Gourd powder composition

Abstract: The composition comprises highly nutritious powder of gourd fruit which is available as solid nutritious food or nutritious beverages. The gourd powder composition contains the powder of gourd fruit, creaming syrup and/or L-ascorbic acid. The other nutritious ingredient can be added if necessary. When supplied as beverages, the foaming agents can be added thereto. The L-ascorbic acid is used mainly for the purpose of removing the grassy-smelling peculiar to the gourd. The creaming syrup is used to have the powder of gourd fruit deflocculated in the liquid. If the foaming agents are added thereto, the powder of gourd fruit is more easily deflocculated in the liquid and the cooling beverage like cream soda can be made.

Description: This invention relates to a gourd powder composition useful as a nutritious food. The gourd is a highly nutritious food containing a well-balanced combination of sugar, fiber, protein, vitamins, calcium, pectin etc. and therefore has been eaten for food from old times. For instance, dried gourd shavings are called "kanpyo" and have long been used popularly as ingredients of "sushi" and other dishes. The dried gourd shavings have a water content of as high as 15 to 40% in themselves. Moreover, as it is highly nutritious, it is prone to gather bacteria and mold. Thus, 3 or 4 months after preparation, it suffers a change in properties such as color, odor, taste, etc. and quality, which requires much care for storage thereof accordingly. In order to keep the quality of dried gourd shavings, there has been proposed a storage method in which they are fumigated with sulfur, bleached, and sterilized (Japanese Patent Publication no.21292/1982: "Food Industry", Vol.3, Book II, P.52 (1983)]. However, residue of sulfur is unavoidable in this method. As is regulated by the Food Sanitation Act of Japan (i.e., the amount of residual sulfur in terms of sulfur dioxide should not be greater than 5 g per kg of food), sulfur is harmful to human and therefore the presence of any residual sulfur is undesirable. Accordingly, dried gourd shavings need to be washed in water prior to eating and this causes most of the water-soluble nutrients (such as sugars, pectin, vitamins, etc.) present therein to be washed away. In order to overcome the above-described disadvantages, there has been proposed a gourd food made without bleaching by fumigation with sulfur (unbleached dried gourd). This unbleached dried gourd food is quite safe from the viewpoint of food sanitation, highly nutritious, and has good keeping quality, so that it can be eaten for nourishing purpose. In addition, it is known that the dried gourd contains a plenty of food fiber (Japanese Patent Laid-open no.32458/1988). Recently, it has been found that dried gourd has the effect of promoting growth of Bifidobacterium species selectively and markedly (Japanese Patent Application no.123761/1987). Moreover, in recent years, food fibers have attracted public attention due to the fact that they have the effect of activating the reflex in the intestines and removing coprostasis and that the incidence of rectal cancer is rare in nations with a high food fiber intake. As the dried gourd also has the effect of promoting the growth of Lactobacillus bifidus species that depress intestinal putrefaction and improve diarrhea and constipation, it is of more importance than other general food fibers. Processed unbleached dried gourd is available in the form of ribbons, or is processed to powder or granule form; it does, however, have a characteristic grassy-smell and, due to its high content of sugars and protein, it tends to stick to teeth or teethridges, causing some difficulty in eating. For these reasons, dried gourd in the form of ribbons is usually cooked before eating; the powdered or granulated forms being added to "miso" soup or sprinkled on salad. FR-A-2,263,705 discloses the use of an extract from the curcubitaceae family as a stabiliser for conserved fruit or vegetable products, specifically avocado products. A further stabilising agent such as ascorbic acid may be used in combination with the curcubiteceous product, but it is not mentioned that the ascorbic acid has any beneficial effects on the organoleptic properties of the curcubiteceous product. The present inventors, at first, tried to overcome the problems of the grassy-smell and the stickiness to teeth and teethridges using the following well-known additives; various spices; acidity regulators such as citric acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, etc.; sugars such as saccharose, lactose, mannitol, sorbitol, reduced maltose, etc.; antitack agents such as crystal cellulose, carboxymethyl-cellulose, carboxymethyl-cellulose calcium, etc. However, the simultaneous solution of the two problems could not be achieved. It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a composition of gourd fruit powder useful as a nutritious food. Above-described and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from following detailed description and examples. The present invention provides a composition comprising gourd fruit powder and L-ascorbic acid (vitamin C) wherein the weight ratio of L-ascorbic acid to gourd fruit powder