The anti-allergy composition of the present invention comprises, as an ineffective ingredient, a wood vinegar-distilled solution. A bamboo vinegar-distilled solution obtained using a bamboo as a wood material is preferable. Also, it is preferable that the present composition does not contain benzopyrene, dibenzanthracene, and methylcholanthrene substantially. The anti-allergy composition can exhibit an anti-allergy effect by oral ingestion. In particular, it is useful for inhibiting Type I allergy such as allergic rhinitis, hay fever, allergic conjunctivitis, atopic dermatitis, allergic asthma, urticaria, food allergy, and anaphylaxis. In addition, the composition can be also applied to a skin. When a wood is subjected to smoking treatment at 130 to 170.degree. C., dried, and then carbonized at 350 to 450.degree. C., a smoke discharged during this carbonization treatment is condensed to obtain a crude wood vinegar, and then the crude wood vinegar is distilled at a low temperature of 50 to 60.degree. C. under reduced pressure to obtain a wood vinegar-distilled solution.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention was done in view of the aforementioned problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a highly safe anti-allergy composition comprising a wood vinegar or a bamboo vinegar as an effective ingredient, which can be orally ingested.

As a result of diligent studies of the inventors, it has been found that when a bamboo vinegar-distilled solution prepared by a certain method is used as an effective ingredient, an anti-allergy composition that does not substantially contain cancerogenic substances and harmful substances and inhibits an allergy reaction by oral ingestion or by a direct action on cells can be obtained, thereby accomplishing the present invention.

Namely, an anti-allergy composition in accordance with the present invention comprises, as an effective ingredient, a wood vinegar-distilled solution.

In the present invention, it is preferable that said wood vinegar-distilled solution is a bamboo vinegar-distilled solution obtained from a bamboo.

Also, it is preferably that the anti-allergy composition of the present invention does not substantially contain benzopyrene, dibenzanthracene, and methylcholanthrene. The anti-allergy composition of the present invention is preferable for oral ingestion or application on a skin.

A food, beverage, or composition for applying on a skin of the present invention comprises any of said anti-allergy compositions.

A method for inhibiting or preventing an allergy in accordance with the present invention comprises administering an effective amount of any of said anti-allergy compositions by oral ingestion or by a direct action on cells.

In the method of the present invention, it is preferable that said allergy is Type I allergy.

A method for producing a wood vinegar-distilled solution in accordance with the present invention comprises steps of:

subjecting a wood to smoking treatment at 130 to 170.degree. C.;

drying the smoking treated wood;

carbonizing the dried wood at 350 to 450.degree. C.;

condensing a smoke discharged during the carbonization treatment to obtain a crude wood vinegar; and

distilling the crude wood vinegar at a low temperature of 50 to 60.degree. C. under reduced pressure to obtain a wood vinegar-distilled solution.

In the method for producing a wood vinegar-distilled solution, it is preferable that said wood is a bamboo.

The anti-allergy composition of the present invention contains a distilled solution of a wood vinegar or a bamboo vinegar as an effective ingredient, and can inhibit allergy reaction, in particular, Type I allergy reaction by oral ingestion. Accordingly, it is useful for improving or preventing allergic rhinitis, hay fever, allergic conjunctivitis, atopic dermatitis, allergic asthma, urticaria, food allergy or the like. In addition, the composition can be also applied to a skin. Furthermore, since the distilled solution of a wood vinegar or a bamboo vinegar contains large amount of polyphenols, an effect in a liver disease or an adult disease such as arteriosclerosis and diabetes can be expected. Since the anti-allergy composition of the present invention does not substantially contain benzopyrene, dibenzanthracene and methylcholanthrene which are cancerogenic substances, and a harmful substance such as cresol are scarcely mixed therein, the composition has very high safety, and can be orally ingested over a long period of time.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

When a wood is subjected to smoking treatment at 130 to 170.degree. C., dried, and then carbonized at 350 to 450.degree. C., a smoke discharged during this carbonization treatment is condensed to obtain a crude wood vinegar, and then the crude wood vinegar is distilled at a low temperature of 50 to 60.degree. C. under reduced pressure to obtain a wood vinegar-distilled solution, which is an effective ingredient of the anti-allergy composition of the present invention, for example.

A process for preparing a bamboo vinegar-distilled solution using a bamboo material as a raw material wood will be explained. A bamboo used as a raw material is not particularly limited, but moso bamboo (Phyllostachys heterocycla), madake bamboo (Phyllostachys bambusides), henon bamboo(Phyllostachys nigra), and other bamboos can be used alone, or in combination thereof. Moso bamboo which grows naturally in Minobe-cho, Minamikoma-gun, Yamanashi prefecture in Japan is particularly suitable.

