GB2266217A - Processes for producing low calorie chocolate having cholesterol reducing effects in blood - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides (I) a chocolate which contains (i) a calcium and/or a magnesium salt and (ii) 2-unsaturated-1,3-disaturated triglyceride in a molar ratio of (i):(ii) of from 0.5:1 to 2:1; and (II) a process of preparing a chocolate in which a calcium and/or magnesium salt (i) is added in an amount required to obtain a molar ratio of (i): 2-unsaturated-1,3-disaturated triglyceride (ii) of from 0.5:1 to 2:1. The chocolate has a cholesterol reducing effect.

Description

PROCESSES FOR PRODUCING LOW CALORIE CHOCOLATE HAVING CHOLESTEROL REDUCING EFFECTS IN BLOOD BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to processes for producing chocolates, specifically low calorie chocolates that have cholesterol reducing effects in blood plasma.

In these days, so-called "an age of epicurism and gluttony", people consume higher grade products and tend to eat foods containing animal fats such as various meats and seafoods or butter made from milk. These animal-fat-containing foods increase a cholesterol level in blood plasma and cause undesirable effects on our health. Cholesterol is essential not only for the structural components of cells but also for the growth and survival of cells. Although cholesterol plays an important role in the human body, an excess amount of cholesterol in blood plasma has an adversary effect on our health. An excessive deposition of cholesterol on tissues may cause arteriolosclerosis at the early stages of life, which could lead to various heart diseases.

A normal cholesterol level is typically 130 - 240 mg/dl while those who have a high cholesterol level can have as much as 270 - 1,000 mg/dl. To reduce an unusually high cholesterol level in blood plasma, dietary regimen is recommended: food containing high cholesterol should be reduced and vegetable oil containing polyunsaturated fatty acids in a liquid form at room temperature should be recommended. In addition, foods containing fiber are also recommended because fiber is believed to reduce a cholesterol level in blood plasma.

Many people like chocolates and eat chocolates of various forms. Chocolates are food of a high oil content and, in fact, contain a high level of lipid, structurally specific cacao butter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides tasty, low calorie chocolates having cholesterol reducing effects in blood plasma so that the chocolates of the present invention satisfy not only people's taste but also the need of human health.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Chocolates are people's favourite food and consumed in a substantial amount so that it is advantageous to make low calorie chocolates having cholesterol reducing effects in blood plasma.

The present invention provides a processe for producing low-calorie, tasty chocolates having cholesterol reducing effects in blood plasma.

The present inventors have found that chocolates containing a certain amount of a calcium and/or a magnesium salt are a low calorie and have cholesterol reducing effects in blood plasma.

The present invention is characterized as follows. The present invention provides: 1. A chocolate which contains (i) a calcium and/or a magnesium salt and (ii) 2-unsaturated-l, 3-disaturated triglyceride in a molar ratio of (i):(ii) of from 0.5:1 to 2:1; and 2. A process of preparing a chocolate in which a calcium and/or magnesium salt (i) is added in an amount required to obtain a molar ratio of (i):2-unsaturated-l, 3-disaturated triglyceride (ii) of from 0.5:1 to 2:1.

The present invention will be further described as follows. Cholesterol is a precursor of bile acids, an acid found in bile, and bile is secreted in the duodenum to aid the absorption of lipids. An excess amount of bile acids secreted in the duodenum is absorbed again in the intestine and the absorbed bile acids are secreted again as bile in the duodenum.

It is believed that, if fiber is also present in the digestive tract, fiber can absorb some of the bile acids and both of them are excreted out from the digestive tract, which reduces a total amount of cholesterol in the human body as well as a cholesterol level in blood plasma.

In normal digestion and absorption mechanisms of fats and oils in human body, triglycerides are degraded by digestive enzymes: the fatty acid at the second position, remained attached to the carbon atom of the glycerole moiety, is degraded to monoglyceride, the fatty acid at the first and third positions are released to become free fatty acids, which are then digested and absorbed in the digestive tract.

