Effect of Palatinose Administration on .ALPHA.1 Brain Waves in Human Volunteers

Abstract

The effect of palatinose intake on ␣1 brain wave generation was studied by human volunteer test. Twelve healthy volunteers were administered 40 g of palatinose or sucrose, and electroencephalogram (EEG) was made before and at 150 min after administration. The area of ␣1 wave generation on topographs increased after administration of either sugar, but there was a significant difference in the intensity between the palatinose and sucrose groups. Ten volunteers were administered 100 mg of theanine, which has a relaxing effect, in combination with 17.5 g of palatinose (T-P group), and EEGs were recorded before, at 60 and 150 min after administration. Though the area of generated ␣1 brain wave in the topographs increased in both groups (T-P and 17.5 g palatinose groups) after administration, the patterns of their increase differed. Nine volunteers were administered 5 g of palatinose, and EEGs were recorded before and at 150 min after the administration. The area of ␣1 wave generation increased slightly but less than that in 40 g palatinose group. The above results suggested that palatinose enhances generation of ␣ waves and that its effect might be maintained longer than that of sucrose.Keywords: palatinose, brain waves, ␣1 waves Palatinose (1-O-␣-D-glucopyranosyl-D-fructose, isomaltulose) is used as an ingredient for functional foods because of its physiological characteristics; for example, it is non-cariogenic (Minami et al., 1990; Ooshima et al., 1983a, b), causes a gradual increase in blood glucose level and a slight secretion of insulin (Kawai et al., 1989). Palatinose is a structural isomer of sucrose and a disaccharide composed of glucose and fructose with an ␣-1, 6 bond. Sucrose and glucose are known to change into blood glucose after ingestion and are utilized as the energy source for the brain. Recent studies have shown that the mental state (emotion, mood) in human is strongly related to the blood glucose level and glucose supply to the brain (Benton, 1998;Keul et al., 1982;Martin & Benton, 1999). Palatinose, which differs from sucrose in the time-course change of blood glucose level, is believed to have a different effect on the mental state of humans. This was the reason the effect of palatinose administration on mental concentration was investigated by Kashimura et al. (2003).In today's stressful society there are various products promoting relaxation, and there are several ongoing studies about the relaxing effects of elements that directly appeal to the five senses: visual, images, music, flavor and taste (Kawano, 2000;Kawaki et al., 1998;Nagai, 2002). Various flavoring and seasoning ingredients are used in commercial foods claiming to have a relaxing effect, however, these sometimes do not meet people's preferences. Thus, there are studies focusing on substances such as theanine contained in green tea, which affect the release or decline of neurotransmitters in the brain, even when taken in a concentration which is not high enough to impart taste (Juneja et al., 1999;Kobayashi et al., 1998;Yokogoshi...