GROWTH PROMOTER FOR BIFIDOBACTERIUM SPECIES, PROCESS FOR PREPARING THE SAME AND METHOD OF USING THE SAME

Abstract: A growth promoter for Bifidobacterium species comprising gourd food as the active ingredient is provided. The growth promoter has a more selective and more marked growth-promoting effect than conventional bifidus factors.

Description: This invention relates to a growth promoter for Bifidobacterium species. More particularly, it relates to a growth promoter for Bifidobacterium species comprising gourd food as the active ingredient, and a process for preparing such a growth promoter. Bacteria of the genus Bifidobacterium have no pathogenicity and occur principally in the intestine of man. It has been established that they have a physiological significance in the suppression of formation of intestinal putrefaction products and the improvement of diarrhea or constipation. Moreover, it has recently been reported that they enhance immunity, prevent the replacement of bacteria as encountered during continuous administration of antibiotics, and suppress the activity of carcinogens, and this has led to their wide applications in clinical fields ("Microorganisms", Vol. 1, No. 4, Igaku Shuppan Center). Thus, Bifidobacterium species are very important from the viewpoint of health and therapeutics. There are two methods for growing Bifidobacterium species in the intestine. One of them is the direct method in which cells of Bifidobacterium species are administered orally, and the other is the indirect method in which a substance utilizable by Bifidobacterium species (hereinafter referred to as "bifidus factor") is administered to promote the growth of Bifidobacterium species. The direct method is disadvantageous in that the stability of Bifidobacterium preparations is poor and the degree of colonization of administered Bifidobacterium species is low. Accordingly, instead of the direct method, more importance has recently been attached to the indirect method in which a bifidus factor is orally administered to promote the growth of Bifidobacterium species in the intestine. Conventionally, a variety of substances are known to act as bifidus factors. Specific examples thereof include N-acetylglucosamine and its derivatives, carrot extract (principally containing pantetheine), lactulose, raffinose, stachyose, maltotriose ("Bifidus Bacteria", Yakult Co., Ltd., 1979), fructo-oligosaccharide ("Kagaku-to-Seibutsu", Vol. 21, p. 291, 1983), galacto-oligosaccharide [U.S. Patent 4,435,389 (U.K. Pat. 2,080,330; Japanese Patent Publication No.20266/′83); Japanese patent Publication No. 46479/′86; Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 41449/′85], isomaltooligosaccharide (a report presented at a meeting of the Japanese Society of Dietetics and Food Science, 1986), cyclodextrin [U.S. Pat. 4,451,457 (U.K. Pat. 2,092,890; Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 138385/′82)], mannan from devil's tongue ("Riken Intestinal Flora Symposium III, Intestinal Flora and Nutrition", Gakkai Shuppan center, p. 89, 1983), soybean milk (Japanese Patent Publication No. 9822/′70; Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 142566/′76 and 85390/′80), soybean milk extract (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 179064/′84) and an extract from a culture of non-pathogenic Escherichia species (Japanese Patent Publication No. 13359/′75). In Japan, gourds have been eaten as food from earlier times. Dried gourd shavings are called "Kanpyo" and have long been used popularly as ingredients of sushi and plain dishes. Gourds are a highly nutritious food containing a well-balanced combination of sugar, fibers, protein, vitamins, calcium and pectin. Moreover, it has recently been reported that gourd food lessens the influence on the human body of Amaranth (Red No. 2) used as a food dye, and has the effect of preventing the blood cholesterol level from rising (Annual Report on the Opening-up of New markets and the Realization of Vision for the Year 1985, Tochigi Prefecture Gourd Trade Association). Thus, there is an increasing demand for gourds as a healthy food ("My Health", Shufu-no-Tomo Co., May issue, 1986). Futhermore, gourds are an important agricultural product in the whole area of Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, and it is desired to utilize them to the fullest extent. A number of gourd food products are known. Thus for example, an instantly regeneratable gourd shaving product is described in JP-A-61219349, a powdered food product suitable for use as an ingredient in other foods in JP-A-59132868, an animal feed, also suitable for use as a plant fertiliser, comprising an extract of dishcloth gourd in JP-A-60214742 and a wax gourd drink in JP-A-61239875. The conventional gourd food products known as "kanpyo" are pre-treated by bleaching with sulphur dioxide, as described in JP-A-51130688 for example. Such sulphurated products suffer the disadvantage that the washing processes required to remove residual sulphur also remove many valuable water soluble nutrients. An unbleached sterilised food product of the bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria stand.) is described in JP-A-6332458. However, it has not been known that gourd food promotes the growth of Bifidobacterium species. The above-described conventional bifidus factors have the disadvantage that, in the living body, they are also utilized by other intestinal bacteria such as lactic acid bacteria and are not sufficiently effective in promoting the growth of Bifidobacterium species. Moreover, the processes for preparing these bifidus factors