When one eats food containing fats and oils, 2unsaturated-1,3-di-saturated triglyceride (hereafter referred to as "SUS component"), one of the constituents, is degraded: the fatty acid at the first and third positions are released to become free saturated fatty acids, which are then digested and absorbed in the digestive tract. If a calcium ion and/or a magnesium ion are present in the digestive tract, however, the calcium ion and/or the magnesium ion react with free saturated fatty acids to give a calcium and/or a magnesium salt of fatty acids. When the calcium and/or the magnesium salt of fatty acids are not absorbed in the digestive tracts, they are excreted out. It is believed that fatty acid salts, like fiber, reduce a cholesterol level in blood plasma by absorbing some of bile acids and excreting out both fatty acid salts and bile acids.

A content of fats and oils in typical solid chocolates is about 33 - 35 %. A well-known fats and oils is cacao butter.

Cacao butter contains triglycerides, about 80 % of which is an SUS component that renders characteristic properties of chocolates, i.e., hard at a low temperature and soft at a body temperature. These properties are well known characteristics of chocolates. Various hardened butters, lipid substitutes for cacao butter, have been commercially available. These tempered-type lipids, so-called pseudocacao butter, contain triglycerides mainly constituted by an SUS component. By adding a calcium and/or a magnesium salt to these solid chocolates, chocolates can have properties that reduce a cholesterol level in blood plasma.

The chocolates of the present invention means ones containing cacao butter and/or hardened butter and are not limited by law and regulations. Fats and oils, raw materials for chocolates, include plant oil such as rapseed oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil, rice bran oil, corn oil, safflower oil, olive oil, kapok oil, sesami oil, Oenothera tetraptera oil, palm oil, shea butter, sal seed oil and cacao butter and animal fats such as milk fat, beef tallow, lard, fish oil, and whale oil. Any one of the fats and oils or any combination of the fats and oils is hardened, fractionated and transesterificated to give a processed oil. The processed oil is suitable as an ingredient of chocolates because the triglyceride component is mainly constituted by an SUS component. Processes known in the art are utilized for making chocolate.The present invention provides a process for producing chocolates simply by adding a calcium and/or a magnesium salt to other chocolate ingredients at any step of the chocolate making process.

Theoretically, an SUS component reacts with a calcium and/or a magnesium component at an equal concentration ratio in mole. We have found, however, that the mole ratio of a calcium and/or a magnesium component to an SUS component is preferably 0.5 - 2:1 in order for chocolates to have cholesterol reducing effects in blood plasma. If the ratio is less than 0.5:1, no cholesterol reducing effect is found. If the ratio is more than 2:1, the taste of chocolates is badly affected. The ratio described above is therefore suitable for producing the chocolates of the present invention.

Calcium salts include calcium carbonates, calcium gluconic acids, calcium phosphoric acids, calcium milk serum, egg shell meal, born meal and fish meal. Any of the calcium salts may be used. Magnesium salts include magnesium carbonate.

Calcium salts added SUS components are tested for lipid absorption and cholesterol reduction in blood plasma using rats. When one eats the chocolates of the invention, the absorption of lipid soluble vitamins can be suppressed.

Preferably, it is desirable to add lipid soluble vitamins such as vitamin A,D,E and the like to the ingredients of the chocolate.

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Cholesterole reducing effects of fats and oils containing SUS components and calcium salts in blood plasma are tested using rats. 5-week old, male SD rats fed by commercially available solid food (Oriental CRF-1, Oriental Yeast K.K) for a week, approximately 120 - 140 g, were distributed randomly into groups of 6 animals each. The rats were fed with high-fat food shown in Table 1 at 23"C, a humidity of 55% + 5%, under the conditions, 12 hour light (7:00 - 19:00) and 12 hour dark (19:00 - 7:00), for a week. Rats in each group were tested for fat absorbance and a cholesterol level in their blood plasma.

The results are shown in Table 3.

Test groups were fed with PPO, POP, PPO + Ca and POP + Ca (see Preparation step described below). Calcium carbonate, whose mole concentration is equivalent to triglyceride components, was used as calcium components. The components of each fat are shown in Table 2, and the processes of the fat are described below.

(1) Preparation of fats and oils containing POP component 43.8 parts of sunflower oil containing a large amount of oleic acid were mixed with 56.2 parts of ethyl palmitic acid.

