SWEETENER

Abstract: The invention relates to a composition for sweetening a food product, like food or medicines, containing 20-99,9 % (v/w) of alpha -Gluco-oligo-saccharides and 0,1-80 % (v/w) of glycosides from steviol. The alpha -Gluco-oligo-saccharides are preferably derived from the product Bioecolians 3. According to the invention this composition has synergy, this means improved qualities related to sweetening capacity and digestion.

Description: SWEETENER The invention relates to .a novel composition useful for sweetening a food product or a medicine, said composition containing 20-99,9% (v/w) of α-Gluco-oligo- saccharides and 0,1-80% (v/w) of glycosides from steviol. α-Gluco-oligo-saccharides are on molecular scale composed from a small quantity of moieties glucose. Glucose is one of the components of for instance sugar and constitutes a basic component of starch and cellulose. Glucose is the most common sugar in nature. α-Gluco-oligo-saccharides are "slow" sugars, which on the one hand supply a lot of energy, on the other hand are often insufficiently absorbed by the digestive system. α-Gluco-oligo-saccharides have a prebi- otic effect on the enzymatic activity of both the intes- tinal and the cutaneous flora and restore the natural operation thereof. α-Gluco-oligo-saccharides are prebio- tic, as they essentially end up in the intestines in an unabsorbed way, where they form a preferential substrate to the bacterial strains in the large intestine, which stimulates the metabolism of the flora near to the large intestine . α-Gluco-oligo-saccharides have a structure analogous to the complex sugars, which to a high degree are not absorbed during the stomach digestion and so end up in the intestinal system of the small and large intestines after the stomach in an undigested form. In the intestinal system, especially in the large intestine, it is consumed by bacteria, which stimulates the metabolism, producing proprionate and butyrate without stimulating production gas or lactic acid. α-Gluco-oligo-saccharides so fulfill an important positive part in the digestion of complex sugars and enable an advantageous digestion, this means an energy releasing and detoxifixing effect, without the accompanying drawbacks, viz. the irregular passage of unfinished digestion en the formation of gas. The α-Gluco-oligo-saccharides hereby leave the intestinal ecosystem intact and stimulate the renewal mechanism on the intestinal wall and contibutes to the reinforcement of the natural defence mechanism. The objections of the α-Gluco-oligo-saccharides are that the sweetening is insufficient to be used in many food products. The invention relates to the sweetening of α- Gluco-oligo-saccharides with an glycoside of steviol according to claim 1. The glycoside of steviol preferably is stevioside. This composition according to the inventi- on has synergetic qualities residing from an optimal control of the sweetness and the volume of the obtained composition. Stevioside has a strongly sweet taste, which nevertheless also is companied by a bitter aftertaste. This gives stevioside as such an undesirable taste. The addition of stevioside and α-gluco-oligo-saccharides provides a composition with an improved taste and improved digestive qualities. The composition according to the invention additionally is low caloric, diabetically safe and water-soluble. Other advantages of the new composition according to the invention are the obtaining of a stable final product, which is heat-resistant and has a adjustable sweetening proportion per volume-unity. Side effects of the glycoside of steviol, such as diarrhea and gas formation, are removed to a high degree by applying the composition according to the invention. The composition according to the invention further represses dental caries and is an ideal composi- tion which in case of stress-symptoms can be administered without drawbacks as a complete stomach digestion is not necessary. The invention preferably has the characterizing feature of claim 3. The simple fragmentation, for instan- ce by grinding and mixing with parts of the Stevia Rebau- diana Bertoni plant makes the isolation of sugar contained by the plant no longer necessary. The Steviaplant contains six kinds of sweet glucosides, for instance stevioside which is about 300 times sweeter than sucrose and reboudioside. The α-gluco-oligo-saccharides