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Soft, white bread made using Treha has been selling well in Hokkaido and
Kyushu recently. This bread makes good use of the non-coloring property
of Treha as well as its ability to retain moisture.
One of the major characteristics of Trehalose is that it takes a firm grip on water and it is not easy to separate water from Trehalose once it has been grasped. In other words, Trehalose is the perfect carbohydrate for making juicy foods, while bacteriostatic effects can also be expected because Trehalose deprives water of its freedom to move.
In addition, Trehalose is also a good binder in food because of its ability
to retain moisture, making it a truly convenient carbohydrate that does
not allow food to dry out for very long periods of time.
However, there are also times during the manufacture of food when this
ability to retain moisture is troublesome. If you try using it thinking
about it like any other carbohydrate you have used previously … not only
will the considered effects be unobtainable, but rather, the outcome will
be bad! At such times, try adding more water than you normally do. You
will finish processing with more water contained in the product than is
usually the case. If the manufacturing process involves heating, try changing
the way you apply heat. There are also times when the effects will differ
if you change the order in which the ingredients are added between the
water and Treha, water and other ingredients, Treha and other ingredients,
etc. Such devices are the key when you want to obtain better results.
Furthermore, when the Trehalose in food has taken a firm grasp of the
moisture that has entered it, the Trehalose becomes a firm “pillar” of
the food and can be depended on to prevent the transfer of water, in other
words the transfer of colors and flavors. Hayashibara is continuing its
investigations into the mechanisms by which Trehalose stops and slows down
the transfer of moisture. |
It is well known that creatures living in extremely cold regions store
Trehalose in their cells. This phenomenon makes perfect sense because accumulating
Trehalose protects living cells from the freezing of intracellular water.
When ice forms in the fluids around cells, the cells start to freeze. A
solute then enters the cells and the water transfers out. This process
damages the membranes of the cells and proceeds to damage the cells themselves.
It is thought that when there is Trehalose inside the cells, the Trehalose
suppresses freezing, or even if freezing does occur, suppresses the growth
of the ice crystals, and limits the damage caused by freezing to a minimum.
According to Assistant Professor Tadanori Sei of Aichi Gakuin University,
et al., the results of a series of research into the speed of formation
of ice crystals have confirmed that dissolving Trehalose in water suppresses
the speed of growth of ice crystals effectively. Furthermore, it seems
that in contrast to the surface of the frozen bodies in a Trehalose water
solution, which are covered in a Trehalose-rich phase and tend to be smooth,
when pure water is frozen, frozen bodies develop with rough surfaces. It
is possible that because its surface is rough, this ice damages cells and
tissues due to its morphology.
Realistically speaking, a lot of frozen food has become available to consumers
in recent years, which is very convenient for many people. However, although
it can be said that rapid freeze-drying technologies and the like have
advanced and it has become possible to suppress deterioration in quality
to a certain degree, food is nonetheless damaged to a greater or lesser
extent when it is frozen, during frozen storage and when it is defrosted,
and it seems that there are not necessarily that many satisfactory products
when it comes to the issues of dripping, quality of taste and texture.
Consequently, in the case of frozen food, etc., as well, we can expect
the development of products that satisfy consumers based on good use of
the characteristics of Trehalose described above to control the growth
of ice crystals. 。
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It is said that proteins and biomembranes are stabilized by hydration with
a sufficient amount of water. In addition, when cells and proteins are
dried, they are deprived of their free water and so cell damage as well
as protein denaturation occur to a greater or lesser degree. By adding
Trehalose in advance, it is possible to suppress cell damage and deactivation
to a minimum even when cells and proteins are dried. It appears that because
Trehalose bears a very strong resemblance to the cluster structure of water,
vitreous (amorphous) Trehalose exists around the cells and proteins in
place of water after drying too and this stabilizes the cells and proteins.
This effect is also known as a camouflage effect (Minoru Sakurai, et al.,
Tokyo Institute of Technology).
Actually, according to the research of Dr. Tetsuo Suzuki of Kyoto University
(see figure below), a Trehalose additive maintained the highest enzyme
activity when freeze-dried enzymes (aldehyde dehydrogenase) prepared with
a variety of carbohydrates added in advance were stored for 20 days at
65°C. This can be explained as being because Trehalose in an amorphous
state surrounded the enzyme proteins after freeze drying and preserved
their high order structure. In contrast, the low stabilizing effect of
carbohydrates such as glucose and sucrose (sugar) is envisaged to be because
glucose and sucrose have weaker hydration characteristics than Trehalose
so more carbohydrate crystallization occurs. This means that glucose and
sucrose make a smaller contribution to the maintenance of the enzyme proteins.