The terms "parts" as used herein, will mean "by weight" unless otherwise stated. The mixture was transesterificated using lipase that specifically digest at the first and third fatty acid chains of triglyceride components. The resulting reaction product was concentrated, distilled, and dissolved in acetone to a final volume of oil by 15% in the mixture. The mixture was cooled to 0 C and a high melting point fraction was removed (Yield: 12.7%) to give fats and oils containing a POP component.

(2) Preparation of fats and oils containing PPO component 43.9 parts of oleic acid were mixed with 56.2 parts of tripalmitin. The mixture was transesterificated using lipase that specifically digest at the first and third fatty acid chains of triglyceride components. The resulting reaction product was concentrated, distilled, and dissolved in acetone to a final volume of oil by 15% in the mixture. The mixture was cooled to 24"C and a high melting point fraction was removed. The filtrate was further cooled to 0 C and a medium melting point fraction was removed (Yield: 21.4%) to give fats and oils containing a PPO component.

Table 1 Test sample composition Ingrediant Composition (part) Casein powder, 1 20 DL-Met 0.3 a-corn starch 15 Sucrose 35 (32.6 when Ca was added) Test oil 18 Corn oil *2 2 Cellulose powder 5 Mineral Mix 3 3.5 Vitamine mix *3 1 Bitartaric acid choline 0.2 Calcium carbonate 2.4 Note *1: Vitamine free, crude proteins > 85% 2: An amount of essential fatty acid corresponding to 1% of a test sample *3:AIN (American Institute of Nutrition) pattern Tble 2 Ingredients in POP, PPO POP PPO Fatty acid composition (mole%) C16 60.4 60.6 C18 3.4 2.6 C18F1 34.3 33.2 C18F2 1.5 3.7 SUS content 92.5 4.1 Table 3 Absorption rate of test fats and oils and cholesterol level in blood plasma Absorption rate Cholesterol level in (%) blood plasma whole fat saturated (mg/100ml) fatty acid PPO 92.04 87.2 91.20 POP 88.58 80.5 90.96 PPO+Ca 77.07 62.6 87.63 POP+Ca 62.00 37.9 77.53 In absorption rate of oil saturated fatty acids, there is a significant difference between PPO and POP groups. Saturated fatty acids at the first and third fatty acid chains are poorly absorbed. The poor absorption became apparent when an equivalent mole of calcium salts was added.The absorption rate of the first and third fatty acids chains was about half of that of the second saturated fatty acid chain. The decrease of an absorption rate is found to be proportional to the decrease of a cholesterol level in blood plasma. The cholesterol level of a POP+Ca group was considerably lower than those of POP and PPO+Ca groups. SUS fats and oils and calcium salts are found to have cholesterol reducing effects in blood plasma.

Example The present invention is not limited in scope by the specific Examples described which are intended as single illustrations of individual aspects of the invention. The terms "parts" as used herein, will mean "by weight" unless otherwise stated.

Example 1 2.5 parts of calcium carbonate were added to a mixture of 13 parts of butter, 39 parts of sugar, 25 parts of whole milk powder, 20 parts of cacao butter, 0.5 parts of lecithin. The mixture was roller-dried, conched tempered, molded and cooled to give low calorie chocolates having cholesterol reducing effects. The chocolates have the same taste, flavour and organoleptic properties as typical chocolates.

Example 2 4.7 parts of calcium milk serum (calcium content; 24.4%, Meiji Milk Product Co., Ltd.) were added to a mixture of 24.4.

parts of butter, 39 parts of sugar, 25 parts of skimmilk powder, 20 parts of cacao butter, 0.5 parts of lecithin. The mixture was roller-dried, conched, tempered, molded and cooled to give low calorie chocolates having cholesterol reducing effects. The chocolates have the same taste, flavour and organoleptic properties as typical chocolates.

Claims (4)

1. A chocolate which contains (i) a calcium and/or a magnesium salt and (ii) 2-unsaturated-1,3-disaturated triglyceride in a molar ratio of (i):(ii) of from 0.5:1 to 2:1.

2. A process of preparing a chocolate in which a calcium and/or magnesium salt (i) is added in an amount required to obtain a molar ratio of (i):2-unsaturated-l,3disaturated triglyceride (ii) of from 0.5:1 to 2:1.

3. A chocolate substantially as hereinbefore described in Example 1 or 2.

4. A process of preparing a chocolate, said process being substantially as hereinbefore described in Example 1 or 2.