COMPOSITION COMPRISING CRICKET OR EXTRACT THEREOF FOR IMPROVING BOWEL MOVEMENT FUNCTION

Abstract

The present invention relates to a composition comprising Cricket or an extract thereof for improving a bowel movement function or weight loss.

Claims

1. A composition comprising Cricket or an extract thereof for improving a bowel movement function.

2. The composition of claim 1, wherein the Cricket extract is a solvent extract or an enzyme extract.

3. The composition of claim 2, wherein the solvent is an extract by water, an organic solvent, or a mixed solvent thereof.

4. (canceled)

5. (canceled)

6. (canceled)

7. A composition comprising Cricket or an extract thereof for improving constipation.

8. (canceled)

9. (canceled)

10. A composition comprising Cricket or an extract thereof for weight loss.

11. The composition of claim 10, wherein the weight loss is weight loss according to improvement of the bowel movement function or weight loss according to improvement of constipation.

12. The composition of claim 10, wherein the composition is to improve obesity.

13. The composition of claim 12, wherein the obesity is abdominal obesity.

14. (canceled)

15. A method of improving a bowel movement function in a subject in need thereof comprising administering an effective amount of the composition according to claim 1 to the subject.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the Cricket extract is a solvent extract or an enzyme extract.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the solvent is an extract by water, an organic solvent, or a mixed solvent thereof.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the organic solvent is alcohol having 1 to 4 carbon atoms.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the enzyme extract is prepared by decomposing a protein by protease.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the improvement of the bowel movement function is an increase in fecal weight, an increase in water content in feces, an increase in gastrointestinal transport capacity, or an increase in length and area of intestinal mucosa.

21. A method of improving constipation in a subject in need thereof comprising administering an effective amount of the composition according to claim 7 to the subject.

22. The composition of claim 21, wherein the constipation is transient constipation, atonic constipation, spastic constipation, bowel movement impaired constipation, or organic constipation.

23. A method of promoting weight loss in a subject in need thereof comprising administering an effective amount of the composition according to claim 10 to the subject.

24. The composition of claim 23, wherein the weight loss is weight loss according to improvement of the bowel movement function or weight loss according to improvement of constipation.

25. The composition of claim 23, wherein the composition is to improve obesity.

26. The composition of claim 25, wherein the obesity is abdominal obesity.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0102] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the results of measuring fecal weight and water content in feces to determine an effect of administration of a Cricket extract on a fecal index. [N (Normal): normal control; C (Control): loperamide alone; PC (Positive control): Psyllium husk 120 mg/kg; S120: loperamide+Cricket enzyme extract 120 mg/kg; S500: loperamide+Cricket enzyme extract 500 mg/kg; S′120: loperamide+Cricket etanol extract 120 mg/kg, an error bar represents a standard error, and n=5].

[0103] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the results of measuring digestive tract mobility to determine an effect of administration of a Cricket extract on a gastrointestinal transport capacity. [N (Normal): normal control; C (Control): loperamide alone; PC (Positive control): Psyllium husk 120 mg/kg; S120: loperamide+Cricket enzyme extract 120 mg/kg; S500: loperamide+Cricket enzyme extract 500 mg/kg; S′120: loperamide+Cricket ethanol extract 120 mg/kg, an error bar represents a standard error, and n=5].

[0104] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the results of staining a colon tissue with hematoxylin-eosin to determine an effect of administration of a Cricket extract on intestinal digestive movement.

BEST MODE

[0105] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail by Examples and Experimental Examples. However, these Examples and Experimental Examples specifically illustrate the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to these Examples and Experimental Examples.

Preparation Example 1

[0106] Preparation of Cricket Enzyme Extract

[0107] (1) Step of Fasting Gryllus bimaculatus

[0108] 40 to 45-day-old Gryllus bimaculatus dieted on wheat grains was subjected to a process of excreting an excrement while fasting before use. The Gryllus bimaculatus after 24-hour fasting was washed and frozen-stored.