are preferably derived from the enzymatic glucosyl transferase synthe- sis, starting from sucrose and maltose by a bacterial strain Leuconostoc mesenteroides . Such a method is known from EP-A-0 325 872. The α-gluco-oligo-saccharides can be part of the product Bioecolians ® , manufactured by the firm and being composed of 85-100% (v/w) α-gluco-oligo-saccha- ride, 0-5% (v/w) glucose, 0-4% (v/w) fructose, 0-5% water and 0-2% (v/w) of a rest product. With regard to the product Bioecolians ® the in vitro tests with different bacterial strains being found in the large intestine, prove that Bioecolians ® is only absorbed by bacterial strains found in the large intestine, viz. Bacteroides, Lactobacilles , bifidogerms and is not absorbed by pathological cariers in the large intestine, such as for instance Salmonella, staphilococces, Clostrides and Colibacilles, which provide a selective effect to Bioecolians ® . Six weeks lasting in vivo tests, in which a concentration of 4% Bioecolians ® was administered to rats provided with a human intestinal flora, proved that Bioecolians ® , in comparison with the check group, where no Bioecolians ® was administered: - did not disturb the bacteriologic exosystem in the intestine, - stimulated the enzymatic mechanisms of this ecosystem, - improved the digestion of complex sugars, - stimulated the production of proprionate and butyrate, - reduced the production of hydrogene gas. So, Bioecolians ® has a positive influence on the digestive mechanism and on the production of components stimulating the health, without changing the intestinal ecosystem. By the selective effect Bioecolians ® stimulates the natural defence mechanism. The biggest drawback of the product Bioecolians 18 is that during the enzymatic production process the sweetening function is fading away. The sweetening of the α- Gluco-oligo-saccharides of steviol provides a suitable sweetening to the α-gluco-oligo-saccharides with glycosides or to the Bioecolians ® product with glycosides of steviol, the drawbacks of the glycosides of steviol, like flatulence of the bitter aftertaste, being nullified. A composition according to the invention is also preferably diluted with a sugar having a low sweetening capacity, chosen out of the group including inuline, fructo-oligosaccharides, lactitol, maltitol, mannotol , sorbitol, erythritol, galactitol, isomaltulose, polyglu- cose, polymaltose, carboxymethylcellulose, carboxyethyl- cellulose, arabinogalactan, microcrystalline cellulose, dextrose. Especially inuline is a very suitable volume maker for the composition. Inuline is additionally very frequent, which reduces the cost price of a diluted composition according to the invention. The composition, diluted or not, according to the invention is ideal for food products, like food or medicine preparations. When the composition is added to a food product in an amount of 87% (v/w) , the storage life of such a food product seemed to be extended considerably without causing mold or any other side effect. Food, such as soft drinks, pies, sweets, jam are product which are suitable to be sweetened with a composition according to the invention.- The composition according to the invention also reduces the amount of cholesterol . Another set of experiments will be described hereunder . Based on literature knowledge of the properties of the α-glucooligosaccharide (GOS) compound Bioecolians ® , it was proposed for the first time by Mr. L. Brouwers that a combination of extracts from the plant Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni (fa . Asteraceae) containing the highly sweet tasting stevioside and rebaudioside A derivatives combined the advantages of both products. Bioecolians ® was a gift from Solabia (France, Ref. 361013, lot. 7L254) and freely available. Extracts from Stevia rebaudiana were used, either in powder form or as a tincture containing water and alcohol. It was found in experiments on the effect of Stevia on the chemical stability of Bioecolians ® that the Bioecolians ® is a highly stable product, not degradable by a number of intestinal enzymes. It is therefore not to be expected that the addition of Stevia extracts will in any way affect the stability of the GOS. The effect of Bioecolians ® and Stevia extracts on three principal enzymes of the intestinal sugar metabolism have been tested. The studies were performed