are tedious and/or they are expensive. Accordingly, it is desired to develop a bifidus factor which is selectively utilized by Bifidobacterium species in the living body and can effectively promote the growth thereof. Moreover, if such a bifidus factor is cheap and easy to obtain or prepare, its utility will become still greater. The present inventors have made a study of bifidus factors and have found that gourd food known from earlier times can selectively and markedly promote the growth of Bifidobacterium species. The present invention has been completed on the basis of this finding. According to the present invention, there is provided use of gourd food for the preparation of a composition for the growth of Bifidobacterium species in the human body. The growth promoter for Bifidobacterium species in accordance with the present invention comprises gourd food as the active ingredient. The term "gourd food" as used herein comprehends various products obtained by processing gourds into desired forms including strips, powder, granules and tablets. The gourd food may be sterilized or sulfurated. Sterilized gourd food can be prepared by exposing gourd food to steam at a pressure of 0.2 to 0.4 kg/cm² for a period of 5 to 20 minutes, or by adding ethyl alcohol or isopropyl alcohol to gourd food in an amount of 15 to 150 g/kg (dried gourd) and allowing it to stand for a period of 1 to 30 days (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 32458/′88). The sterilized gourd foods have a standard plate count of not greater than 5 × 10³ cells/g, are negative to the tests for the coliform group and Salmonella species, and have a water content of not greater than 8%. Thus, they are quite safe from the viewpoint of food sanitation. Sulfuration may be carried out in the usual manner. Although the growth promoter of the present invention may comprise gourd food alone, it can further contain various additives. Such additives include, for example, fibrous components such as sweet corn, carrot powder, corn fiber, apple fiber, pumpkin powder and alginic acid; excipients such as lactose and starch; sweetenings such as white sugar, malt sugar, sorbitol and mannitol; nutriments such as milk powder and meat extract; binders such as gum arabic powder, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, hydroxypropylcellulose and carboxymethylcellulose sodium; and lubricants such as magnesium stearate, calcium stearate, Lubri Wax (trademark) and talc. These additives may suitably be chosen and used according to the form of the gourd food and/or the taste. Where the gourd food constituting the active ingredient of the growth promoter of the present invention is in the form of strips or plates, it may be eaten as such or after being cooked. Alternatively, it may be formed into powder, granules or tablets and used for food. In the case of powder and granules, they may be used as ingredients of soup and sprinkles, or added to confectionery, noodles and bean curds. The growth-promoting effect of the gourd food of the present invention on Bifidobacterium species will be more specifically explained with reference to the following tests. The gourd food samples used in these tests were gourd powder (Example 1), gourd granules (Example 2) and sterilized gourd powder (Example 4). Test 1 Negishi's agar medium (Journal of the Japanese Bacteriological Society, Vol. 13, p. 519, 1958) was used as a basal medium for the testing of bifidus factors. Each of various bifidus factors was added thereto in an amount of 0.5%. Each of the resulting media was placed in a Petri dish of 9 cm diameter and inoculated with Bifidobacterium longum (ATCC 15707) at a density of about 50 cells per plate. This dish was incubated at 37°C for 48 hours and then observed for the degree of growth of the bacterium. The results thus obtained are shown in Table 1. As is evident from Table 1, the gourd powder and the sterilized gourd powder promoted the growth of Bifidobacterium species more markedly than the conventional bifidus factors. Test 2 To Tomarelli's medium (J. Biol. Chem., 181 , 879, 1949) used as a basal medium, gourd powder (Example 1) was added in various amount ranging from 0 to 2%. Each of the resulting media was inoculated with Bifidobacterium longum (ATCC 15707), Lactobacillus plantarum (ATCC 8014) or Escherichia coli (ATCC 11775) and incubated at 37°C for 48 hours. After completion of the incubation, the cultures of Bifidobacterium longum, Lactobacillus plantarum and Escherichia coli were spread over BL agar medium, LBS agar medium and EMB agar medium, respectively. After these media were incubated at 37°C for 48 hours, the bacterial count of each medium was made. The results thus obtained are shown in Table 2. As is evident from Table 2, the gourd powder promoted the growth of Bifidobacterium longum by a factor of 10 at a concentration of 0.05% and by a factor of about 1,000 at a concentration of 0.1 to 2.0%. In contrast, it was scarcely utilized by Lactobacillus plantarum and Escherichia coli . Test 3 Gourd granules (Example 2), sterilized gourd powder (Example 4) and conventional bifidus factors were used as samples. Each of the samples was added to Tomarelli's medium. The resulting media were inoculated with Bifidobacterium longum (ATCC 15707) and incubated at 37°C for 48 hours. After completion of the incubation, each of the cultures was spread over BL agar medium and incubated at 37°C for 48 hours. Thereafter, a bacterial count was made. The results thus obtained are shown in Table 3. As is evident from Table 3, the gourd granules containing an additive and the sterilized