Method for Making a Sanitary Drink

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to sanitary drinks, and more particularly, to a method for making a sanitary drink of the type which comprises extracts of a certain type of fungi of basidiomycetes belonging to the family Polyporaceae and hydrangea tea.

2. Prior Art

In most known healthful or sanitary foods, it is usual to place stress on the pharmaceutical effect of effective ingredients at the expense of the taste of the food itself.

We have made extensive stuides to utilize effective components of a certain type of fungi belonging to the family Polyporaceae and hydrangea tea while taking into account the problem of taste of food.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a method for making a sanitary drink which comprises extracts of fungi of basidiomycetes belonging to the family Polyporaceae and hydrangea tea.

It is another object of the invention to provide a sanitary drink which comprises an extract from fungi of basidiomycetes belonging to the family Polyporaceae which contains germanium bonded to an organic compound (hereinafter referred to as an organic germanium compound or substance) and polysaccharides, and an extract from hydrangea tea which contains an organic germanium compound.

The above objects can be achieved, according to the present invention, by a method for making a sanitary drink which comprises mixing a mushroom or fungus of basidiomycetes belonging to the family Polyporaceae or its dried product and hydrangea tea or its dried product, adding water in an amount of several times to several tens times by weight greater than that of the mixture, subjecting the mixture to an extraction treatment at a temperature of 50.degree. to 150.degree. C. for a time sufficient for the extraction, adding an organic acid in an amount sufficient to render the mixture acidic, allowing the mixture to stand at a temperature higher than the freezing point thereof but lower than a temperature at which the extract decays, separating the resulting insoluble matters from the mixture, and thermally sterilizing the resulting filtrate. The drink obtained according to the invention can be served as it is or after concentration for drinking purposes with or without addition of sweetenings.

in the practice of the invention, the mushroom, i.e. fungi of basidiomycetes, belonging to the family Polyporaceae is that which contains polysaccharides and organic germanium substances which have been scientifically proved as showing various physiological activities including anti-cancer action on animals including human beings. Typical of the fungi are, for example, Coriolus versicolor (Fr.) Quel., Ganoderma lucidum (Fr.) Karst. and the like.

In general, polysaccharides which stimulate the immune system of a living body and exhibit various physiological activites including the anti-cancer action include polysaccharides such as a hemicellulose fraction isolated from various plants, bamboo grasses, fungi, bagasse, lichens and the like, and lipopolysaccharides such as from yeasts and bacteria. However, these polysaccharides show their effect only when injected intraperitoneally or intravenously, so that it is difficult to employ them as food. The polysaccharide present in fungi such as Coriolus versicolor or Ganoderma lucidum has the advantage of exhibiting efficacy even through oral administration. Additionally, these polysaccharides have no toxicity, irrespective of administration route, and can thus be utilized effectively as a sanitary food.

The hydrangea tea prepared from the leaves of the plant Hydrangea macrophylla Seringe var. thumbergii belonging to the family Saxifragaceae is widely known not only as a private drug effective in treating diabetes, but also as a starting material for the tea of heaven which is drunk at the celebration of the anniversary of Buddha's birth on April 8. This tea is one of the plants which contain plenty of an organic germanium substance or substances. The organic germanium substance will induce interferon in blood even when dosed orally, activating macrophages and NK cells to produce the anti-pernicious neoplasm effect. Moreover, the organic germanium substance serves to inactivate a certain type of potential protein Kinase of cancer cells.

In Japan, which is going towards a highly advanced age community as will never have been experienced in any countries in Europe, the number of aged who wish to work healthfully until death or who are given up by their physician will increase more and more. Further, there is the fact that more than 50% of local finance is occupied by medical expenses, and hence it is necessary to reduce such expenses. In this sense, provision of a tasteful sanitary drink which has the effective physiological activities of polysaccharides and organic germanium substances of Corious versicolor or Ganoderma lucidum and also of an organic germanium substance of the hydrangea tea, whose efficacy in a living body have been scientifically or traditionally proved, is considered to coincide with social needs.

