Suntory Holdings Limited

Suntory Limited

Other

Sumio Asami

Yuko Fukui

Masaaki Nakai

Kengo Akimoto

Hajime Yoshizumi

Teruo Amachi

Yoshifumi Shinmen

Norihide Amano

Mitsuru Maeda

Michihiro Sugano

Kyoichi Ogura

Sakayu Shimizu

Hideaki Yamada

Yoshihide Suwa

Taeko Iino

Fumio Hashimoto

Masahiro Nakao

Takaharu Tanaka

Takaaki Kusumi

Yoshinori Kitagawa

Yoshiyuki Ishikura

Norifumi Tateishi

Tohru Kodama

Hiroshi Ishigooka

Kayo Saito

Akifumi Maeda

Keiichi Abe

Aki Kusumoto

Yukikazu Saeki

Nobuaki Hirose

Eiichi Kosugi

Eiji Yamashita

Hayao Otoze

Zhi-bo Yang

Hitoshi Matsubara

Hiroaki Sasaki

Hidekazu Hosono

The object of the present invention is to provide an anti-obesity agent which contains a tea-derived component and which is safe and does not compromise the flavor of foods and beverages. According to the present invention, a safe and palatable anti-obesity agent can be provided by incorporating a benzotropolone ring-containing compound which has tea-derived, high inhibitory activities against lipase and alfa-glucosidase. The anti-obesity agent of the present invention does not compromise the flavor of foods and beverage, has palatability, and can be used in various use applications including foods and beverages intended for health enhancement such as reduction in triglycerides.

Anti-obesity agent comprising compound containing benzotropolone ring

There are provided foods and beverages that will suppress the absorption of dietary lipids, thereby suppressing the rise of triglyceride in blood. High-molecular weight polyphenol fractions recovered from oolong tea are added to foods or beverages as an active ingredient for inhibiting lipase activity. The foods and beverages of the present invention are safe and their inherent flavor has not been impaired; hence, they may be taken in routinely so that the lipase inhibitory action of the high-molecular weight polyphenol fractions will suppress the rise of triglyceride in blood and prevent obesity.

Lipase activity inhibitors containing high-molecular weight polyphenol fractions, tea extracts, and processes for producing the same

The present invention provides lipase inhibitors containing dimers of flavan-3-ols derived from teas as well as foods and beverages and medicines containing said inhibitors. More specifically, the present invention provides lipase inhibitors containing at least one of assamicains represented by the formula: wherein G represents a galloyl group;theasinensins represented by the formula: wherein Rrepresents G or H, and Rrepresents G; andtheaflavins represented by the formula: wherein Rand Rindependently represent G or H; as well as foods and beverages and medicines containing said lipase inhibitors.

Lipase inhibitors

Disclosed is a composition which is safe for a human body and an animal, can be ingested continuously on a daily basis, has an anti-fatigue activity, and is effective for the prevention or treatment of a disease or condition associated with fatigue. Specifically disclosed is an anti-fatigue agent comprising andrographolide optionally together with an &#x3b1;-lipoic acid as an active ingredient(s). Also disclosed is a novel oral composition comprising andrographolide and an &#x3b1;-lipoic acid. The anti-fatigue agent and the oral composition are useful for the prevention or treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome, overfatigue, physical fatigue, mental fatigue and organ fatigue.

Anti-fatigue agents and oral compositions containing andrographolide as active ingredient

An object of the present invention is to provide a lipase activity inhibitor that shows high inhibitory activity against pancreatic lipase to suppress the absorption of meal-derived fat and/or which contributes to suppressing and preventing obesity, as well as a food or beverage that has such lipase activity inhibitor incorporated therein. Another object of the invention is to provide a lipase inhibitor of tea origin that suits most consumers' taste and which will not impair the flavor of the food or beverage when incorporated therein. Still another object of the invention is to provide a process for producing said lipase inhibitors. Further object of the invention is to provide antioxidants. To attain these objects, epigallocatechin dimers (oolong homobisflavans) or trimers are incorporated in foods or beverages. As a result, the absorption of meal-derived fat can be suppressed and, in addition, antioxidation effect is obtained. The compounds of the invention can be produced by reacting epigallocatechin gallate with formaldehyde in the presence of an acid.

