The chemical, physical and mastication properties of pork from Tokyo X pigs were investigated in comparison with pork from the LWD and Berkshire breeds. The intramuscular fat content was relatively high for Tokyo X meat (5.59%), and the melting point of the fat was low. The hydroxyproline content was also low for Tokyo X. The cooking loss of meat and the heat-shrinkage ratio of the meat surface area were both comparatively low. Texturometer measurements showed significantly smaller values (p <0.05) in the hardness, cohesiveness, and chewiness of Tokyo X meat. The electrical potential of the masticatory muscle of the human masseter was measured by electromyography in order to evaluate the mouth feel of the pork during mastication. The meat from Tokyo X tended to require a smaller number of chews, shorter mastication time, and lower masticatory muscle activity than the other two pork samples. These factors are likely to be involved in the mastication properties of Tokyo X pork.

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The Taya eggplant is a traditional vegetable cultivated in Yamaguchi Prefecture of Japan. We compared the characteristics of the Taya eggplant with the Chikuyo variety which is generally sold at markets in the Yamaguchi area. One of the distinguishing features of Taya is its size, it is larger than Chikuyo in both diameter and length. The total amount of pigment (anthocyanins) in the peel of Taya was less than that of Chikuyo, so that there was little elution of the pigment into stock. A sensory evaluation showed that the texture of simmered or baked Taya was smoother and thicker, and the taste was sweeter than Chikuyo. After heat cooking, the watersoluble pectin content of Taya was greater than that of Chikuyo. The smoother and thicker texture of Taya was probably related to water-soluble pectin. It is likely that the sweet taste of Taya may have originated from the high content of such soluble sugar as sucrose, glucose and fructose.

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The seed coat of Adzuki bean, which is removed for producing Adzuki bean jam, can be dried and milled for potential use, as a food material. We studied the effects on quality of adding the powdered seed coat and konnyaku gel to the mix for baked muffins.
The average yield of the powdered seed coat was 28.8%. The water-holding capacity and oil absorption of the powdered seed coat were respectively 3 times and 1.6 times higher than those of soft wheat flour. The powder contained a large amount of such functional components as dietary fiber, mineral compound, and polyphenols. Observation of the tissue by scanning electron microscopy indicated depressions and wrinkles on the surface of the powder particles, unlike that of wheat flour. Compared with the control muffin (no powdered seed coat added), the muffin with up to 20% of wheat flour replaced by the powdered seed coat had the hue of adzuki beans, small specific volume, hard and brittle texture inside, and was more preferred in flavor, taste and overall rating. The further addition of konnyaku gel to the muffin mix at 2.2% was favorable for the baked texture and preservation characteristics.

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We investigated the antihypertensive effect of mirin intake on spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). Mirin for the oral administration was concentrated at 90°C to half the original amount, Ten male SHRs at 20 weeks of age were divided into two groups of five animals each: the test and control groups. Concentrated mirin at a dose of 7ml/kg was orally administered to each rat in the test group, while nothing was orally administered to the animals in the control group. The systolic blood pressure(SBP) and heart rate of each SHR in the two groups were measured before, and 3,6 and 9 hr after the single oral administration to the test animals. SBP of the test group animals 3,6 and 9 hr after the single oral administration was found to be significantly lower than that of the control group rats. However, there was no significant difference in the heart rate between animals in the two groups, The concentrated mirin therefore had a mildly reducing effect on the blood pressure, but no influence on the heart rate of SHRs.

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We had previously found that mirin exhibited angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity, and therefore investigated the ACE inhibitors from mirin. In the first step, a mirin solution was subjected to ion-exchange chromatography and separated into its basic nitrogen, acidic-neutral nitrogen, acidic, and neutral substance fractions. Almost all the overall ACE inhibitory activity was found in the acidic-neutral nitrogen fraction. In the second step, this acidic-neutral nitrogen fraction was fractionated by gel filtration, and each fraction was individually collected. In the third step, the collected fraction from gel filtration that exhibited the strongest ACE inhibitory activity was chromatographed by reversed-phase KPLC, each fraction was individually collected, and the amino acid sequence was determined by a protein sequencer. We found four ACE inhibitory peptides (Gly-Tyr, Ala-Tyr, Val-Tyr, and Gly-Phe) in mirin.

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