The properties of three different gruel samples made from cooked rice were studied. The gruel samples were cooked with various ratios of water to rice and preserved under different conditions at room temperature, in a refrigerator, or in a freezer. The proportions of the water added to the raw rice were 1.3, 1.5 and 1.7, and the rice gruel samples prepared in these proportions are respectively referred to as ×1.3, ×1.5 and ×1.7. Each gruel sample was prepared by reheating the cooked rice with hot water and then cooking for 10, 20, or 30 min. The textural properties of the gruel samples were unaffected by the different ways in which the cooked rice was preserved. However, the proportion of water added to the raw rice affected various properties of the rice gruel. The ×1.7 sample showed a low level of water absorption and low viscosity of the separated liquid. This sample also showed low levels of hardness and rupture stress, and was distinctly crumbly in appearance. The ×1.3 and ×1.5 samples showed higher levels hardness and rupture stress and greater viscosity than the ×1.7 sample, and had a similar appearance to that of rice gruel directly prepared from raw rice. The samples that had been cooked for 20 min had a similar sensory evaluation to the gruel directly made from raw rice, but the ×1.7 rice gruel was evaluated significantly more highly because of its watery nature.

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In the course of screening for the antimicrobial compounds contained in edible materials, we isolated falcarindiol from celeriac (Apium graveolens L. var. rapaceum (Mill.) DC). The structure of falcarindiol was identified by EI-MS and NMR spectral data (1-D (¹H- and ¹³C-NMR) and 2-D (¹H-¹H COSY, HMQC and HMBC). To our knowledge, this is the first report on the presence of falcarindiol in celeriac. Two microbial organisms (Bacillus megaterium and Microbacterium foliorum) were isolated and identified as food contaminants, and the antimicrobial activities of falcarindiol against these organisms were tested. Falcarindiol showed more potent antimicrobial activity than sorbic acid which is used as a food additive.

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Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) hydrolyzes a variety of monophosphate esters into inorganic phosphoric acid. Intestinal ALP seems to play an important role in active metabolism by hydrolyzing phosphocompounds to supply free inorganic phosphate, but little is known about the physiological function of intestinal ALP. This study investigates the effects of powdered green tea added to the control diet on the intestinal ALP activity in rats. Sprague-Dawley female rats (6 weeks old) were assigned to a control group and powdered green tea group. Rat intestinal segments from the duodenum, jejunum and ileum were obtained two months after starting the respective diets, and used for an enzyme assay. The intestinal ALP activities in both the duodenum and jejunum from the rats in the powdered green tea group were significantly lower than those from the control rats. These findings suggest that powdered green tea is one of the factors that affects intestinal ALP activity.

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The palatal pressure while eating and swallowing various sol, gel and jelly samples was measured with six transducers embedded in an artificial palate fixed to the human hard palate. Subjects were three women in their twenties. The palatal pressure pulses of various foods at the first stroke of mastication were compared. In the cases of sol and gel foods on the market for people with chewing difficulty and dysphagic persons, the palatal pressure pulse pattern at the first stroke of mastication showed a nearly simple compression pattern, and the maximum palatal pressure of the pulse was 1-3×10⁴ Pa. However, the first palatal pressure patterns of the four kinds of jellies, gelatin, agar, carrageenan and gellan gels, with various concentrations gave multi-break points, showing a characteristic pattern for each gel. The maximum palate pressure of the low concentration gels (concentrations of 1.0% gelatin, 0.6% agar, 3.5% carrageenan and 0.15% gellan or less) were smaller than 3×10⁴ Pa. This concentration, for each gel, was suggested as suitable for people with chewing difficulty.

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The disturbance of thermal conduction in foodstuffs during heating in a metal vessel due to phase transition of the food components could be controlled by adding a variety of thermo-insensitive ingredients such as pure cocoa powder, ground green tea, powdered charcoal, and the ash from rice husk. Experiments confirmed that the pronouncedly disturbed curve of increasing internal temperature of a plastic fat system consisting of a mixture of tristearin and corn oil could be transformed into a smooth curve without affecting the endothermic heat of melting of tristearin in the presence of adequate amount of each thermo-insensitive ingredient. It was also confirmed that the disturbance of thermal conduction caused by the sol transition of a series of hydro-gels of agar or gelatin disappeared in the presence of certain amount of each thermo-insensitive ingredient. The resulting smooth curve of increasing internal temperature for a plastic fat or aqueous hydro-gels could be applied to an exponential equation characterized by the retardation time, while the heat capacity and thermal diffusivity of all the samples to be tested decreased with increasing amount of each thermo-insensitive ingredient introduced.

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Male Wistar rats were fed on a diet containing no, 11% or 13% cellulose for 4 weeks. The viscosity of the small intestinal contents of the rats fed on the diet containing 13% cellulose was 2,566 cP, which was significantly higher than the 667 cP in the control group fed on the diet with no cellulose. The respective viscosities of the cecal contents of the rats fed on the diets containing 11% and 13% cellulose were 6,098 cP and 6,345 cP, respectively, significantly higher than the 1,307 cP of the control group. The respective cecal tissue weights of the rats fed on the diets containing no, 11% and 13% cellulose were 0.74 g, 0.87 g and 0.77 g. The cecal tissue weight of the rats fed with cellulose was higher than the control value, and was positively correlated with the viscosity of the cecal contents. The concentrations of acetic, propionic and n-butyric acid in the cecal contents of the rats fed with cellulose were lower than the control values. It seems that the increased viscosity of the cecal contents suppressed cecal fermentation, although the increased viscosity of the small intestinal contents had no effect on the apparent digestibility of protein, lipid and carbohydrate.

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The provision of daily meals for the elderly by the Social Welfare Conference (SWC) in the city area is managed and administered by private enterprise, the social welfare corporation and non-profit organizations (NPOs), there being little participation by SWC itself. In contrast, the meal provision in the outlying areas is managed and administered by SWC. These different methods provide greater operating efficiency in the city area and better local cohesion in the outlying areas. Safety checks on the elderly in the city area are made by a method determined by SWC and the consignment point, and by cooperation between SWC and area in the outlying areas. The menu is adapted in some cases to provide a suitable therapeutic diet. The availability of meal options that provide softer and smaller dishes to make them easier to chew requires time and manpower. The organization in the city area gives the flexibility to achieve this. The daily meal delivery service provided by SWC can be classified into four types according to its organization and management, with differing levels of involvement by the local administration, SWC, area, and private enterprise.

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