Why not try creating foods with high added value or more convenient foods
by freezing and drying various food ingredients taking advantage of Trehalose
characteristics such as those described above?
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Trehalose is a carbohydrate that forms crystals comparatively easily when
sugar concentration is increased. People are taking advantage of this characteristic
in the production of unprecedented stable foods such as candy, icing, fondants,
and meringues. However, depending on the blending, too many crystals can
be formed, causing the end product to be brittle.
However, by adding more than a few percent of starch syrup in addition
to Trehalose, it is possible to suppress the growth of Trehalose crystals.
This is thought to be because the maltosyltrehalose that is the main component
of the starch syrup interferes with the growth of the Trehalose crystals
because it is a structural analog of Trehalose (it contains Trehalose as
part of its structure), in the same way that coupling sugar suppresses
the crystal precipitation of sugar.
To explain this in slightly simpler terms, in crystals, the same compounds
line up in regular order, like in a jungle gym, in accordance with fixed
rules. However, there is a phenomenon whereby when another crystal that
is very similar in shape enters the picture, it becomes impossible to continue
assembling the jungle gym any further. Essentially, the crystal cannot
become any bigger. Similarly, it is possible to produce microcrystals and
obtain smooth food textures by skillfully combining Treha and starch syrup.
How about trying to apply these characteristics on foods where use has
not been possible to this point?
When only Trehalose is present
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When starch syrup is added
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When Treha is blended with candy mixture, the hygroscopicity of the mixture decreases and produces a crispy texture. This is because the candy is more stably vitrified with the addition of Treha.
“Vitrification” can be explained as a very stable solid state in which the movement of the molecules inside the ingredients of the product is extremely suppressed, without the ingredients crystallizing or fusing. In addition, the temperature at the time that vitrification takes place is known as the “glass transition temperature.” The glass transition temperature differs depending on the food product or the amount of moisture that it contains, but if you raise the glass transition temperature above the temperature range within which each respective product is stored or distributed, it becomes more difficult for various reactions to take place and the product will be in a more stable state. For example, assuming that we have Candy A (glass transition temperature: 50°C) and Candy B (glass transition temperature: 20°C), Candy A can be described as a more stable product. Because the temperature in Japan reaches about 40°C at the highest in Japan, Candy A’s glass transition temperature will always be above air temperature and Candy A will always be in a vitrified state, making it very stable. However, in the case of Candy B, it will be alright in winter, but when it gets hot, like in summer, air temperature will rise higher than Candy B’s glass transition temperature and it will change from a vitrified state to a rubber state, which is very unstable. Incidentally, dried bonito flakes are a typical vitrified food product. The glass transition temperature of dried bonito is known to be very high at 120°C, and it is extremely stable. Consequently, the question of how to increase the glass transition temperature is the key point in making food products more stable. In this regard, among the carbohydrates, the glass transition temperatures of Trehalose and starch syrup (a syrup with maltosyltrehalose as its main component) are high and so in the event that they are added to various kinds of food products, it is easy to raise the glass transition temperature efficiently and vitrify the food more. To raise examples of familiar vitrified food apart from the candies and dried bonito flakes mentioned above, many are well-known such as hard candies, cookies, biscuits, powdered condiments, ice cream, various frozen foods, delicacies, rice crackers, tempura batter mixes, and so on. Why don’t you take on the challenge of improving the physical characteristics of your food products and improving and increasing quality by taking good advantage of carbohydrates such as Treha and starch syrup? Depending on the circumstances, you may even be able to create interesting products using vitrification technology. |
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The carbohydrates that enter your stomach with food and drink undergo hydrolysis and digestive absorption using the enzymes on the surface of the small intestinal epithelial cells. The surface of the small intestinal epithelial cells is shaped like a brush and various enzymes live there. For example, sugar (sucrose) is broken down into glucose and fructose by an enzyme called sucrase and absorbed by the intestinal canal. Maltose is broken down into glucose by an enzyme, maltase and then absorbed. So, what happens to the Trehalose that enters your stomach? Many animals, including humans, have an enzyme called trehalase in their intestinal canals. Trehalase is an enzyme that can only decompose Trehalose. Trehalose that reaches the small intestine is broken down by this trehalase and absorbed as glucose by the intestinal canal. Consequently, Trehalose, like glucose and maltose, provides about 4 kilocalories per gram of nutritional energy. (Behavior of enzymes in the small intestine: see the figure below)
However, it has been understood that the pattern of the digestive absorption
of Trehalose is a little different to the cases of glucose and maltose.