[0109] (2) Step of Hydrolyzing, Sterilizing, and Wet-Crashing Gryllus bimaculatus

[0110] 100 parts by weight of the pretreated raw material was added with 1900 parts by weight of water and then sterilized at 100° C. for 30 minutes. Thereafter, the Gryllus bimaculatus was crushed with a homogenizer at 6000 rpm for 10 minutes to obtain a liquid form that was easily treated with enzymes.

[0111] (3) Step of Treating Gryllus bimaculatus Solution with Protease to Decompose Protein

[0112] The crushed Gryllus bimaculatus solution was added with 0.1% of protease, Protamex, and treated at a temperature of 60° C. for 1 hour and then the enzyme was inactivated at 100° C. for 10 minutes.

[0113] (4) Step of Filtering Gryllus bimaculatus Extract

[0114] The protease-treated product was filtered under reduced pressure passing through 1 μm glass fiber filter paper, and then only a filtrate was taken.

[0115] (5) Step of Concentrating Gryllus bimaculatus Extract

[0116] The filtrate was concentrated with a vacuum concentrator to prepare a concentrate of 10 brix or more.

[0117] (6) Step of Powdering Gryllus bimaculatus Extract

[0118] The concentrate was lyophilized and powdered, and specifically, sequentially maintained at −45° C. for 6 hours, at −20° C. for 21 hours, at −15° C. for 11 hours, and at −5° C. for 11 hours and then thawed, and then powdered by removing moisture.

Preparation Example 2

[0119] Preparation of Cricket Ethanol Extract

[0120] (1) Step of Fasting Cricket

[0121] 40 to 45-day-old Gryllus bimaculatus dieted on wheat grains excreted an excrement while fasting for 24 hours and then was washed and frozen-stored.

[0122] (2) Step of Drying and then Crushing Gryllus bimaculatus

[0123] The frozen-stored Gryllus bimaculatus was washed and then dried at 90° C. for 24 hours. The dried raw material was finely crushed with a crusher for easy extraction.

[0124] (3) Step of Extracting Gryllus bimaculatus Powder by Adding Ethanol

[0125] 100 parts by weight of the pretreated raw material was added with 900 parts by weight of ethanol and then extracted at 25° C. and 100 rpm for 24 hours.

[0126] (4) Step of Filtering Gryllus bimaculatus Extract

[0127] The extract was filtered under reduced pressure through 1 μm glass fiber filter paper, and then only a filtrate was taken.

[0128] (5) Step of Concentrating Gryllus bimaculatus Extract

[0129] The filtrate was concentrated with a vacuum concentrator to prepare a concentrate of 10 brix or more.

[0130] (6) Step of Powdering Gryllus bimaculatus Extract

[0131] The concentrate was lyophilized and powdered, and specifically, sequentially maintained at −45° C. for 6 hours, at −20° C. for 21 hours, at −15° C. for 11 hours, and at −5° C. for 11 hours and then thawed, and then powdered by removing moisture.

EXPERIMENTAL EXAMPLE

[0132] Confirmation of Bowel Movement Function of Cricket Extract

Experimental Example 1. Breeding of Experimental Animals and Design of Experiments

[0133] This study was conducted in accordance with the policies and regulations of the Institutional Animal Care and Use committee (SEMI-19-008) of Southeast Medi-Chem Institute. As experimental animals used in the experiment, a 7-week-old ICR mouse model (male) was received from Hana Bio (Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do, Korea) and quarantined, acclimatized and bred in an animal kennel (Animal Facility Registration Certificate: No. 412) and then experimented. During breeding, a lighting time was set to a 12-hour (07:00 to 19:00) cycle, and a diet and water were freely ingested.

