JPH0458948B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method for producing dietary fiber that has improved physical properties so that it has excellent dispersibility in aqueous systems and is palatable, so that it can be mixed into beverages and other liquid foods. It is. "Prior Art and its Problems" Humans have been consuming foods high in dietary fiber since ancient times, but as living standards have improved, many modern people have begun to place more emphasis on palatability. People are increasingly consuming foods that are low in dietary fiber, such as sexual foods, various refined foods, and processed foods.
The decreasing trend in dietary fiber intake is also related to the theory that fibrous components in food not only do not serve as an energy source, but also reduce the efficiency of nutrient utilization. However, many important facts regarding the physiological and chemical effects of dietary fiber have been revealed in recent years. For example, Burkit studied the dietary habits of indigenous Africans and found that those who consumed a diet high in dietary fiber were more likely to suffer from appendicitis and diverticular disease than Westerners who consumed foods low in dietary fiber. reported lower rates of cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer. In addition, Ebihara et al. confirmed in experiments using wheat bran that dietary fiber shortens the residence time of food in the body and increases the amount of feces and its water content. Based on these research results, in recent years, we have begun to process dietary fiber-rich materials such as grain bran, buds, fruits, and pericarp, or the dietary fiber itself such as refined cellulose powder, to make it easier to eat. It has become common practice to mix it into solid or semi-solid foods (for example, bread, cookies, biscuits, cakes, etc.). however,
Among dietary fiber materials, materials with a high dietary fiber content or refined dietary fibers are hard and have a bad taste, so it is difficult to add them to food or to consume them alone or in a similar form as so-called health foods. If so, the question is how palatable it is processed. Also, when dietary fiber is added to liquid foods such as drinks,
Even if the blending ratio is low, the tip of the tongue clearly senses the quality of the texture of the dietary fiber, so there is a similar problem, and in this case, suspension stability in water becomes an issue. In these respects, conventional dietary fibers used as processed foods have not been satisfactory, except for some with low dietary fiber content. In addition, foods with a low dietary fiber content that do not have such problems do not have the inherent disadvantage of having a low dietary fiber content, but also have a unique taste and aroma due to the large amount of plant components other than dietary fiber. , has a color, etc.
For this reason, it had the disadvantage that its uses were limited. On the other hand, in recent years, a method has been used in which a suspension of dietary fiber is homogenized under high pressure to make it fine (see Japanese Patent Publication No. 19921/1983). However, these methods require the dietary fiber to be shredded in advance in order to pass the dietary fiber suspension through a small-diameter orifice, and the purpose of these methods is that the dietary fiber must be repeatedly treated at a pressure of 3000 Psi or more. I can't get what I want. Therefore, these treatment methods not only take time, but also require complicated equipment, are prone to clogging of orifices, pressure leaks, etc., and also have the drawbacks of high wear and tear on the machinery due to high-pressure treatment. Therefore, it was unsuitable for large-scale processing.
Moreover, these methods are suitable for processing materials containing water-soluble dietary fiber (Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-5704).
(see issue), it could not be said to be suitable for ordinary dietary fiber processing. ``Object of the Invention'' The object of the present invention is to provide a product that has good taste despite containing a high percentage of fiber, and has good stability when suspended in water, and therefore can be used in a wide range of foods and drinks. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing dietary fiber suitable for addition for the purpose of reinforcing fiber quality. "Structure of the Invention" The method for producing dietary fiber according to the present invention includes grinding non-cereal insoluble dietary fiber in a wet state while applying shear stress to at least partially microfibrillate it. Features. In this way, by grinding the dietary fiber in a wet state while applying the action of shear stress, the dietary fiber can be microfibrillated with a simple operation. Here, microfibrillated dietary fiber means that the unique fiber bundle-like structure of each dietary fiber (or even if it does not have a distinct fiber bundle-like structure) is destroyed by shear stress. The fibers are then loosened into threads, which are intertwined with each other. Typical examples are shown in Figures 1 and 2 (225
Shown in the electron micrograph (magnified magnification). Figure 1-a is untreated crystallized cellulose, Figure 1-b is the same colloid mill (mascolloider) treated product, Figure 2-a is untreated chitin, and Figure 2-b is the same colloid milled product. (mascoloider) is a processed product. Dietary fibers that are at least partially microfibrillated in this way have a markedly improved texture, no longer feel "floury" or "crunchy," and are water-based. The suspension properties are also good. Therefore, it is suitable for adding to a wide range of foods and drinks for the purpose of reinforcing fiber quality. Hereinafter, the manufacturing method of the present invention will be explained in more detail. Non-cereal insoluble dietary fiber is used as a raw material. Preferably, cellulose, chitin, chitosan, etc. are used as the non-cereal insoluble dietary fiber. Examples of cellulose that can be used include commercially available cellulose, which is made by pulverizing pulp collected from hardwoods such as beech and maple, and softwoods such as pine, but other materials include cellulose from cotton, rice straw, wheat straw, millet shell, etc. , fruits, vegetables, and plants can also be used. Chitin is an indigestible polysaccharide contained in the shells of crustaceans such as crabs, shrimp, krill, and insects, and for example, these crude raw materials can be used as they are. In addition, shredded purified products obtained by chemically treating these shells to remove calcium, protein, etc. are commercially available, and such purified products can also be used. Chitosan is a basic polysaccharide produced by treating chitin with a highly concentrated alkali, and has recently attracted attention for its cholesterol-lowering effect. Like chitin, shredded pieces are commercially available. These dietary fibers are coarsely ground as necessary. This particle size varies depending on the machine used for processing and the type of dietary fiber, but it is usually preferable to use a particle size in the range of 16 to 100 mesh in view of the quality of the processed product obtained and processing efficiency. In other words, if the particle size is larger than 16 meshes, it will be difficult to process efficiently in the subsequent grinding process, and
This is because if the particle size is more than 100 meshes, the fiber length is too short and the mutual entanglement is weak, making it impossible to obtain high-quality microfibrillated dietary fiber. In the present invention, the dietary fiber is ground in a wet state while applying shear stress. Here, the wet state means a state in which the dietary fiber is suspended in a liquid such as water. The dietary fiber concentration of this suspension is preferably 0.1 to 10% by weight, more preferably 0.3 to 5% by weight. and,
For the grinding process, any device that has the ability to grind dietary fiber in a wet state can be used;
Among these, devices classified as mills (burr mills) that have a twisting action and compressive shearing action as the external grinding force, and colloid mills that have an impact shearing action as the external grinding force are preferable (Food Engineering Handbook, edited by Shiro Teramoto, pp. 277-302, Grinding (See machine details). As mentioned above, at least partially microfibrillated dietary fiber can be obtained by milling in a wet state. This dietary fiber can be commercialized as a concentrated suspension to an appropriate concentration, or as a dry powder, if necessary. This dietary fiber can be added to various foods such as biscuits, kutsky, crackers, drinks such as juice and milk, and frozen foods such as jelly and ice cream, thereby enhancing physiological activity. You can get fortified foods. In particular, it has excellent dispersibility in aqueous systems, so it is suitable for fluid foods such as youth, milk, jelly, and ice cream. "Example of the invention" Crystalline cellulose powder (manufactured by Asahi Kasei Corporation,
(product name: "Avicel FD 101"), filter paper pulverized material (filter paper shredded into 16 mesh pieces), chitin (manufactured by Shin Nihon Kagaku Co., Ltd., passed through 32 meshes), and chitosan (manufactured by Shin Nippon Chemical Co., Ltd., 32 meshes) A 1% aqueous suspension of the permeate) was prepared. These are colloid mill/mascolloider (manufactured by Masuko Sangyo Co., Ltd.)
It was ground into fine particles. For comparison, a treatment solution was prepared by passing the same suspension twice through a high-pressure homogenizer (manufactured by Sanmaru Kikai Co., Ltd.) at a pressure of 1000 kg/cm ² . These treated products were tested for suspension stability in water using the method described below. Test method: Suspend 1g of sample in 100ml of water,
Transfer to a ml graduated cylinder and let stand at room temperature. twenty four
After a period of time, the scale at the boundary between the transparent water layer and the opaque suspension layer is read and expressed as the "sedimented volume." The test results were as shown in Table 1.