When you eat glucose or maltose, your blood sugar level increases rapidly
and peaks in about 30 minutes. After that, your blood sugar level decreases
rapidly. However, in the case of Trehalose, the increase in blood sugar
level is moderate, the peak value is low and it also decreases slowly.
(See Graph 1)
It may be all right to describe this pattern as one where energy is not
used all at once and is saved for the second half. Furthermore, insulin
secretion also shows the same behavior as the pattern for blood sugar.
(See Graph 2) Because Trehalose displays a low blood sugar peak in comparison
to glucose and maltose, and a continuous energy provision action, the use
of Trehalose is recommended in new sports nutrition food and drink products.
Why is the elevation of blood sugar level mild when you eat Trehalose?
Why is the peak value low? Why is insulin secretion low? The fact is that
Trehalase activity in the small intestine is low in comparison to maltase
activity. It is unclear whether or not that is the only cause. Anyway,
Trehalose can be said a body-friendly carbohydrate because of slow change
in blood sugar after taking. In that sense, too, we can probably say that
Trehalose is a carbohydrate suited not only to sports nutrition food and
drinks products, but also to lifestyle-related products as well.
Carbohydrate tolerance test (Excerpted from the proceedings of the 6th
Trehalose Symposium)
12 test subjects (11 males and 1 female): Questionnaire on general physical
condition
Dietary records for 24 hours; same pattern of eating prior to the test
Drinks < lemon flavor, calories identical (apart from glucose), sweetness
identical >
 Placebo Glucose (7.5%) Maltose (7.5%) Trehalose (7.5%) |
Graph 1 (Impact on blood sugar)
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Graph 2 (Impact on insulin concentration)
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By adding to and dissolving small quantities of Trehalose (2 - 5% by weight)
in aojiru and other vegetable juices made from tomato, capsicum and carrot,
etc., flavors such as their inherent rawness, astringency, bitterness and
harshness are reduced and they become very mellow and delicious. It has
also been clarified that similar flavor changes can bring out the salty
flavor of soy sauce and pickles and the flavor of vinegar, etc., or reduce
the acidity of lemons, the bitterness and astringency of coffee and herb
tea, as well as the raw taste of soy milk and eggs, etc., and the animal
smell of meat. Treha has a so-called flavoring agent effect. So, how do
humans sense flavors?
There are places on the surface of the tongue that accept taste substances (astringency, bitterness, harshness, etc.) and an electrical stimulus is generated when a taste substance comes into contact with the relevant place. This electrical stimulus is transmitted to the brain and the person feels a taste sensation such as sweetness, sourness, bitterness, saltiness or tastiness. A person’s sense of taste sometimes changes if these places where the taste substances are received are altered. One way to do this is with the miracle fruit (the red fruit of a shrub native to West Africa). When you eat this fruit, sourness feels like sweetness for about 1 - 3 hours. The glycoprotein miraculin contained in the miracle fruit adheres to the places on the tongue (taste buds) where sourness can be tasted and temporarily changes the taste function so that sourness feels like sweetness. The curculin contained in curculigo fruit is another glycoprotein with the same kind of action. In this case, people sense sweetness just by drinking water.
A variety of tests have also been conducted in regard to the case of Trehalose,
but at the present time, nobody has gone so far as to explain the mechanism
of action. However, according to research by Professor Toko of Kyushu University
Graduate School, the results of investigating the interaction of sugar,
fructose and Trehalose added to a kinase solution, a bitter tasting substance,
using a taste sensor and a near-infrared spectrophotometer, suggested that
interaction with Trehalose was the strongest and that carbohydrate has
the biggest bitterness suppression effect. (See figure below) However,
at the least, it is definitely the case that this was not an action like
that of miraculin and curculin, and it is also definitely the case that
Trehalose does not do things like decompose the components of the aromas
and tastes or change their structures to turn them into other substances.
