Calpis Co., Ltd.

Keita Ueno

Naoyuki Yamamoto

Toshiaki Takano

Akihiro Masuyama

Yoshinori Moriyama

Seiji Tsuboi

Toshiyuki Kai

Masahiro Ejiri

Disclosed are agents for phase-adjusting or enhancing the amplitude of an endogenous melatonin secretion rhythm and for improving a circadian rhythm, as well as functional food containing such an agent, which may prevent or ameliorate various symptoms, such as sleep disorder or prolonged sleep latency. The agent contains whey as the active component.

Functional food for ameliorating endogenous melatonin secretion rhythm and functional food for ameliorating circadian rhythm

A process for efficiently, easily and stably producing tripeptides Val-Pro-Pro and Ile-Pro-Pro, which are useful as hypotensive drugs, anti-stress drugs, etc., by an enzymatic method. This process involves the step of cleaving a milk casein-containing material with a proteinase to form an intermediate peptide selected from the group consisting of a peptide containing the sequence Val-Pro-Pro but having no Pro other than this sequence, a peptide containing the sequence Ile-Pro-Pro but having no Pro other than this sequence, and a mixture of these peptides, and then cleaving the intermediate peptide with a peptidase to thereby give at least one of the tripeptides Val-Pro-Pro and Ile-Pro-Pro.

Process for producing tripeptides

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Keita Ueno