[Table] As shown in the table above, the colloid mill treatment significantly increased the submerged volume of all dietary fibers in water and improved their dispersion stability. Furthermore, even dietary fibers that cannot be treated with a high-pressure homogenizer could be micronized by colloid mill treatment. A 225x electron micrograph of an untreated crystalline cellulose powder is shown in FIG. 1-a, and a 225x electron micrograph of a colloid mill-treated crystalline cellulose powder is shown in FIG. 1-b. Further, a 225x electron micrograph of untreated chitin is shown in FIG. 2-a, and a 225x electron micrograph of chitin treated with a colloid mill is shown in FIG. 2-b. As described above, it can be seen that in the dietary fiber of the present invention, the fiber is loosened into threads and at least partially microfibrillated by the colloid mill treatment. Next, an untreated crystalline cellulose powder (Comparative Example 1), a high-pressure homogenizer-treated crystalline cellulose powder (Comparative Example 2), and a colloid mill-treated crystalline cellulose powder (Example) were commercially available. Each was added to orange juice and suspended, and 10 experienced panelists evaluated the ease of drinking on a 10-point scale. In addition, the amounts added are 0.5%, 1%, and 3% for the examples.
For Comparative Examples 1 and 2, the content was only 0.5% (both weight %). The results are shown in Table 2.
Regarding the Example, many people judged that even the 3% addition group was easier to drink than Comparative Example 2 (high-pressure homogenizer treated product 0.5% addition group). According to Kramer's test, the 0.5% added area of the example was determined to be easier to drink than both comparative examples at the 1% level, and the 1% added area of the example was judged to be easier to drink than both comparative examples at the 5% level. It was judged to be easy to drink. According to free description, both comparative examples gave a feeling of "fluffiness,""powderyness," and "irritatingness," which were found to be negative factors.

【table】

[Table] "Effects of the Invention" As explained above, according to the present invention, dietary fibers are at least partially microfibrillated by a simple method of grinding while applying shear stress in a wet state. can do. and,
Although the obtained dietary fiber is a hard insoluble fiber, it has a good texture and is easy to suspend in water. Therefore, this dietary fiber can be incorporated into an extremely wide range of foods and drinks to enhance their fiber quality, without substantially impairing the original flavor of the food or drink.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1-a is a scanning electron micrograph showing an untreated crystalline cellulose powder, Figure 1-b is a scanning electron micrograph showing a colloid mill-treated crystalline cellulose powder, and Figure 2-a is a chitin micrograph. Fig. 2-b is a scanning electron micrograph showing an untreated product of chitin, and Fig. 2-b is a scanning electron micrograph showing a colloid milled product of chitin.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A method for producing dietary fiber, which comprises grinding non-cereal insoluble dietary fiber in a wet state while applying shear stress to at least partially microfibrillate it. . 2. The method for producing dietary fiber according to claim 1, wherein the grinding is performed using a mill or a colloid mill. 3. In claim 1 or 2, the non-cereal insoluble dietary fiber is preliminarily added to
A method for producing dietary fiber, which comprises adjusting the particle size to 100 mesh and then grinding. 4. The method for producing dietary fiber according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the non-cereal insoluble dietary fiber is selected from cellulose, chitin, and chitosan.