The National Museum of Nature and Science on Tuesday added Lion Corp.'s enzyme-based laundry detergent Top to a list of important historical materials that have had an impact on Japanese lives and culture.

Top, which first hit the market in 1979, was among 16 items honored with the designation by the Tokyo museum as "Essential Historical Materials for Science and Technology."

With its protein-removing enzymes, the laundry detergent has been popular for its cleaning performance and environmentally friendly formula.

Among the other products chosen to make the annual list this year were NEC Corp.'s PC-9801 16-bit personal computer, which debuted in 1982, and the Yagi-Uda antenna, the world's first directional ultrashort-wave antenna that is now used throughout the world in radios and televisions.

The antenna, commonly known as the Yagi antenna, derives its name from one of its developers, Dr. Hidetsugu Yagi of Tohoku University.

The latest additions bring the number of items on the museum's list to 225. Other products already on the list, which was started in 2008, include Aibo, Sony Corp.'s dog-like robot, and camera-equipped cellphones.

Lion, the laundry detergent manufacturer, said it is greatly honored by the selection, and that Top was the first laundry detergent containing enzymes to gain acceptance among consumers.