is greater than 0.8: 1 and the L-ascorbic acid content is less than 30% of the total weight of the composition. In a further aspect the invention provides use of L-ascorbic acid for removing the grassy smell and avoiding the stickiness to teeth and teethridges of gourd powder. In a still further aspect the invention provides a method of removing the grassy smell and avoiding the stickiness to teeth and teethridges of gourd powder compositions, said method comprising adding L-ascorbic acid to gourd fruit powder. When the gourd powder composition of the present invention is used as solid food, the essential ingredients are the gourd fruit powder and L-ascorbic acid. The gourd fruit powder of the present invention is the powder made from the above-mentioned unbleached dried gourd. The gourd fruit powder must have a standard plate viable cell count of not greater than 5 x 10³ microbial cells/g and must be negative in the tests for presence of E. coli and Salmonella species according to food sanitation standards. The L-ascorbic acid also must be safe from the viewpoint of food sanitation by choosing from the lists designated in food additive regulations or in the Japanese Pharmacopoeia. The L-ascorbic acid is added to remove the grassy-smell and avoid the stickiness to teeth and teethridges. The preferable weight percentage of the L-ascorbic acid in the mixture to achieve these aims is less than 30% of the total weight of the gourd powder composition and with a weight ratio of more than 0.8 parts of the L-ascorbic acid to 1 part of the gourd powder. Although the L-ascorbic acid has a strong acidity, when mixed with the powder of gourd fruit, the acidity is so masked that the good taste is not lost. Moreover although L-ascorbic acid is unstable in water, when mixed with the gourd fruit powder, it acquires stability in water avoiding the loss in nutritional values thereof. Weight adjusting agents are added so that the weight percentage of the L-ascorbic acid in the mixture may be less than 30% of the total weight of the gourd powder composition. The following weight adjusting agents are suitable: sugars; such as, fructose, sorbitol, mannitol, glucose, palatinose, saccharose, lactose, reduced maltose, etc., bifidus factor; such as, fructo-oligosaccharide, galacto-oligosaccharide, isomalto-oligosaccharide, "konnyaku"mannan (mannan from devil's tongue), soybean milk, etc., deflocculating agents; such as, polyethylene glycol, stearic acid, glycerin fatty acid ester, etc., surfactants; such as, stearic acid polyoxyle 40, polyoxyethylene hardening castor oil 60, propylene glycol, saccharose fatty acid ester etc., lubricants; such as, silicon dioxide, magnesium stearate, calcium stearate, talc, synthetic aluminium silicate, starches, silicon resins, etc., bonding agents; such as, gum arabic, polyvinylpyrrolidone, hydroxypropyl cellulose, etc., sweeteners; such as, D-alanine, L-alanine, glycine, stevioside, glycyrrhizin acid 2-potassium, glycyrrhizin acid, saccharin, saccharin sodium, L-aspartyl L-phenyl alanine methyl ester., spices, coloring agents, preservatives and taste correcting agents. The kind and quantity to be added of the weight adjusting agents can be selected at discretion depending on the method of preparation and the use of the gourd powder composition. In addition to the above-mentioned nutritious ingredients, the following additives can be mixed with the gourd powder composition to replenish the nutrients; taste increasing ingredients such as mackerel fish powder and yeast extract etc., vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin B₁, B₂, vitamin D., minerals such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, and iron, etc., restoratives such as liver hydrolyzate, taurine, royal jelly, etc., milk products such as skim milk, condensed yogurt, yogurt powder. Moreover, coffee, cocoa, and tea powder can be mixed by choice. Powder, granules or tablets have been prepared from the gourd powder composition after mixing the gourd fruit powder and the L-ascorbic acid in an appropriate proportion and after adding the weight adjusting agents and optionally the nutrient replenishing ingredients. The gourd powder composition is formed to the slug shape or is granulated depending on the purpose of use. Test 1: The grassy-smell of the gourd, stickiness to teeth or teethridges, and acidity of L-ascorbic acid were tested in the gourd powder food of the present invention for evaluation. Preparation of materials to be tested The designated quantities of the gourd fruit powder and L-ascorbic acid were mixed, and 400 g of saccharose and lactose as the weight adjusting agents were added thereto to a total weight of 990 g. The mixture was, then, mixed with Quickneeder (K-250, Daiwa Kako KK.) for 5 minutes, and then 10 g of magnesium stearate was added thereto and further mixed for one minute. This mixture was made into tablets each containing 2.5 g of the mixture using a tablet machine, to obtain materials to be tested. The effects were organoleptically evaluated by ten panelists. The results thus obtained are shown in Tables 1-1 and 1-2. In the Tables, " ○" represents the case where all panelists thought it pleasant to eat. "□" represents the case where one to three panelists