First, a bamboo material used as a raw material is cut and split using an electric saw or the like, placed in a burning kiln, and then subjected to smoking treatment. A temperature of this smoking treatment is 130 to 170.degree. C., preferably 140 to 160.degree. C. The number of treating days is 3 to 7 days, preferably 4 to 6 days. By such smoking treatment, a bamboo vinegar containing a very small amount of a harmful tar matter is obtained at a later stage of collecting a bamboo vinegar. A smoke discharged from a chimney at smoking treatment is not daringly recovered. Generally, carbonization treatment is performed without such pre-treatment step in a kiln for smoking, but if this smoking step is not adopted, the bamboo vinegar-distilled solution contains large amount of harmful components.

A smoking-treated bamboo material is dried, and then subjected to carbonization treatment. Carbonization treatment is preferably performed in an earth kiln. A temperature of carbonization treatment is 350 to 450.degree. C., and it is preferable that carbonization is performed slowly over 5 to 15 days.

During this carbonization treatment, a smoke is discharged from a chimney (a chimney made of an acid-resistant material such as stainless steel is used), and this smoke is condensed and dropped down. This droplet is conveniently recovered into a container and the like to obtain a bamboo vinegar. Although this bamboo vinegar contains little tar matter, it is more desirable to separate a small amount of a tar matter from the bamboo vinegar, for example, by allowing to stand for one year or longer.

The bamboo vinegar from which a tar matter has been separated and removed like this is distilled under reduced pressure using a rotary evaporator equipment or the like, thereby, a bamboo vinegar-distilled solution of the present invention can be obtained. That is, in order to prepare a bamboo vinegar-distilled solution, the aforementioned bamboo vinegar may be warmed under reduced pressure. By setting the warming temperature at 50 to 60.degree. C., which is lower than the previous temperature, a cancerogenic substance content can be suppressed low. As a method of reducing a pressure, it is desirable that, first, a pressure is reduced to a certain pressure (e.g. about 130 hPa) while warming at 50.degree. C. to 60.degree. C. and, thereafter, the pressure is gradually decreased (e.g. every 5 hPa) to around 70 hPa while maintaining the temperature. And, it is preferable that collecting a distilled solution (collection of components volatilized by distillation) is performed under reduced pressure at 70 to 110 hPa.

Also under the aforementioned reduced pressure condition, it is more desirable to collect a bamboo vinegar-distilled solution while confirming that a harmful substance such as benzopyrene which is a cancerogenic substance is not mixed therein. A pressure decreasing rate can be adjusted as the occasion demands.

Since a bamboo vinegar-distilled solution obtained by distillation purification like this has very strong acidity, it is desirable to use an acid-resistant container such as a glass bottle as a storage container.

Since thus obtained bamboo vinegar-distilled solution as such has strong peculiar smell or acidic taste, it is difficult to ingest it in some cases. For this reason, the known beverages and foods, or oral preparations such as capsules, tablets, and syrups with a bamboo vinegar-distilled solution added thereto is preferable upon ingestion. Examples of a form include liquid, semi-solid, solid, jelly, cream, mouse and paste, and any of them can be prepared by a conventional method.

For example, by adding 100 to 300 L of water or a fruit juice (apple, grape etc.), or a solution of an aloe or Houttuynia cordata to 1 L of a bamboo vinegar-distilled solution and performing filtration, dreg suction filtration, and charging into a bottle by a conventional method, a highly safe bamboo vinegar beverage having no mixed cancerogenic substance such as benzopyrene and other harmful substance can be obtained. Saccharides such as sugar, oligosaccharide and honey, perfume, and other components which can be usually blended in beverage can be added to such beverages, if necessary.

In the present invention, food or beverage,includes so-called healthy beverage or food, functional beverage or food, and supplement.

In addition, since the anti-allergy composition of the present invention also does not contain components harmful to a skin, it can be also used for a composition applied on a skin such as cosmetics without fear.

Since the anti-allergy composition of the present invention does not contain a cancerogenic substance or a harmful substance which is problematic in oral ingestion or application on a skin, it can be applied over a long period of time. For example, benzopyrene, dibenzanthracene and methylcholanthrene which are cancerogenic substances are not detected also in high performance liquid chromatography analysis having a detection limit of 0.05 ppb, thus the present composition does not contain them substantially.

The anti-allergy composition of the present invention can inhibit Type I allergy reaction by oral ingestion or application on a skin. Examples of such the allergy include allergic rhinitis, hay fever, allergic conjunctivitis, atopic dermatitis, allergic asthma, urticaria, food allergy and anaphylaxis.

An ingestion amount of the anti-allergy composition is appropriately determined according to symptom, sex and the like. Usually, as an amount of a bamboo vinegar-distilled solution, 0.1 to 5 ml per day is suitable for an adult having a weight of 60 kg.

The bamboo vinegar-distilled solution has been explained, but the forgoing can be also applied to a wood vinegar-distilled solution using various woods other than a bamboo as a raw material.
 

Claim 1 of 14 Claims

1. A method for inhibiting a Type-I allergy comprising administering, by oral ingestion, about 0.1 to about 5 ml per day per 60 kg of body weight of an anti-allergy composition comprising a wood-vinegar distilled solution that is colorless and transparent, and has a specific gravity of no greater than 1.010.
 

____________________________________________
If you want to learn more about this patent, please go directly to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Web site to access the full patent.