Epigallocatechin dimers or trimers having lipase inhibitory activity and/or antioxidant activity

It is intended to provide ACE inhibitory tripeptides which are not easily digested by digestive enzymes after being orally taken and thus have fewer tendencies to lose their ACE inhibitory activity in vivo. More specifically, 3 tripeptides having an ACE inhibitory activity and showing a hypotensive effect in an animal experiment are discovered from a thermolysin digestion product of sesame. These tripeptides respectively have amino acid sequences Leu-Ser-Ala, Val-Ile-Tyr and Leu-Val-Tyr and show an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitory activity.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitory peptides

The present invention provides lipase inhibitors containing flavan-3-ol monomers or acylates thereof derived from teas as well as foods and beverages and medicines containing said inhibitors. More specifically, the present invention provides lipase inhibitors containing at least one of flavan-3-ol monomers represented by the formula: wherein Rand Rindependently represent H or OH, Rrepresents H, Rrepresents H, G, 3MeG or p-cou, Rrepresents H or G, R' and R&#x2032; independently represent H or G, R&#x2033; represents H or G, and G, 3MeG and p-cou respectively represent the groups of the formulae: or acylates thereof; as well as foods and beverages and medicines containing said lipase inhibitors.

The present invention provides lipase inhibitory agents comprising a gallotannin or ellagitannin component(s) isolated from teas oras well as foods and beverages and medicines containing said inhibitory agents. The present invention provides lipase inhibitory agents comprising at least one of compounds represented by formula I below: wherein R, Rand Rindependently represent H or a gallic acid residue, and Rand Rrepresent H or a gallic acid residue, or Rand Rtogether form an HHDP group represented by the formula below: provided that at least two of Rto Rrepresent a gallic acid residue or when all of R, Rand Rare H, Rand Rtogether form the HHDP group; as well as foods and beverages and medicines containing said lipase inhibitory agents.

An anti-stress composition having for its active ingredient astaxanthin and/or its ester. This composition can be in the form of a pharmaceutical, functional food, food or beverage and so forth.

Anti-stress composition

A method of inhibiting the metabolism of cholesterol, comprising administering to a subject a pharmaceutical composition comprising a dioxabicyclo[3.3.0]octane derivative represented by the following general formula (I): ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1, R.sup.2, R.sup.3, R.sup.4, R.sup.5 and R.sup.6 independently represent a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms, or R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 and/or R.sup.4 and R.sup.5 together form a methylene group or an ethylene group, and n, m and l are 0 or 1.

Method of inhibiting metabolism of cholesterol

A liver function improver, food, or drink comprising, as an effective ingredient, a dioxabicyclo[3.3.0]octane derivative, such as sesamin, sesaminol espisesamin, episesaminol, sesamolin, 2-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)-6-(3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenyl)-3,7-dioxabicycl o[3.3.0]octane, 2,6-bis-(3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenyl)-3,7-dioxabicyclo[3.3.0]octane or 2-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)-6-(3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenoxy)-3,7-dioxabicyc lo[3.3.0]octane.

Liver function improver

A liver function improver, food, or drink comprising, as an effective ingredient, a dioxabicyclo[3.3.0]octane derivative, such as sesamin, sesaminol episesamin, episesaminol, sesamolin, 2-(3,4-methylene dioxyphenyl)-6-(3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenyl)-3,7-dioxabicyclo[3.3.0]octane, 2,6-bis-(3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenyl)-3,7-dioxabicyclo[3.3.0]octane or 2- (3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)-6-(3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenoxy)-3,7-dioxabicyclo [3.3.0]octane.

Growing community of inventors

Ibaraki, Japan

Sumio Asami