Equol-containing fermentation product of soybean embryonic axis, and method for production thereof

Abstract

An object of the invention is to provide an equol-containing fermented soybean hypocotyl material that is useful for foods, pharmaceutical preparations, cosmetic products, etc.The equol-containing fermented soybean hypocotyl material of the invention is obtained by fermenting soybean hypocotyls using at least one microorganism having an equol-producing ability by utilizing at least one daidzein compound selected from the group consisting of diadzein glycosides, daidzein, and dihydrodaidzein.

Description

[0001]This is a Continuation Application of U.S. application Ser. No. 12 / 095,828 filed Jun. 24, 2009, which is a U.S. National Stage Entry of PCT / JP2006 / 324255 filed Dec. 5, 2006, which claims priority from JP Patent Appln. No. 2005-352337 filed Dec. 6, 2005 and JP Patent Appln. No. 2006-277934 filed Oct. 11, 2006, the contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference.TECHNICAL FIELD [0002]The present invention relates to fermented soybean hypocotyl containing equol and a method of producing the same.BACKGROUND ART [0003]Isoflavones (soybean isoflavones: daidzein, genistein, glycitein) contained in soybeans have structures similar to estradiol, and have anti-estrogen actions associated with binding to estrogen receptors (hereinafter referred to as ER) and estrogen-like actions. The epidemiological studies and intervention studies of soybean isoflavones that have been done before suggest their preventive effects due to their anti-estrogen actions on breast cancer, prostat...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0036]The fermented soybean hypocotyl material of the invention contains equol and other active ingredients, such as isoflavones and saponins, and can thereby find a variety of applications in the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and other fields. The fermented soybean hypocotyl material of the invention, in particular, has a significantly higher equol content than those of the materials obtained by fermenting a raw material containing daidzein compounds such as soybean, Ge Gen Tang (Chinese traditional medicine, also known as Kakkonto), red globe grapes, alfalfa, and the like, and can thereby attain much superior equol-derived active physiological effects.

[0037]Furthermore, because the thus-obtained fermented soybean hypocotyl material is reduced in the amount of the allergens inherently contained in soy bean hypocotyls, it can be safely taken by or administered to people suffering from soybean allergy. Moreover, the fermented soybean hypocotyl material of the invention is made from soybean hypocotyls that are discarded during soybean food processing, and therefore has high industrial potential in terms of effective use of resources.

Problems solved by technology

That is, about 50% of Japanese are not able to produce equol (non-equol-producing individuals).

Such an individual cannot enjoy useful physiological benefits based on the action of equol even if they ingest soybeans and processed soybean foods.

However, simply subjecting the above-mentioned starting materials containing daidzein compounds to fermentation treatment by using equol-producing bacteria cannot yield sufficient amount of equol in the fermented product, and there has been the problem that desired useful benefits based on the action of equol cannot be sufficiently expected by ingesting the fermented product as it is.

However, soybean hypocotyl extract itself is disadvantageously expensive.

Moreover, when the soybean hypocotyl extract is used as a starting material for producing equol, addition of other nutrients are necessary to allow fermentation by equol-producing bacteria, which can be another problem.

For these reasons, the soybean hypocotyl extract cannot be currently used as a starting material for industrially producing equol.

Furthermore, likewise soybean cotyledon portions, soybean hypocotyls contain allergens, therefore the soybean hypocotyl could not be taken by or administer to people suffering from soybean allergy.

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