[0134] First, 5 ICR mice (7 weeks old, male) were placed in each group, and the experimental groups were classified into a total of 6 groups. The experimental groups were divided into a normal control group (N), a loperamide administered group (C), a Psyllium husk administered group (PC), a loperamide+low concentration Cricket enzyme extract administered group (120 mg/kg) (S120), a loperamide+high concentration Cricket enzyme extract administered group (500 mg/kg) (S500), and a loperamide+low concentration Cricket ethanol extract administered group (120 mg/kg) (S′120).

[0135] The samples were orally administered for a total of 7 days according to the contents in Table 1, and on day 7 of administration, all the groups except for the normal control group were orally administered with 5 mg/kg of loperamide (in saline) to induce constipation. For a feed, solid feed for the experimental animals (Hana Bio, Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do, Korea) was provided, and changes in body weight was measured twice a week.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Group Experiment Note Control group 1 (N) Administration of No administration saline of Loperamide Control group 2 (N) Saline Control group 3 (PC) Psyllium husk 120 mg/kg Example 1 (S120) Preparation Example 1 120 mg/kg Example 2 (S500) Preparation Example 1 500 mg/kg Example 3 (S′120) Preparation Example 2 120 mg/kg

[0136] The measured experimental results were represented as means and standard errors, and the significance test of each group was statistically processed using an anova t-test in the Statview program.

Experimental Example 2. Confirmation of Changes in Fecal Index by Cricket Extract

[0137] The feces of the experimental animals were collected after administration of loperamide (5 mg/kg, body weight) on day 6 of sample administration, and the weight and number of feces per subject were measured. In order to check the water content in feces, a change amount was calculated by comparing a weight immediately after collection with a weight after drying at 105° C. for 48 hours.

Water content (%)=[(weight before drying−weight after drying)/weight before drying]×100

[0138] The results were shown in Table 2 and FIG. 1.

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 After administration of The loperamide number Fecal weight Water content Group of subjects (g) (%) Control group 1 (N) 5  0.373.sup.# 37.99* Control group 2 (N) 5 0.093 25.01  Control group 3 (PC) 5 0.163 30.03  Example 1 (S120) 5  0.263* 48.61.sup.#  Example 2 (S500) 5  0.227* 43.12* Example 3 (S′120) 5  0.205* 46.10.sup.# 

[0139] 1) Table 2 shows the experimental results as means and standard errors. Significance was represented for each group as follows: * compared with P<0.05 C group, # compared with P<0.001 C group.

[0140] N (Normal): normal control; C (Control): loperamide alone administered group; PC (Positive control): Psyllium husk 120 mg/kg; S120: loperamide+Cricket enzyme extract 120 mg/kg; S500: loperamide+Cricket enzyme extract 500 mg/kg; S′120: loperamide+Cricket ethanol extract 120 mg/kg

[0141] As shown in Table 2 and FIG. 1, the fecal weight showed a significant decrease in group C causing constipation, compared to group N without causing constipation, but in groups S120 and S500 administered with the Cricket enzyme extract, the fecal weight was increased as compared to group C, and larger than that in group PC administered with Psyllium husk.

[0142] In addition, the water content in feces showed a significant decrease in group C causing constipation, compared to group N without causing constipation, but in all of groups S120, S500, and S′120 administered with the Cricket extract, the water content in feces was significantly high as compared with group C, and higher than that of the normal control group.

[0143] As a result, it was confirmed that the Cricket extract prevented the decrease in fecal weight and improved the bowel movement function by increasing the water content in feces, so that it was confirmed that an effect of preventing or improving constipation was excellent.

Experimental Example 3. Confirmation of Changes in Digestive Tract Mobility Rate by Cricket Extract

[0144] In order to observe an effect of a Cricket extract on a gastrointestinal transport capacity, the digestive tract mobility rate was evaluated. The digestive tract mobility rate may be evaluated by measuring the length of movement of an administered indicator material out of the entire length of the small intestine at a certain time, and in this experiment, loperamide, which exhibited a gastrointestinal transport inhibition effect, was used as a drug for causing constipation, and phenol red was used as an indicator material.

