Infused vegetable, herb, and/or seed fiber product and dietary supplements containing same

Abstract

Disclosed is a method of producing a reconstituted fruit, herb, and / or seed fiber product, the product produced using the method, and dietary supplements containing the product. The steps used to produce the product include expressing juice from a fruit, herb, or seed; concentrating the juice by removing water; infusing pomace obtained during expression of the juice with the concentrated juice, and drying the steeped pomace to obtain a dry, non-hygroscopic, free-flowing nutritional supplement.

Description

[0001] The invention is directed to: (i) a method of producing a reconstituted vegetable, fruit, herb, and / or seed product, the product produced using the method, and dietary supplements containing the product; (ii) other methods which provide all natural solutions for carrying and delivering nutraceutical supplements into the human body; and (iii) a unique cranberry nutraceutical product which can be used effectively to promote and maintain a healthy urinary tract.DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART[0002] Currently, powdered forms of cranberries and of many other fruits, produced for use as ingredients, are made from the juice portion of the fruit only. The juice is extracted from the whole fruit by pressing and then concentrating. During this stage, the plant-derived fiber portion, otherwise known as the pomace or marc, of the fruit is discarded, and the natural pectin in the juice is removed. The remainder fruit juice product is then spray dried, using a high-heat drying method to remov...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0034] In addition to its clear health benefits, another distinct advantage of the present invention is that it that it utilizes plant-derived pomace, which would otherwise be discarded as waste. For example, when cranberry juice concentrate is added to the cranberry pomace, the resulting reconstituted cranberry product makes an excellent nutritional supplement which does not require nutritionally insignificant excipients such as sweeteners, desiccants, binding agents, and the like.

[0035] Further benefits of the present invention are manifest. By reconstituting concentrated juice with the natural fibers, the nutritionally- and pharnacologically-active ingredients present in the vegetable, fruit, herb, or seed are concentrated in comparison to their concentrations as found in nature. Consequently, the bioactive compounds found naturally in the plants are fortified. Also, on a per weight basis, the resultant product is far richer in beneficial vitamins, anthocyanins, proanthocyanins, antioxidants, and other beneficial components.

[0036] Moreover, the process and the resultant product utilize the entire natural source, including the vegetable, fruit, skin, seeds, and fibrous portions thereof, and not simply an extract of the natural plant source.

[0037] In essence, the process yields a powdered version of an entire vegetable, fruit, herb, or seed. The resultant product contains the complete complement (juice, skin, seeds, fiber) of the source vegetable matter, not just the juice portion. By utilizing only low-temperature processing, the resultant product preserves the natural enzyme activities found in the fresh vegetable, fruit, herb or seed. In its preferred form, the process does not require any unnatural substances; hence the finished product does not contain any unnatural substances. However, it is within the scope of the present invention to add other ingredients if desired.

[0038] Additionally, the final product is capable of being finely milled and can therefore easily be formulated into any number of unit dosage forms, such as tablets or capsules. The product need not be refrigerated and is storage stable for at least a period of months, if not years. This makes formulation, storage, and transport of the product extremely attractive.

[0039] When formulated into unit dosages, such as tablets or capsules, the product of the invention is easily delivered orally. Because the bioactive ingredients are infused into a generally fiber matrix, the bioactive components are shielded from degradation during transit through the stomach, thereby delivering a maximum concentration of bioactive ingredients in the intestines. The natural pectin components of the product slow down the digestive process in the intestines and provide a natural sustained release of the active compounds from the fiber matrix, thereby enhancing the bioavailability of the active compounds. The insoluble fiber portion, while indigestible, serves as a bulking agent to promote regularity and good intestinal health and functioning.

Problems solved by technology

These powdered fruit ingredients, now devoid of many of the important active components and enzymes which synergistically existed in the whole fruit plant, deliver little therapeutic value when incorporated into nutraceutical products.

In another respect, powdered fruit ingredients tend to be hygroscopic and easily agglutinatable.

However, the use of these excipients presents further problems of then being able to meet tapped bulk density specifications.

Further, for the natural products industry, the use of unnatural excipients is not desired.

However, many of these supplements after oral ingestion are substantially degraded by stomach acids before they can deliver their payload to the intestine for assimilation into the blood stream.

For example, most of the cranberry powdered ingredients being currently employed in dietary supplements dissolve quickly in the stomach and thus have limited bioavailability.

While there are various drug delivery systems used in the pharmaceutical industry to increase efficacy, there is an absence of methods available for natural delivery of nutraceutical products.

It is believed that this activity is manifested by compounds which limit the ability of bacteria to adhere to surfaces within the urinary tract.

A recent study further found that the compounds in cranberry directly affected the cell structure of E. coli, and disabled the bacteria so that it was unable to adhere to urothelium and to be less capable of survival.

However, most commercially-available cranberry juice cocktails contain large amounts of added sugar and colorants, additives which many health-conscious individuals find objectionable.

This limitation, however, is for brevity only.