482

Journal of Health Science, 52(4) 482–485 (2006)

Effect of Coffee Drink Containing Mannooligosaccharides on
Total Amount of Excreted Fat in Healthy Adults
Toshio Kumao,*, a Shigeyoshi Fujii,a Atsushi Asakawa,a Isao Takehara,b and Ikuo FukuharacaResearch and Development, Ajinomoto General Foods, Inc., Sanken Bldg., 3–25–1, Hyakunin-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169–0073,
Japan, bNew Drug Development Research Center, Inc., 452–1, Toiso, Eniwa, Hokkaido 061–1405, Japan, and cFukuhara Clinic, 3–1–15, Shima-matsuhigashi machi, Eniwa, Hokkaido 061–1351, Japan(Received April 17, 2006; Accepted April 25, 2006)

A liquid coffee drink containing mannooligosaccharides from coffee mannan (MOS) was administered
to a group of healthy adults. Subsequently, the amountof fat excreted from the body was examined. The subjects were divided into two groups: One was administered a liquid coffee drink containing MOS 3.0 g/day
whereas the other was administered a placebo drink
for seven days. Both groups were fed the standardized
meals during the experiment. In the amount of average excreted fat, the drink containing MOS intake
showed a significant increase in comparison with thebefore intake group and placebo intake group (p < 0.05and p < 0.001, respectively). In addition, fat utilizationin MOS intake group was significantly lower than thebefore intake group and the placebo group (p < 0.05and p < 0.001, respectively). These results suggested
that the intake of MOS 3.0 g/day increased in theamount of excreted fat and decreased in fat utilization.

we focused on the increase in the amount of fat excreted from the body. The rats given the food containing MOS had a higher amount of fecal fat ascompared to their counterparts given a regular diet.3)
The preceding experiment by the authors reported
that MOS 1.0 g/day intake was increased the concentration of excreted fat in healthy adults.4) This
result suggested that MOS intake was not only increasing the amount of total excreted fat but also
inhibiting fat utilization in body. However, in order
to investigate these, more accurately the clinical testing under controlled diet is required.
In this study, the coffee drink containing MOS
3.0 g/day was administered to the subjects whose
fecal sample was analyzed relative to the amount offat. Furthermore, the fat utilization was examinedby giving the standardized meals to all of the subjects throughout the experiment, thus standardizing
the fat intake from food.

Key words —–— coffee, mannooligosaccharide, excreted
fat, fat utilization

MATERIALS AND METHODSINTRODUCTION
Intensive studies are underway with regard tomannooligosaccharides from coffee mannan (MOS)
in an effort to reveal new functionality including thelowering of the body fat level. In somewhat obeseadults, a liquid coffee drink containing MOS 3.0 g/
day intake reduced the areas of subcutaneous andvisceral fat.1,2) Attempting to study this mechanism,*To whom correspondence should be addressed: Research andDevelopment, Ajinomoto General Foods, Inc., Sanken Bldg.,
3–25–1, Hyakunin-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169–0073, Japan.
Tel.:+81-3-5338-6741; Fax: +81-3-5338-6777; E-mail: Toshio_Kumaoh@agf.co.jp

Preparation of MOS and Placebo Drinks —–—Test drinks as well as MOS were prepared according to the methods of Asano et al.2) The amount ofMOS in the test drink was 1.0 g/100 ml. The composition of the placebo drink was identical to that of
the test drink except that MOS was replaced by cornsyrup solid.
Screening of Subjects —–— This experiment wasperformed after obtaining approval from “The Boardof Evaluation for Research Studies involving Human Subjects,” New Drug Development ResearchCenter, Inc. In addition, this experiment was conducted in compliance with the spirit of the “Declaration of Helsinki” and with the informed writtenconsent of the subjects overseen by qualified clinical trial physicians. A total of twenty healthy male

483

No. 4

Fig. 1. The Test ScheduleThroughout the experiment, the subjects were given the standardized meals.

Table 1. Amount of Energy and Fat in Food Intake

Intake energy(kcal/day)Intake fat(g/day)Placebo
Before intake
Intake1653.5  62.1
1615.8  68.7
39.8  0.1

40.1  0.1

MOS
Before intake
1664.7  54.9

Intake1650.3  59.1

39.8  0.1

40.1  0.1

Values expressed as the mean  SEM.

and female subjects were selected by the supervising physicians on the basis of their suitability forthis trial.
Test Schedule and Fecal Sampling —–— Figure 1
shows the test schedule of this experiment. The subjects were divided into the MOS and placebo groups,
which were administered a different test drink. After the four-day before intake period, both MOS andplacebo groups started consuming the test drinks forseven days. The volume of the MOS and placebo
drinks administered was set at 300 ml per day, anequivalent of 3.0 g of MOS per day. Throughout theexperiment, the subjects were given the standardized meals. Although standardized meals were thesame energy, the menu changed every day. The subjects were asked to report on any leftovers to allow
for the assessment of actual energy and fat intake.
The subjects underwent physical examinations by
doctors prior to the experiment as well as the third
day after the closing of the experiment. All the fecal
samples were collected for two days, from three days
prior to the end of each period through to the final
day of the before intake period and test period. The
samples were weighed and immediately frozen forstorage.
Measurement of Fat in Feces —–— The level of
fat in the feces was measured according to the methods of van der Kamer et al.5) The daily average value
for the fat being excreted and fat utilization was calculated according to the methods of Ishiguro et al.6)
Statistical Analysis —–— All of the data obtained

