| US6497908B1 | 2002-12-24 | |||
| KR20060049360A | 2006-05-18 | |||
| KR20050004008A | 2005-01-12 | |||
| US20030086988A1 | 2003-05-08 |
Claims
[1] A fermented Lycium fruit oil composition, comprising: a step of drying Lycium fruits to a water content of 25% - 27%; a step of feeding a mixture of the dried Lycium fruits and an edible vegetable oil into a fermentor; a step of fermenting the mixture of the dried Lycium fruits and the edible vegetable oil at 3O 0 C or lower for up to 25 days in the fermentor; and a step of primarily extracting a fermented Lycium fruit oil composition by separating the oil contained in the mixture from Lycium fruit medium through filtration of the mixture of the Lycium fruits and the oil.
[2] The fermented Lycium fruit oil composition according to claim 1, further comprising: a step of feeding the medium separated from the oil into a mill and squashing and kneading the Lycium fruits in the mill to give Lycium fruit medium dough; and a step of secondarily extracting a fermented Lycium fruit oil from the dough.
[3] The fermented Lycium fruit oil composition according to claim 2, wherein the oil is extracted from the dough at a critical state in a supercritical fluid extractor in the secondary extracting step.
[4] The fermented Lycium fruit oil composition according to claim 3, wherein the critical state is constructed by setting an extraction pressure of the supercritical fluid extractor to 30 ~ 40 MPa, a temperature of the supercritical fluid extractor to 35 0 C, a separation pressure to 5.5 ~ 6.5 MPa, and an extraction time period to 8 ~ 10.5 hours.
[5] The fermented Lycium fruit oil composition according to claim 2, wherein the
Lycium fruit dough is mixed in an amount of 80 parts by weight with 15 parts by weight of palm oil, 2 parts by weight of beeswax and 3 weights by weight of lecithin.
[6] The fermented Lycium fruit oil composition according to claim 2, further comprising combining the fermented Lycium fruit oil composition, obtained in the primarily extracting step, with the fermented Lycium fruit oil composition, obtained in the secondarily extracting step.
[7] The fermented Lycium fruit oil composition according to claim 1, wherein the edible vegetable oil is one of corn oil, soybean oil, olive oil, grape seed oil, canola oil, rice bran oil, and sunflower seed oil.
[8] The fermented Lycium fruit oil composition according to claim 1, wherein the dried Lycium fruits are dried by picking Lycium fruits, selecting the Lycium fruits, and drying the Lycium fruits under the sun or with hot air. [9] The fermented Lycium fruit oil composition according to one of claims 1, 2, 5 and 6, wherein the fermented Lycium fruit oil composition is formulated into a form of a soft capsule. |
Description FERMENTED LYCIUM FRUIT OIL
Technical Field
[1] The present invention relates to a fermented Lycium fruit oil composition obtained by fermenting Lycium fruits in an edible vegetable oil that serves as a solvent. Background Art
[2] A Lycium fruit is a fruit of Lycium chanies Miller or a plant belonging to the
Colanaceae family.
[3] The Korean historic herbal medicine book Tonguibogam describes Lycium fruits, saying "they are cool in nature and taste bitter without toxicity. They can be used for recuperation from fatigue and hard breathing attributed to internal injuries. Acting to strengthen the Yin Qi as well as the muscles and bones, the fruits are prescribed for the treatment of the five kinds of sicknesses and the seven kinds of injuries. They are also found to have functions of augmenting the virility, whitening the face and stabilizing the nerve system, thereby being useful for prolonging life. Lycium is frequently found around the surroundings. Long-term administration with a decoction of the leaves taken in the summer and the stems and fruits picked in the fall enlivens the body and improves Qi." Another herbal medicine publication discloses that Lycium fruits are rich in betaine (C H NO : 117.15) and betaine has hepatoprotective, hypotensive and anti-diabetes effects, and that Lycium fruits can be applied to the treatment of amblyopia, dizziness, the heavy feeling of the head, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, spermatorrhea, impotence, etc.
[4] In fact, pharmacological experiments demonstrated that Lycium fruits have the functions of allowing weight gain and decreasing blood cholesterol and glucose levels in addition to hepatoprotective and hypotensive functions, providing the environments in which they find a wide range of applications in the medicinal industry. Studies showed that such effects were contributed by the main component betaine of Lycium fruits. Study on betaine is continued now.
[5] Found to be beneficial to the body, Lycium fruits are used as drugs in herbal medicine. In folk remedies, the Lycium fruits picked from July to the end of October are dried and eaten as a mixture or decoction in combination with other herbs or as a tea infused therewith.
