a malt ratio of from 10 to 35% (Reference Example 1) and a commercially available nonalcoholic beer-taste beverage (Reference Example 2) were added D-alanine manufactured by nacalai tesque, D-isoleucine manufactured by nacalai tesque, D-leucine manufactured by nacalai tesque, and D-valine manufactured by nacalai tesque each in an amount so as to have a content as listed in Tables 4 and 5, and the sharpness was evaluated in the same manner as in Tables 2 and 3.

TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 Ref. Level Level Level Level Level Level Level Ex. 1 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 (1) D-Ala, 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.60 1.50 3.00 mg/L (2) D-Ile, 0.01 0.07 0.01 0.01 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.07 mg/L (3) D-Leu, 0.05 0.05 0.14 0.05 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.14 mg/L (4) D-Val, 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.07 mg/L Total 0.07 0.13 0.16 0.13 0.28 0.28 0.28 0.28 amount of (2) to (4), mg/L Sharpness X ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ◯ Δ

TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 Ref. Level Level Level Level Level Level Level Ex. 2 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 (1) D-Ala, 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.30 1.00 3.00 mg/L (2) D-Ile, 0.00 0.03 0.00 0.00 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 mg/L (3) D-Leu, 0.01 0.01 0.05 0.01 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 mg/L (4) D-Val, 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 mg/L Total 0.01 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.14 amount of (2) to (4), mg/L Sharpness X ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ◯ X

[0054] It can be seen from Tables 4 and 5 that the sharpness is enhanced when D-isoleucine, D-leucine, and D-valine are added, as compared to that of without addition. In addition, it can be seen that the sharpness tends to be worsened as the content of D-alanine becomes larger.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0055] The composition of the present invention is useful in the fields of foodstuff and the like.