gourd powder promoted the growth of Bifidobacterium species more markedly than the conventional bifidus factors. Test 4 To five healthy adult subjects, a daily dose of 2 g of gourd powder (Example 1) was administered before meals for 7 days. Similarly, a daily dose of 4 g of gourd granules (Example 2) was administered before meals for 7 days. In either case, the feces of each subject were collected on day 7 and cultured. Thus, Bifidobacterium species growing on BL medium, as well as Lactobacillus species and coliform group, were counted and the respective average values were calculated. The results thus obtained are shown in Table 4. As is evident from Table 4, the gourd powder and the gourd granules selectively and markedly promoted the growth of Bifidobacterium species in the intestine of man. Example 1 The rind of a gourd was peeled off, and its flesh was sliced to obtain gourd shavings. These gourd shavings were exposed to the sun for a day and then dried at 70°C for 5 hours. Thus, gourd food having a water content of about 3% was obtained in the form of strips. Using a pulverizer (manufactured by Hosokawa Tekkosho), 30 kg of the strips were pulverized to obtain 24 kg of gourd powder. Example 2 Using a stirring mixer, 950 g of the gourd powder obtained in Example 1 and 40 g of hydroxypropylcellulose were mixed for 10 minutes. After the addition of purified water, the mixture was kneaded and then dried in hot air. After the resulting product was allowed to cool, its particle size was adjusted by means of an oscillator (manufactured by Kikusui Seisakusho) to obtain 960 g of gourd granules. Example 3 Using a stirring mixer, 495 g of the gourd granules obtained in Example 2 and 5 g of magnesium stearate were mixed for 10 minutes. Then, using a tableting machine, this mixture was formed into tablets. Thus, there were obtained 4,400 tablets of gourd food each having a weight of 110 mg. Example 4 30 kg of gourd shavings obtained in the same manner as described in Example 1 were sterilized by exposure to steam at a pressure of 0.2 kg/cm² for 20 minutes, and then dried in hot air at 60°C until a water content of about 3% was attained. Thereafter, the same procedure as described in Example 1 was repeated to obtain 26 kg of sterilized gourd powder. This gourd powder had a standard plate count of 2 × 10² cells/g and was negative to the tests for the coliform group and Salmonella species. Example 5 30 kg of gourd shavings obtained in the same manner as described in Example 1 were sterilized by spraying them with ethyl alcohol in an amount of 2.7 kg (90 g/kg of gourd shavings) and allowing them to stand in a sealed condition at room temperature for 5 days. Thereafter, the same procedure as described in Example 1 was repeated to obtain 25.7 kg of sterilized gourd powder. This gourd powder had a standard plate count of 37 cells/g and was negative to the tests for the coliform group and Salmonella species. As described above, the growth promoter for Bifidobacterium species in accordance with the present invention comprises gourd food as the active ingredient and has a more selective and more marked growth-promoting effect than conventional bifidus factors. Thus, this growth promoter for Bifidobacterium species not only serves to maintain the health of the gastrointestinal tract, but also can be expected to be useful as an immunoactivator, anticancer agent and for other therapeutic uses. Moreover, since gourds are being produced in large amounts in Japan, the present invention contributes to the development of agricultural industry and also has great utility in food industry and therapeutics.

Claims: 1. Use of gourd food for preparation of a composition for promoting the growth of Bifidobacterium species in the human body. 2. Use as claimed in claim 1 wherein the gourd food has a standard plate count of not greater than 5 × 10³ microbial cells/g, is negative to the tests for the coliform group and Salmonella species, and has a water content of not greater than 8%. 3. Use as claimed in claim 2 wherein the gourd food has been sterilized by exposing it to steam at a pressure of 0.2 to 0.4 kg/cm² for a period of 5 to 20 minutes. 4. Use as claimed in claim 2 wherein the gourd food has been sterilized by adding ethyl alcohol or isopropyl alcohol to the gourd food in an amount of 15 to 150 g/kg (dried gourd) and allowing it to stand for a period of 1 to 30 days. 5. Use as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the growth promoter is in the form of powder, granules or tablets. 6. Use as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 which comprises the steps of peeling off the rind of a gourd; slicing the flesh thereof to obtain gourd shavings; drying the gourd shavings until a water content of not greater than 8% is attained; optionally reducing the dried shavings to powder; optionally granulating the powder; and optionally forming the powder or granules into tablets. 7. Use as claimed in claim 6 which further includes the step of adding to the dried gourd food one or more additives selected from the group consisting of sweet corn, carrot powder, corn fiber, apple fiber, pumpkin powder, alginic acid, lactose, starch, white sugar, malt sugar, sorbitol, mannitol, milk powder, meat extract, gum arabic powder, polvinyl pyrrolidone, hydroxypropylcellulose, carboxymethylcellulose sodium, magnesium stearate, calcium stearate, Lubri Wax (trademark) and talc.

Inventors: KATSUNUMA, EIICHI, KOMODA, AKIHIKO, UCHIDA, MINORU
Applicants: TOKYO TANABE COMPANY LIMITED
Application year: 1988
Main classification: A61K35
IPC codes: A61K36, C12N1, A23L1, A61K35