We have made extensive studies on sanitary drinks and succeeded in developing a tasteful sanitary drink which is obtained by mixing fungi of basidiomycetes belonging to the family Polyporaceae and hydrangea tea, subjecting the mixture to the specific extraction treatment, adding an organic acid and, optionally, sweetenings such as honey, unrefined sugar and the like. The mixing ratio of the fungi and the hydrangea tea is generally in the range of 3:1 to 1:3, preferably 1:1 on a weight basis.

The mixture of the fungi and the hydrangea tea is extracted by adding thereto water in an amount of several to several tens times as great as that of the mixture and heated at a temperature of from 50.degree. to 150.degree. C. for several minutes or more. In general, the amount of water is 5 to 20 times by weight that of the mixture. The resulting extract is found to contain polysaccharides and organic germanium substances in abundance. To the extract is added an organic acid which is harmless to human begins and includes, for example, citric acid, 1-ascorbic acid, succinic acid or the like. The organic acid is added in an amount of 0.1 to 2 wt% of the total composition or to such a level that the extraction system is adjusted to a pH range below 7, preferably below 5. Then, the extract system is agitated and allowed to stand at a low temperature ranging from 0.degree. to 10.degree. C., preferably about 1.degree. to 3.degree. C. for a long time of over 10 hours or overnight, by which insoluble matter is permitted to precipitate. The insoluble matter is organic compounds or substances including proteins and can be readily removed from the extract by a centrifugation using a Sharpless centrifugal separator, for example, at 8000 to 20000 r.p.m. The resulting glossy reddish, clear yellowish brown extract may be charged into a suitable container such as a glass bottle as it is or after concentration to a suitable level of concentration by a concentrator and thermally sterilized as usual to give a drink product.

The present invention is particularly described by way of the following examples.

1 kg of an air-dried product of Coriolus versicolor and 1 kg of an air-dried product of hydrangea tea were mixed together, to which was added 10 liters of water, followed by heating at 60.degree. C. for 10 hours while agitating. Thereafter, the mixture was filtered by means of a filter cloth to separate into an extract and a residue. As a result, there was obtained 7 liters of the extract. The residue was washed with 3 liters of water and the washing and the extract were combined together to make a total volume of 10 liters. To the 10 liters extract was added 50 g of a powder of citric acid, which was agitated for dissolution, followed by being allowed to stand overnight in an ice room at 1.degree. C. thereby permitting insoluble matter to precipitate and the extract to age. The extract was separated by a centrifugal separator to remove the insoluble matter therefrom. This 10 liters of extract was charged into 10 brown bottles each having a volume of 1 liter, thermally sterilized at 85.degree. C. for 30 minutes and tightly stoppered to obtain a bottled drink.

1.5 kg of an air-dried product of Ganoderma lucidum and 0.5 kg of an air-dried product of hydrangea tea were mixed, to which was added 30 liters of water, followed by heating to 80.degree. C. for 3 hours while agitating. Then, the mixture was separated by means of a filter cloth into an extract and a residue to obtain 27 liters of the extract. The residue was washed with 3 liters of water and the resulting washing and the extract were combined together to make a total volume of 30 liters. The extract was concentrated to 1/3 in volume by means of a concentrator, to which were added 20 g of 1-ascorbic acid powder, 20 g of citric acid powder and 20 g of succinic acid powder and agitated for dissolution. The resulting solution was allowed to stand for a day and a night in an ice chamber at 3.degree. C., thereby permitting insoluble matter to precipitate and the extract to age. The extract system was subjected to the separation by means of a centrifugal separation to remove the insoluble matter therefrom. The resulting extract with a volume of 10 liters was admixed with 2 kg of honey under agitation to obtain a solution. This solution was charged into 900 cc bottles, thermally sterilized at 90.degree. C. for 15 minutes, and each bottle was tightly stoppered to obtain a bottled product.