were expressed as a mean ± the SEM. Using
Student’s paired t-test the significance of the difference between the periods was evaluated as p < 0.05.
The significance of the difference between thegroups was evaluated using a Student’s unpaired ttest as p < 0.05.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The medical examinations performed by physicians on the third day after the closing of the experiment revealed that the subjects had suffered no adverse effects. None of the subjects complained ofany abnormal symptoms. This led us to conclude
that this experiment was completed without any
safety issues and abnormal consequences.
Table 1 shows the average energy and fat intake
per day during the experiment. There was no significant difference between the placebo and MOSgroups in this regard. Therefore, it was assumed thatthe intake was even between the treatment groups
throughout the experiment.
Figure 2 shows the effect of the liquid coffee
drink containing MOS on the average amount of fat
being excreted per day. In the amount of average
excreted fat, the beverage containing MOS intake
showed a significant increase in comparison withthe before intake group and placebo group (p < 0.05and p < 0.001, respectively). On the other hand, there
was no statistically significant difference in the pla-484

Vol. 52 (2006)

Fig. 2. Effect of the Liquid Coffee Drink Containing MOS on the Average amount of Excreted Fat Per Day
Values expressed as the mean ± SEM of g/day. *: Statistically significant from before intake period (p < 0.05), †††: Statistically significant fromplacebo intake group (p < 0.001).

Table 2. Effect of MOS Intake on the Rate of Fat Utilization
Placebo
Before intake
Intake98.1  0.4
97.9  0.3

MOS
Before intake
97.6  0.5

Intake95.4  0.5*;†††

Values expressed as the mean  SEM (%). Statistically significant frombefore intake (*p < 0:05). Statistically significant from placebo intake (†††p <0:001).

cebo group before and after the test period. Table 2shows the effect of the liquid coffee drink containing MOS on fat utilization. In the fat utilization, thebeverage containing MOS intake showed a significant decrease in comparison with the before intake
group and placebo group (p < 0.05 and p < 0.001,respectively). However, there was no statisticallysignificant difference in the placebo group before
and after the test period.
The previous report suggested that MOS 1.0 g/
day intake was effective in increasing the concentration of fat in feces.4) However, the total fat utilization and the total amount of excreted fat are unknown in this study. Therefore, this experiment focused on the effect of the body fat-reducing MOS
drink (containing 3.0 g of MOS per day) in humanson the total amount of excreted fat and fat utilization in the body.
Generally, healthy adults are able to completely
digest fats up to 150 g per day, of which less than
5 g are excreted.6) Therefore, those individuals excreting more than 6 g of fats are regarded as having
fat digestion problems. This experiment confirmedthat the amount of fat excreted per day was significantly higher in the MOS intake group than the be-fore intake period and placebo intake group. However, the amount of excreted fat by the MOS intake
group was 5 g or less per day on average and thedata showed not a single individual exceeding 5 g.
Therefore, it was suggested that the intake of MOS
was effective in increasing the amount of excreted
fat, but within the normal range of fluctuation.
In this study, the intake of MOS also significantly
lowered fat utilization compared to the before intake period and the placebo intake group. The dataof the MOS intake group averaged around 95.4 ±0.5%. This downward shift in fat utilization was regarded as being within the normal range of fluctuation, since the criteria set by the Ministry of Health,
Labor and Welfare stipulates that a fat utilization
falling short of 91.1% is the benchmark for inhibition of fat absorption.7)
These results showed that the intake of MOS
3.0 g/day had no adverse physical effects in humans
while it contributed to a lower fat utilization andhigher total amount of excreted fat. These effects
might be a part of the body fat-reducing mechanismof MOS and possibly linked with the functionalityof MOS to inhibit fat absorption.8)

485

No. 4

REFERENCES
1) Asano, I., Fujii, S., Ozaki, K., Takehara, I., Yano, Y.
and Fukuhara, I. (2005) Effects of “Coffee Beverage” containing mannooligosaccharides from coffee on human abdominal fat by long term ingestion.
Jap. J. Food Engineering, 6, 133–141.
2) Asano, I., Fujii, S., Kaneko, M., Takehara, I. andFukuhara, I. (2006) Investigation ofmannooligosaccharides blended coffee beverage onabdominal fat reduction in humans. Jap. J. Med.
Pharm. Sci., 55, 93–103.
3) Kumao, T., Fujii, S., Ozaki, K. and Takao, I. (2005)
Effects of diets containing mannooligosaccharides
from coffee mannan on fat in blood serum and liver
fat in (ZUC)-fa/fa rats. Jap. J. Med. Pharm. Sci.,

54, 505–509.
4) Kumao, T. and Fujii, S. (2006) Mannooligosaccharides blended coffee beverage intake increases thefat level in feces. J. Health Sci., 52, 329–332.
5) van de Kamer, J. H., Ten Bokkel Huinink, H. andWeyers, H. A. (1949) Rapid method for the determination of fat in feces. J. Biol. Chem., 177, 347–355.
6) Ishiguro, H. and Kondo, T. (2004) Measurement offecal fat. Nippon Rinsho, 62(Suppl.), 196–199.
7) Kondo, T. and Nakae, Y. (1997) Fat examination infeces. Kensa to Gizyutsu, 25, 435–440.
8) Kumao, T., Fujii, S., Ozaki, K. and Takao, I. (2005)
Effects of diets with mannooligosaccharides fromcoffee mannan on fat in blood serum in healthy volunteers. Jap. J. Food Engineering, 6, 301–304.