[6] Preferably, the fruits may be prepared for a decoction in combination with various herbs according to an herbal doctor's directions.
[7] When taken as a tea, Lycium fruits are infused in boiling or hot water. Alternatively, a tea bag of powdered Lycium fruits may be soaked in hot water.
[8] Also, they may be formulated as a pill. In this regard, powdered Lycium fruit is mixed with other powdered herbs according to the intended purpose and is combined with honey in a pill. Disclosure of Invention
Technical Problem
[9] It is an object of the present invention to provide a fermented Lycium fruit oil composition obtained by fermenting the components of Lycium fruits, which allows ingredients of Lycium fruits to be effectively ingested. [10] It is another object of the present invention to provide a fermented Lycium fruit oil composition which allows medicinally effective ingredients from Lycium fruits to be conveniently ingested.
Technical Solution [11] The present invention is concerned with a fermented Lycium fruit oil composition obtained by fermenting Lycium fruits in edible vegetable oil, characterized in that: [12] 1. Lycium fruits are immersed and fermented in edible vegetable oil,
[13] 2. the ingredients of Lycium fruits are mixed with the edible vegetable oil and the mixture constitutes a fermented Lycium fruit edible oil. [14] 3. the edible vegetable oil, serving as a solvent, is not subjected to heat or radiation in the fermentation thereof, so as to prevent the acidification thereof, and, [15] 4. conditions for the fermentation of Lycium fruits are provided.
Advantageous Effects
[16] According to the present invention, there is provided a fermented Lycium fruit oil composition which is obtained by fermenting Lycium fruits in a solvent of edible vegetable oil, and which makes it more convenient to ingest the medicinally effective ingredients of Lycium fruits than a Lycium fruit decoction or tea.
[17] That is, the fermented Lycium fruit oil composition may be formulated into a dosage form of soft capsules which are convenient to ingest.
[18] It is easier to combine Lycium fruit ingredients with edible oil through fermentation than to make a decoction of Lycium fruits. In addition, the Lycium fruit oil composition, when formulated into a soft capsule, may be combined with other herbal ingredients which may be prescribed according to the intended purpose, thereby guaranteeing medicinal effects greater than those obtained when other edible oils are added.
[19] When Lycium fruits are fermented in edible vegetable oil, medicinally effective ingredients are eluted from the fruit into the oil. Alternatively, a fermented Lycium oil in which the edible vegetable oil is effectively changed as described above can be obtained. Either of them avoids the use of heat in the fermentation of Lycium fruits,
allowing medicinally effective ingredients to be eluted into the oil without the acidification thereof. Furthermore, Lycium fruits, regarded as the best drugs in herbal medicine, can be processed into a formulation that is convenient to ingest. Brief Description of the Drawings
[20] FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing the preparation of a Lycium fruit oil composition in accordance with the present invention. Mode for the Invention
[21] The present invention pertains to a fermented Lycium fruit oil composition obtained through the fermentation of Lycium fruit in an edible vegetable oil.
[22] For fermentation in an edible vegetable oil, undried, semi-dried or completely dried
Lycium fruits were used, and the best fermentation was realized with semi-dried Lycium fruits.
[23] For example, 300 g of completely dried Lycium fruits were fed, along with 1.8 liters of soybean oil, into a fermentor and fermented at 3O 0 C for 30 days with stirring. Not only was it difficult for the oil to infiltrate into the dried Lycium fruits, but also the infusion of the fruit ingredients was very thin.
[24] With the aim of promoting fermentation, 300 g of the completely dried Lycium fruits was powdered, and the powder was allowed to ferment in the oil. As a result of the thick infusion of the Lycium fruit ingredients, the color apparently becomes red. This oil composition seemed to be merely a mixture with the red fruit powder, or to contain a small amount of an infusion of the red Lycium fruit ingredients, rather than resulting from the fermentation of the fruit powder.
[25] Semi-dried Lycium fruits were obtained by drying undried Lycium fruits in the daytime under the sun until a water content of 25% ~ 27% was achieved. In this state, the semi-dried Lycium fruits had a dried surface while the inside thereof remained wet so that when pressed with the thumb and the forefinger, the semi-dried Lycium fruit was torn and the kernel burst out.