thought it unpleasant to eat (for being grassy-smelling, sour or sticky). "▵" represents the case where four to five panelists thought it unpleasant to eat. Finally, "X" shows the case where more than eight panelists thought it unpleasant to eat. Test 2: Stability of the L-ascorbic acid in the gourd fruit powder of the present invention was studied using the following four materials to be tested. Test materials prepared in the same manner as the gourd powder food of test material no.5 in Test 1 (thereafter called "A"). Test materials prepared by removing gourd fruit from "A" and adding lactose instead (called "B"). Test materials prepared in the same manner as the gourd powder food of test materials no. 13 in Test 1 (thereafter called "C"). Test materials prepared by removing the gourd fruit powder from "C" and adding lactose instead (called "D"). Preparation of test materials Each material was put into a polyethylene bottle, and stored in a thermostat at 40°C for three months either (i) immediately after preparation (about 1.5% weight reduction due to drying); or (ii) after being dried with silica gel for eight hours (about 0.8 % weight reduction due to drying); or (iii) after being dried with silica gel for twenty four hours (about 0.2% weight reduction due to drying), respectively, quantitatively after one month and three months respectively. The quantitative test was made according to the Iodometry Method in the Japanese Pharmacopoeia. The results thus obtained are shown in Table 2. Weight reduction due to drying at start of tests (%) Residual rate (%) Duration of storage 1 month Duration of storage 3 months A 1.6 97.9 91.5 0.9 98.5 95.3 0.1 99.9 100.3 B 1.4 94.5 84.1 0.8 97.0 92.7 0.2 100.2 99.3 C 1.4 98.3 92.8 0.9 99.8 96.6 0.2 100.0 100.1 D 1.5 93.5 85.2 0.7 97.9 95.1 0.1 100.1 100.3 It is evident from Tables 1 and 2 that, in the gourd powder food of the present invention, if the ratio of L-ascorbic acid to the powder of gourd fruit is more than 0.8 to 1 in weight and is less than 30 % of the total weight of the mixture, the grassy-smell peculiar to the gourd is masked and the stickiness to teeth or teethridges is depressed, and, further, the strong acid taste due to L-ascorbic acid is masked and the stability of L-ascorbic acid in water is restored. Therefore, the gourd powder food of the present invention has a good taste which is stable over a long period of time. Example 1 100 g of the powder of gourd fruit, 70 g of powder of finely ground glutinuous rice, 619.75 g of saccharose, 0.25 g of stevioside and 200 g of L-ascorbic acid were mixed in the Quickneeder for three minutes, and, then, 60 g of water was added thereto and agitated for two minutes. The mixture thereof was dried at 55°C for two hours. After leaving it to cool, the granules for tablets were obtained by sieving through a 12-mesh (1.68 mm) screen. After adding 10 g of magnesium stearate to the granules thus obtained and mixing, tablets each containing 3 g were made with the tablet machine. These tablets had a soft taste easily taken without the grassy-smell peculiar to the gourd and without sticky properties. Example 2 250 g of the gourd fruit powder 250 g of L-ascorbic acid, 304.7 g of mannitol, 150 g of taurine, 35 g of gum arabic powder, and 0.3 g of stevioside were mixed in the Quickneeder for three minutes, and then, 50 g of water was added thereto and agitated for two minutes. Then the mixture was dried for two hours at 55°C. After leaving it to cool, the granules for tablets were prepare by sieving through a 12-mesh (1.68 mm) screen. After adding 10 g of magnesium stearate to the granules and mixing, tablets each containing 250 mg were made with the tablet machine. This tablet had a soft taste easily taken without the grassy-smell peculiar to the gourd and without sticky properties.

Claims: A gourd powder composition comprising gourd fruit powder and L-ascorbic acid wherein the weight ratio of L-ascorbic acid to gourd fruit powder is greater than 0.8: 1 and the L-ascorbic acid content is less than 30% of the total weight of the composition. A composition as claimed in claim 1 wherein said gourd fruit powder is a 42-mesh (0.355 mm) pass powder with an average grain diameter of more than 80 mesh (0.180 mm). A composition as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, further comprising a weight adjusting agent. A composition as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 in the form of a powder or granules or tablets. Use of L-ascorbic acid for removing the grassy smell and avoiding the stickiness to teeth and teethridges of gourd powder. A method of removing the grassy smell and avoiding the stickiness to teeth and teethridges of gourd powder compositions, said method comprising adding L-ascorbic acid to gourd fruit powder. A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the L-ascorbic acid is added in an amount of less than 30% of the total weight of the composition and the weight ratio of L-ascorbic acid to gourd fruit powder is greater than 0.8: 1.

Inventors: NAKAZAWA SHINZO, SUZUKI EIICHI, TSUKADA TARO, NAKAZAWA, SHINZO, SUZUKI, EIICHI, TSUKADA, TARO
Applicants: TOKYO TANABE CO, TOKYO TANABE COMPANY LIMITED
Application year: 1989
Main classification: A23L1
IPC codes: A23L1