In Japan, more than 1,000 cultivars of persimmon (Diospyros kaki) have been identified. The fruit of nonastringent cultivars loses its astringency naturally during its development, whereas the fruit of astringent cultivars retains its astringency until the soft overripened stage. The area of persimmon fruit production in Japan has declined gradually since 1996 (1). Therefore, properties that increase the value of persimmon fruit, such as their ability to confer health benefits, must be identified to allow persimmon farmers to improve and promote their crops.A hypocholesterolemic effect of persimmon fruit has been observed in some hyperlipidemic animal models (2-4). When dried, the young fruit (Hachiya cultivar) has bile acid-binding ability and increases the fecal bile acid excretion in mice (5). A hypolipidemic effect and an increased expression of the hepatic cytochrome P450 7A1 gene (Cyp7a1) were observed in mice fed dried young persimmon fruit. Moreover, daily intake of powder prepared from the Hiratanenashi cultivar reduced the total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol levels in humans (6). As an example of the functional constituents of the fruit, we identified a highly polymerized tannin with high bile acid-binding ability, which had a hypocholesterolemic effect in mice (7,8).To identify the appropriate persimmon cultivars for use as food materials that provide health benefits, we examined the bile acid-binding abilities of 10 cultivars and found that the tannin content of the dried fruit is related to its bile acid-binding ability in vitro (9). However, there has been no comparison of the effects of different cultivars on lipid and glucose metabolism in vivo. In this study, we investigated the effects of the young fruits of three cultivars that differed in their bile acidbinding abilities and tannin contents on the lipid and glucose metabolism of high-fat diet-fed mice. MATERIALS AND METHODSPersimmon samples. Young fruits (approximately 6 cm in diameter) of the Hachiya and Fuyu cultivars were harvested in Gifu Prefecture, and those of the Hiratanenashi cultivar were harvested in Wakayama Prefecture. Over 20 kg of the fruits (with skin and seeds, but without calyx) was sliced and dried at 60˚C using a ViVi-9 food drier (Vianove, Tokyo, Japan), and then roughly powdered. This process was performed by Nakano BC Corporation (Kainan, Wakayama, Japan). The powdered samples were thoroughly washed with tap water to remove any water-soluble components, such as sugars and soluble tannins. After the samples were dried again at 60˚C for 8 h using a DSJ-7-1 food drier (Shizuoka Seiki, Fukuroi, Japan), they were powdered again using a Wonder Blender WB-1 (Osaka Chemical, Osaka, Comparison of the Effects of Three Persimmon Cultivars on Lipid and Glucose Metabolism in High-Fat Diet-Fed Mice Kenji Matsumoto and Kanako TakekawaDepartment of Food Science, Ishikawa Prefectural University, 1-308 Suematsu, Nonoichi, Ishikawa 921-8836, Japan (Received February 24, 2014) Summary We compared the effect...

In this study, we prepared crude fibre samples from young fruits of 10 persimmon (Diospyros kaki) cultivars and from young fruits of Japanese pear (Pyrus pyrifolia var. culta) and peach (Prunus persica) and compared their bile acid-binding abilities in vitro. All crude fibre samples from young fruits of persimmon were able to bind to cholic acid in a 4 mM cholic acid solution, but crude fibre samples from young fruits of Japanese pear and peach did not show bile acid-binding ability. The bile acid-binding ability was strongly correlated with the water-insoluble condensed tannins content in crude fibre samples (r = 0.909, p < 0.001). These results indicate that the water-insoluble condensed tannins content in young fruits of persimmon is related to its bile acid-binding ability.

The tannin-rich fiber from young persimmon (Diospyros kaki ) fruits has bile acid-binding properties. We investigated the effect of heat treatment on bile acid binding by this fiber. Furthermore, bread containing persimmon tannin-rich fiber was baked and its bile acid-binding ability was examined in vivo. Although the bile acidbinding ability of the fiber decreased by 20 % after heating at 180℃ for 20 min, mice fed bread containing persimmon tannin-rich fiber (10 % w/w) excreted double the amount of fecal bile acid compared to mice fed the control bread. These results indicate that persimmon tannin-rich fiber can be a useful functional food material when incorporated into breads.