It has now become possible to give vegetables such as tomato, capsicum
or carrot to children who dislike them as delicious, easy-to-drink beverages.
Please also make sure the effect when you make vegetable juice, etc at
home.
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Trehalose has many functions, including a starch aging suppression action and a protein denaturation suppression action.
So, why does Trehalose have a lot of functions like these?
Several factors are conceivable in response to this question. One that
can be raised is that in comparison to other carbohydrates, Trehalose has
a very strong hydration capability. This is also clear from the fact that
it can be confirmed that Trehalose molecules attach strongly to the vicinity
of water molecules to create a molecular assembly (Fig.1) and as a result,
viscosity tends to increase.
As a consequence, measuring viscosity when substituting 25%, 50%, etc., of the sucrose in an aqueous solution with Trehalose shows that at temperatures close to 40°C, for example, the viscosity of the aqueous solution with Trehalose substituted for half of the sucrose was almost twice as high as the viscosity of the aqueous solution with 100% sucrose. (Table 1) The molecular weight of Trehalose is about the same as sucrose, so this result is mysterious. Essentially, the result shows such a difference in viscosity because Trehalose combines easily with water molecules; more specifically, because Trehalose has a very strong hydration capability.
By using the strength of the hydration capability of Trehalose, it is possible to suppress the hardness and dryness caused by the aging of starch in products such as rice cakes, rice dumplings, cooked rice and sponge cakes. Please also make sure to experiment with functions of Trehalose other than those described above, such as the prevention of dripping after the freezing and defrosting of frozen food, etc.
The relationship between Trehalose and water
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Viscosity of mixed solutions of sucrose and Trehalose
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A Japanese cuisine boom has been taking place in the various countries
of Europe and America in recent years in association with an increase in
health consciousness. Interest has risen towards food products made using
rice, which has a comparatively low calorie count, and especially towards
hand-shaped sushi, which it seems many people have started to eat. These
products made using rice call for storage and distribution at low temperatures
or in a frozen state because of food hygiene problems in many countries
overseas. What has subsequently become a problem is the phenomenon of “aging”
that occurs when food products containing large quantities of starch are
stored and distributed in a frozen or chilled state. When “aging” occurs,
the commercial value of the product concerned decreases irretrievably.
How does this starch aging occur? Initially, starch has a structure like that shown in Fig.1-A. When water is added and the starch mixture heated, the structure of the starch expands and with moisture having entered into the gaps thus created, the starch changes into gelatinized starch (Fig.1-B). This is why rice and other similar foods become soft and fluffy. However, if left in this state, the water that has entered the gaps in the starch is lost, and the starch returns to the same structure (Fig.1-C) that it had initially and hardens. This is known as starch aging and is the just the same as when rice that is left somewhere hardens.
It is said that the assembly of amylose, etc., (production of hydrogen
bonds caused by the state of dehydration) is involved in this kind of starch
aging. If a carbohydrate is used at this time, it is possible to retain
the water in the gelatinized starch without losing it and obstruct the
production of hydrogen bonds, which slows down (Fig.1-D) aging. Because
in comparison to other carbohydrates, Treha binds very strongly with moisture,
(see Treha and hydration) Treha inhibits the hydrogen bonding of the starch
and slows down aging. Because Treha is also low in sweetness, rice does
not become sweet if Treha is used when cooking rice.
How about using Treha, which suppresses starch aging in many types of food,
to increase the added value of your products?
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Oxygen (O2) is very important for human beings. However, when oxygen is activated,
it becomes activated oxygen (super oxide, etc.), which is said to be the
cause of vascular disease, aging, canceration, cataracts, Alzheimer’s disease,
kidney damage and mottling, etc. Actually, it is known that this activated
oxygen is produced naturally inside the body. The oxygen that is inhaled
by breathing is converted into water inside cells, but when that happens,
super oxide is produced from a percentage of the oxygen. There are enzymes
including superoxide dismutase (SOD enzyme) that decompose bad superoxide
in existence intrinsically inside cells, and the cells are protected by
their actions. While the volumes of SOD enzyme are large in children and
sportspeople, it is known that these volumes decrease with age. The fact
is that as people age, the activity that protects the cells in their bodies
lessens.