[0145] Specifically, 5 mg/kg of loperamide was orally administered after 1 hour of the administration of the Cricket extract. After 30 minutes of loperamide administration, 0.5% phenol red (in 1.5% methylcellulose) serving as an indicator was orally administered, and autopsy was performed after 20 minutes to measure the total intestinal length and a movement distance of phenol red. The measurement results were analyzed using the following equation, which was calculated as a percentage of the movement distance of phenol red with respect to the total intestinal length. The analysis results were shown in Table 3 and FIG. 2.

Digestive tract mobility rate (%)=(movement distance of Phenol red/total intestinal length)×100

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 The number Digestive tract Group or subjects mobility rate (%) Control group 1 (N) 5  49.0.sup.# Control group 2 (N) 5 21.1 Control group 3 (PC) 5  28.8* Example 1 (S120) 5  30.8* Example 2 (S500) 5  35.0.sup.# Example 3 (S′120) 5  31.7*

[0146] 1) Table 3 shows the experimental results as means and standard errors. Significance was represented for each group as follows: * compared with P<0.05 C group, # compared with P<0.001 C group.

[0147] 2) N (Normal): normal control; C (Control): loperamide alone administered group; PC (Positive control): Psyllium husk 120 mg/kg administered group; S120: loperamide+Cricket enzyme extract 120 mg/kg; S500: loperamide+Cricket enzyme extract 500 mg/kg; S′120: loperamide+Cricket ethanol extract 120 mg/kg

[0148] As shown in Table 2 and FIG. 2, the digestive tract mobility rate was significantly reduced in group C causing constipation, compared to group N, whereas it was confirmed that in the Cricket extract administered group, the digestive tract mobility rate was significantly increased compared to group C (p<0.05, p<0.001). Furthermore, it was shown that in the Cricket extract administered group, the digestive tract mobility rate was higher than that of group PC administered with the Psyllium husk extract.

[0149] From this, it was confirmed that the Cricket extract activated the digestive movement of the intestine, and as a result, it was confirmed that the Cricket extract can be effectively applied to the prevention or improvement of constipation.

Experimental Example 4. Confirmation of Structural Changes in Colon Tissue by Cricket Extract

[0150] To determine an effect of the Cricket extract on the colon tissue, the colon tissue was stained with Hematoxylin & Eosin (H&E).

[0151] Specifically, the colon tissue extracted from each experimental group was immobilized in 4% paraformaldehyde immediately after extraction, washed with water, dehydrated, transparent, and penetrated, and then embedded with paraffin.

[0152] The prepared paraffin block was micro-sectioned and sliced, and then stained with H&E staining. The stained slides were photographed after observation with an optical microscope (Nikon, E600, Japan), and the results were shown in FIG. 3.

[0153] As illustrated in FIG. 3, it was observed that the length and area of the mucous membrane were significantly reduced in group C causing constipation, compared to non-treated group N, and it was confirmed that in the Cricket extract administered group, the length and area of the mucous membrane were increased compared to group C.

[0154] From this, it was confirmed that the Cricket extract could help the digestive movement of the intestine, and as a result, it was confirmed that the Cricket extract can be effectively applied to the prevention or improvement of constipation.

[0155] Considering the above results, the Cricket extract showed significant increases in fecal weight, water content in feces, digestive tract mobility rate, and length and area of the mucous membrane compared to a loperamide-administered control group, so that the very excellent effect of improving the bowel movement function and improving intestinal motility was exhibited. Meanwhile, clear dose dependence was observed in 120 and 500 mg/kg administered groups, and the Cricket enzyme extract 120 mg/kg administered group helped the absorption of water in the intestine at the level equivalent to or higher than that of Psyllium husk set as a positive control, so that the effective dose of the Cricket extract was determined around 120 mg/kg.