in vitro, by measuring the enzyme activities with the natural substrates and in the presence of varying concentrations (5 and 30%) of a Bioecolians ® /Stevia composition containing 13.5% (v/w) Stevia. No statistically significant changes were found in the activities of β-glucosidase and β-galactosidase, indicating that a combination of Bioecolians ® and Stevia with these enzymes does not affect the specificity and / or maximal activity of these enzymes . In the case of α-glucosidase a small decrease in the enzyme' s affinity constant (K^) was appa- rently detected, indicating a competitive-type inhibition. It thus seemed possible that the enzyme used either Bioecolians ® or a compound in the Stevia extract as a substrate. These results need further documentation and testing, since the concentrations of Bioecolians ® and of Stevia applied in these tests was relatively high. From these results it is apparent that Bioecolians ® and Stevia have no pronounced effect on the activity of principal sugar metabolising enzymes. In experiments on the effect on the growth of bacteria of the intestinal flora is was proven that bacterial cultures did not show significant growth inhibitions . Bioecolians ® is considered having a cholestero- lemic effect. Sensorical analyses were performed. It was found that a concentration of (13.5 +/- 8.0)% (v/w) Stevia (tincture) in Bioecolians ® gave a sweetening effect comparable to the sweetness of an identical amount of white sugar. Sensorical (taste) analysis indicates that a composition of Bioecolians ® containing between 10 and 20% (v/w) of a Stevia tincture results in a similar subjective sweetness compared to an equal mass of commercial white sugar. From the above experiments it will be clear that the novel composition according to the invention improves the taste and the volume effect which is in particular useful for food preparations while maintaining an improved effect on the growth of bacteria of the intestinal flora. Further a highly efficient control on the ratio calorie value/sweetness can be obtained resulting in a sugar product useful for diabetici .

Claims: CLAIMS 1. Composition for sweetening a food product or a medicine comprising 20-99,9% (v/w) α-gluco-oligo-saccharides and 0,1-80% (v/w) glycosides of steviol. 2. Composition according to claim 1, characte- rized in that the glycoside of steviol is stevioside. 3. Composition according to claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that the glycoside of steviol is derived from fragments of the Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni plant. 4. Composition according to claim 1, 2 or 3 , characterized in that the α-gluco-oligo-saccharides are derived from an enzymatic glycosyl transferase ' synthesis, starting from sucrose and maltose by a bacterial strain Leuconostoc mesenteroides . 5. Composition according to claims 1-4 in a concentration of 13,5 +/- 8 % (v/w) Stevia tincture in Bioecolians ® . 6. Composition according to claims 1-5, characterized in that the α-gluco-oligo-saccharides has been added to the composition under de product Bioecoliane ® , the product consisting of 85-100% (v/w) α-gluco-oligo- saccharide, 0,5% (v/w) glucose, 0-4% (v/w) fructose, 0-5% water, and 0-2% (v/w) from a rest product. 7. Composition according to one of the preceding claims further comprising a sugar component with a low sweetening capacity, chosen from the group containing inuline, fructo-oligosacharides , lactitol, maltitol, mannitol, sorbitol, eryhritol, galactitol, isomaltulose, polyglucose, poly altose, carboxymethylcellulose, car- boxyethylcellulose, arabinogalactan, microcrystalline cellulose dextrose. 8. Composition according to claim 7, whereby the sugar component is inuline. 9. Food product, such as a food or medicine preparation containing a composition according to one of the preceding claims. 10. Food product according to claim 9, containing 87% (v/w) of a composition according to one of the preceding claims 1-8. 11. Composition according to claims 1-8 for use as a medicine. 12. Use of a composition according to claims 1- 8 for the manufacture of a medicament for the treatment of cholesterol.

Inventors: BROUWERS LOUIS JEAN HILDA, BROUWERS, LOUIS, JEAN, HILDA
Applicants: BROUWERS LOUIS JEAN HILDA, BROUWERS, LOUIS, JEAN, HILDA
Application year: 1999
Main classification: A23L1
IPC codes: A23L1, A61K47, A61P3