The proximate composition, mineral contents, free amino acid contents, cholesterol contents, fatty acid composition, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) contents were investigated for 12 species of seawater fish and 3 species of freshwater fish.
The obtained results are summarized as follows:
1) The contents of the edible portion in the fish were: 61.4-76.4 moisture; 13.4-26.0 crude protein and 2.5-31.8% crude lipid.
2) The mineral contents such as P, Na and K were all high, but Na, K, Ca, Zn and Cu were very different based on the standard food composition tables in Japan.
3) The contents of free amino acid such as Tau, Gly, Ala, Lys and His were higher than that of the other amino acids.The contents of Ans and Car were very different in the fishes.
On the other hand, the Tau to cholesterol ratio was equal to or greater than 4.0.
4) The main fatty acid was C_16:0, C_{18: 1}, C_{20: 1}, C_{20: 5} (EPA) and C_{22: 6} (DHA). As for the fatty acid composition of identical fish species, few changes due to the fishing season occurred but a conspicuous difference was recognized in the absolute quantity of EPA and DHA.

View full abstract

We studied the changes in quality (sensory tests) of 18 kinds of grilled dishes and their reheating conditions using the Cook-Chill system.
The results are as follows.
1) The conditions of reheating were affected by the reheating time, the changes in the weight of dishes and the of the sensory test evaluations.
2) The reheating time was strongly affected by the heating system, but it was weakly affected by the set temperatures. It was also affected by the weight of a dish.
3) The degree of change in the weights of the dishes differed according to the heating system, set temperature and the weights of the dish, i. e., the weights of the dishes reheated by an ordinary oven, infrared oven and convection oven at 150 °C decreased, while those reheated by a steamed oven and convection oven at 110 °C and 130 °C increased.
4) The condition of reheating system and the dishes judged appropriate for Cook-Chill scored high in the general sensory test evaluation.
5) It is possible to apply the Cook-Chill system to grilled dishes. However, some grilled dishes need to be investigated with respect of the choice of the food, the conditions of the first heating, cooking methord and seasoning procedures.

View full abstract

A two day investigation of the life-style and meal records of male and female university students in the Tokyo Metropolitan area was conducted in order to understand the awareness of the students of their mealtime in relation to their actual dietary habits.
The following results were obtained on the place of mealtime, the contents of the meals, and the meal pattern.
1) Male and female students ate or drank any time during approximately 24 hours a day.
2) Male students were more aware of the disorder of their mealtime.
3) At lunch male students tended to eat more one-dish meal while female students tended to eat snack more.
4) The rate of meal eaten in home was at a very high rate of between 72 and 85% for breakfast. 51% of male students had lunch out while 52% of female students ate intermediate meal.
5) Many students needed 30 minutes for breakfast, but 50.3% of female students needed under 20 minutes. A primary factor may be that the female students needed the time to get dressed.

View full abstract

The seasonal variations in shell-fish dehydrogenase activity was examined. Dehydrogenase activity in Akagai, Sakiaka, Aoyagi, and Shitakiri had been measured for 20 months. Akagai has no chance. Shelled Akagai is called Sakiaka, which has the viscera removed and then arranged for eating.Aoyagi is shelled Bakagai. Shitakiri is Aoyagi with the viscera removed. Dehydrogenase activity in oyster, both for whole and shelled ones, was measured twice in the winter over a period of 5 months. No seasonal variations in the dehydrogenase activity of Akagai, Sakiaka, Aoyagi and Shitakiri was observed. The variation of dehydrogenase activity in oyster was nearly constant through out the winter.
The dehydrogenase activity was 252±54μg/g in Akagai, 183±66μg/g in Sakiaka, 240±78μg/g in Aoyagi, 184±94μg/g in Shitakiri, 1097±243μg/g in oyster with shell, and 825±378μg/g in shelled oyster. These values are considered to be good dehydrogenase activity ratings for fresh shell-fish, Akagai, Sakiaka, Aoyagi, Shitakiri and oyster.
We have determined the criterion level of dehydrogenase activity in fresh shell-fish. The criterion level using the dehydrogenase activity is 144μg/g (mean-2sd) in Akagai, 117μg/g (mean-sd) in Sakiaka, 83μg/g (mean--2sd) in Aoyagi, 90μg/g (mean-sd) in Shitakiri, 611μg/g (mean-2sd) in oyster with shell, and 447μg/g (mean-sd) in shelled oyster, respectively. The dehydrogenase activity in fresh shell-fish is higher than this criterion level.