Apart from the SOD enzyme, fruit and vegetables contain substances that act in the same way as SOD enzyme. This is known as SOD-like substance and acts to decompose activated oxygen. It is understood that the components of these substances are flavonoids and polyphenols. They are one of the reasons that vegetables and fruit are good for the health. However, the weak point of these SOD-like substances is that they are not resilient in the face of heat and oxidation and are easy to destroy.
Along with having an action that suppresses the deterioration of starch, protein and fat, Treha also works to protect SOD-like substances. Having investigated the SOD-like activity of carrot powder, we understood that protective action was weak with carbohydrates other than Treha and that Treha has a strong protective action. (Graph 1) Furthermore, we have also found that this action is displayed not only with carrot, but also with cucumber, cabbage, spinach and various other vegetables. (Graph 2) Treha has a mechanism that protects important SOD-like substances from heat and oxidation.
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Starting with confectionary, Treha has recently come to be used in general
cooking because of its various functions. It has become clear that even
if this Treha is only used in removing the sand from shellfish such as
seawater and freshwater clams, the delicious flavors of those foods change
considerably.
The method is simple - you just add about 10 g of Treha to the water for
removing the sand (in the case of seawater clams, please add about 30 g
of salt to 1l of tap-water, and in the case of freshwater clams, about
10 g). Pour enough of this solution over the shellfish that they are immersed
and place them somewhere dark for about 2 - 5 hours before using them in
cooking. Under the effects of Treha, the savory components of shellfish,
“succinic acid,” increase (see graph below) so both seawater and freshwater
clams become more delicious. Moreover, the production of trimethylamine
is suppressed (see The mysteries of Treha: No.13 “Treha and fishy odors”)
and you can get enough of the fresh shellfish flavor. Furthermore, if you
add Treha to the ingredients in your cooking, the generation of lye and
the outflow of magnesium is lessened, which also increases the flavor.
If you carry out this sand removal process using tap water as it is, the
“succinic acid” that is the savory component of both seawater and freshwater
clams escapes from the shells and it becomes easier for trimethylamine,
the odor component to be generated. Please make sure to try Treha when
you cook seawater and freshwater clams for soups, fried in butter or steamed
in sake, etc.
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Trehalose exists widely in the natural world and is found in everything
from microorganisms to higher plants and invertebrate animals. Trehalose
works as a carbohydrate related to stress in microorganisms. It is thought
that when microorganisms are subjected to stress such as low temperatures,
high temperatures, drying, pressure, osmotic pressure, or chemicals, etc.,
they store Trehalose in their cells, which works to protect the cells from
the stress. In invertebrate animals, Trehalose is contained mainly in bodily
fluids and, as a carbohydrate in blood, is used as a source of energy.
For example, it is said that the ability of hornets to fly for long periods
of time is also thanks to Trehalose.
So, how does Trehalose work in higher plants? Because Trehalose had not
been extracted from general higher plants up to about 10 years ago, it
used to be thought that Trehalose was not produced in plants. However,
the results of the latest genome research have made it clear that genes
to produce Trehalose exist in higher plants. In contrast to microorganisms
and animals, which only have 1 or 2 sets of genes, higher plants have a
very large number of sets of genes at about 10 sets. Accordingly, it is
thought that Trehalose is produced inside plants and that it works in very
important ways. At present, it is assumed that the Trehalose in plants
is involved in responses to stress, organic differentiation and growth.
Because of its stress-response action, Trehalose is related to low temperature, drying and salt stress, and induces the production of signals for the metabolism of carbohydrates such as glucose and fructose, and the phytohormone abscisic acid. Trehalose is also thought to be related to low-oxygen stress and nitrogen nutrition. In other words, Trehalose is thought to have actions that protect plants’ bodies. For example, it has been confirmed that tobacco and rice that have undergone genetic recombination processing so that they accumulate Trehalose become more strongly resistant to drying and cold weather.
How does Trehalose work, not only inside of plants’ bodies, but also outside?
Some interesting research is being carried out. Having conducted a test
that put rice into external contact with Trehalose to find out what happens
to the DNA of the plant, it was understood that many of the genes related
to the protection of rice from disease were strengthened. In other words,
Trehalose enhanced the resistance of the rice to disease. Trehalose promises
the actualization in the near future of thriving rice and vegetables even
if the quantities of agricultural chemicals are reduced.
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