[26] The semi-dried Lycium fruits were fermented at 3O 0 C for 30 days in 1.8 liters of soybean oil in a fermentor with stirring. Results quite different from those of the completely dried fruits were observed. In the fermentation course of the semi-dried Lycium fruits, bubbles were actively generated and the air inside the fermentor was discharged through an air outlet of the fermentor to control the pressure inside the fermentor, which was not observed in the course of fermentation of the completely dried Lycium fruits.
[27] After being collected and immediately selected, undried Lycium fruits were subjected to fermentation at 35 0 C for 30 days in soybean oil in a fermentor with stirring. While being stirred, the undried Lycium fruits were disrupted at the surface
thereof so that the flesh debris thereof floated in an aggregate form within the oil, making the oil turbid. Bubble generation within the fermentor and the air discharge through the air outlet into the outside of the fermentor coincided with those observed in the fermentation course of the semi-dried Lycium fruits. However, the resulting oil had a poor appearance because it became turbid and the medium of the Lycium fruits was mixed with the oil.
[28] Consequently, the Lycium fruits useful in the method of fermenting Lycium fruits are semi-dried, that is, have a water content of 25% ~ 27%. When these fruits were fermented in oil, effective oil was obtained. Accordingly, semi-dried Lycium fruits having a water content of 25% - 27%, which can be obtained by drying undried Lycium fruits in the daytime under the sun, are used for fermentation in oil. The results of the fermentation of undried, semi-dried, completely dried and powdered Lycium fruits are summarized in Table 1, below.
[29] [30] Table 1 [Table 1] [Table ]
[31] [32] In consideration of the use of an edible vegetable oil as a solvent, heat or light radiation was avoided. This is why the edible vegetable oil can be acidified when it is irradiated with heat or light radiation.
[33] In order to obtain a fermented Lycium fruit oil composition by fermenting optimal Lycium fruits in edible vegetable oil under the above-mentioned conditions, it is preferable to conducting the steps of:
[34] 1. harvesting and selecting Lycium fruits and drying them to a water content of 25% - 27% (Step SlO), [35] 2. mixing the Lycium fruits with an edible vegetable oil and feeding the mixture into a fermentor (Step S20), [36] 3. setting the temperature inside the fermentor to 3O 0 C or lower and fermenting for
25 days or less (Step S30),
[37] 4. primarily extracting a fermented Lycium fruit oil by filtering the fermented
Lycium fruit oil from Lycium fruit medium (Step S40),
[38] 5. feeding the medium into a mill and squashing and kneading it in the mill (Step
S50),
[39] 6. secondarily extracting a fermented Lycium fruit oil from the kneaded dough (Step
S60), and
[40] 7. combining the primary fermented Lycium oil and the secondary fermented Lycium oil (Step S70).
[41]
[42] Below, a description will be given of a detailed embodiment of the fermented
Lycium fruit oil composition produced through the above-mentioned steps.
[43]
[44] First, Lycium fruits were washed and dried for one day under the sun to a water content of 25 % or less (Step SlO). 1 kg of the dried Lycium fruits were fed, along with 3.6 liters of an edible vegetable oil, into a fermentor (Step S20) and were allowed to ferment at 3O 0 C for 25 days with stirring (Step S30). After completion of fermentation, the Lycium fruits were separated from the edible vegetable oil to give 3 liters of a primary fermented Lycium fruit oil composition (Step S40).
[45] Examples of the edible vegetable oil include corn oil, soybean oil, olive oil, grape seed oil, canola oil, and sunflower seed oil. One of them may be used in the present invention.
[46] Thereafter, the separated Lycium fruit medium was smashed and kneaded in a colloid mill (Step S50). The kneaded medium was filtered to remove oil, followed by application to a supercritical fluid extractor. At a critical state in the supercritical fluid extractor, a secondary fermented Lycium oil was yielded in an amount of 0.6 liters from the kneaded medium (Step S60).
[47] The critical state of the extractor refers to extractor conditions in which an extraction pressure of the extractor is set to 30 ~ 40 MPa, a temperature of the extractor to 35 0 C, a separation pressure to 5.5 ~ 6.5 MPa, and an extraction time period to 8 ~ 10.5 hours.
[48] The primary and the secondary fermented Lycium fruit oil composition were combined with each other to yield 3.6 liters of fermented Lycium fruit oil composition (Step S70).
[49] Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.
[50] That is, although a description is given of Lycium fruits only, the method elucidated
in the present invention may be applied to the preparation of fermented oil compositions of various fruits including, for example, Japanese Cornel fruits, Schizandra chinensis baillon fruits, Japanese privet fruits, dodder fruits, and jujube fruits.