View full abstract

Approximately 99% of the fat in huma milk is secreted into the alveoli by the mammary secretory epithelial cell (lactocyte) in membrane bound milk fat globules (MFG). The MFG, unlike small molecules such as lactose, have little effect on the osmotic balance between milk and blood and therefore they can be stored in large amounts in the alveolar lumen.Approximately 98% of the fat in the MFG are tri-acylglycerols (TAG). Importantly, different species, e. g. women, rabbits, cows and elephants, have distinctive combinations of fatty acids esterified as TAG in their milk.We have measured 24-h milk production, fat content and fatty acid composition at 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, and 12 months of lactation in 5 women.Mean (±SD) milk production (375.5-1: 153.5mL/24-h/breast) differed between breasts, between women and with stage of lactation (p<0.05). Whereas the fat content (35.5±7.86g/L) and the percentage composition of 18: 1n9 (32.24±3.3), 18: 2n6 (9.18±2.66), 18: 3n3 (0.76±0.21), 20: 4n6 (0.37±0.07), 22: 5n3 (0.17±0.04), and 22: 6n3 (0.2±0.07) differed only between women and with stage of lactation (p<0.05).In contrast, the amount delivered to the infant differed (p<0.05) between women only for 18: 3n3, 22: 5n3 and 22: 6n3 and no differences in amounts delivered were observed for any of these fatty acids from 1 to 12 months of lactation.Each child received a mean (±SD) of 8.27-2.84 g 18: 1n9; 2.38±0.98g 18: 2n6;194±73mg 18: 3n3;92±31mg 20: 4n6;43±14 mg 22: 5n3 and 49±21 mg 22: 6n3 every 24-h from breastmilk over the first year of life.These results indicate that variation in percentage composition of individual fatty acids (e.g.18: 2n6) does not always translate to variation in the amount delivered to the infant.
Milk fat not only accounts for approximately 50% of the infant's energy intake, but also is responsible for the supply of the essential and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids that are required for the optimal development of the infant.For example, arachidonic acid (20: 4n6) and eicosapentaenoic acid (20: 5n3) are essential precursors for the synthesis of prostaglandins and immunomodulatory eicosanoids.On the other hand, docosahexaenoic acid (22: 6n3, DHA) is a major polyunsaturated fatty acid in the membranes of the cerebral cortex and retina and higher intakes of DHA have been associated with higher ratings in intelligence tests particularly in children born prematurely. Fatty acids and mono-acylglycerols released by hydrolysis of TAG in the infant's digestive tract have a detergent like lytic action and inactivate enveloped viruses, gram positive and gram negative bacteria, fungi and protozoa.The membrane surrounding the human MFG contains mucin filaments that may act as a decoy to pathogenic micro-organisms (e.g.E coli).Micro-organisms recognise mucin filaments as membrane docking sites from which to launch an invasive infection and are thereby lured away from the membrane docking sites on the epithelial cells lining the infant's digestive tract.
Despite the importance of milk fat to the infant, it is the most variable component of human milk.It varies, over the course of a feed, over the course of the day, with stage of lactation, from one lactation to the next, between breasts, and between women. The major predictors of the fat content of milk over the course of a day have been shown to be the length of the interval between breastfeeds, the fat content at the end of the previous breastfeed, the amount of milk removed at the previous breastfeed and the amount of milk removed at the current feed.However, we have found that the fat content of milk is determined primarily by the amount of milk (degree of fullness) in the breast.For example, if the baby sleeps overnight, the mother's breasts will be full of milk in the morning and the fat content of fore-milk (milk obtained before a breastfeed) will be very low.

View full abstract