The dietary addition of several xenobiotics, such as PCB, DDT, aminopyrine, chloretone, BHT and BHA, caused significant increases in the ascorbic acid in urine and liver of rats. The administration of all types of xenobiotics used in the present experiments increased the activity of hepatic UDP-glucose dehydrogenase (1.32.8-fold), and the administration of PCB, DDT, BHT or BHA significantly increased the activity of hepatic UDP-glucuronyl transferase (2.213.1-fold). The activity of β-glucuronidase was slightly increased with feeding of PCB, DDT, chloretone or aminopyrine. However, the activity of hepatic UDPglucuronic acid pyrophosphatase, the conversion of D-glucuronic acid or D-glucuronolactone into L-ascorbic acid and the activity of hepatic Lgulonolactone oxidase did not increase with the administration of PCB or DDT. It is suggested that the increases in the activities of UDP-glucose dehydrogenase and UDP-glucuronyl transferase would have a major role in the stimulation of ascorbic acid synthesis in xenobiotic treated rats.

View full abstract

Using female rats from 2 to 64 weeks old, the changes in bone γ-carboxyglutamic acid-containing protein (BGP) levels in bone and serum were studied in relation to the changes in calcium metabolism during aging. Intestinal calcium transport, serum phosphorus level, bone origin serum alkaline phosphatase activity and serum BGP content were high in rapidly growing animals and then decreased with aging. Serum BGP content correlated well to bone origin serum alkaline phosphatase activity. Bone density, bone ash content and bone BGP content increased during aging. Bone BGP content was correlated to bone density which indicates the level of bone calcification.
Moreover, the effect of castration on calcium metabolism and bone and serum BGP contents were observed in young (10 weeks old) and aged (40 weeks old) female rat at 12 and 24 weeks after operation. Intestinal calcium transport in ovariectomized rat was significantly lower than in sham operated rat. Serum phosphorus level and serum BGP content were increased in castrated female rat. However, serum calcium level and bone origin serum alkaline phosphatase activity did not show a significant change in castrated female rat. Bone density was significantly decreased in aged rat at 24 weeks after operation.
During aging or castration, serum BGP content changed more than bone BGP content. The determination of change in serum BGP levels in various disorders of calcium metabolism would be very informative in future study.

View full abstract

Studies of changes in platelet tocopherol in 16 children with mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome (MCLS) were undertaken during the disease course.
1. Plasma tocopherol was lowest at the beginning of the disease (during the first 1 to 2 weeks), while it increased with improvement in symptoms at 4 to 5 weeks.
2. Platelet tocopherol however was lowest in the first 2 to 3 weeks, and at about the 4th week or later increased. When compared with normal levels, determined in 24 children without MCLS (5 to 14 years old), the lowest level seen throughout the disease course coincided with it. Thus, platelet tocopherol may be generally higher in MCLS.
3. There was little correlation between plasma and platelet tocopherol levels which were simultaneously assayed, (r=0.26, p<0.1, n=44), while, the correlation between platelet tocopherol and plasma tocopherol/total lipid ratio was increased significantly to 0.55 (p<0.001, n=38).
4. Individual patients in whom platelet tocopherol and plasma tocopherol/total lipid ratios were repeatedly assayed, were divided into two groups based on the Asai scoring, as a high risk group and a low risk group. No correlation was observed between the risk grades and either platelet tocopherol or tocopherol/total lipid ratios in plasma.

View full abstract

Plasma levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D₃ (25-OH-D₃) and 25-hydroxyvitamin D₂ (25-OH-D₂) in 758 Japanese healthy subjects (most of them adults) were determined by a high-performance liquid chromatographic method previously reported (6) and the following results were obtained:
1) The mean and standard deviation (M±SD) of the assayed values of 25-OH-D (sum of 25-OH-D₃ and 25-OH-D₂) was 23.8±10.1 ng/ml.
2) 25-OH-D₃ was detected in all the samples and the M±SD was 23.0±10.1 ng/ml. The plasma levels clearly showed the seasonal variation that the levels in summer were significantly higher than those in winter. Moreover, the plasma levels were significantly correlated with the amounts of UV light in solar radiation. These results strongly suggested that 25-OH-D₃ in plasma mainly originated from endogenous vitamin D₃ formed by photo-conversion of 7-dehydrocholesterol in skin.
3) 25-OH-D₂ was detected only in 18.3% of the plasma samples and the M±SD in the detected samples was 4.4±2.9 ng/ml which was much lower than those of 25-OH-D₃. The results suggested that few healthy Japanese are taking daily exogenous vitamin D₂ from multivitamin preparations or others.
4) The M±SD values of 25-OH-D₃ plasma levels in men and women were 26.2±10.4 and 19.3±8.0 ng/ml, respectively. The formers were significantly higher than the latters. The results were thought to be due to the reason that men might be outdoors for longer periods than women.
5) When age variation of plasma 25-OH-D₃ levels was examined, the levels in the twenties were significantly lower than the other generations. This was confirmed to be due to the low values observed in the female twenties group, but the detailed reason is unclear at the present time.
6) When 4 healthy volunteers were orally administered 400 I.U./day of vitamin D₂ every day for 8 weeks, maximum levels (average: 11.5 ng/ml) were observed at the 8 weeks and the levels gradually decreased after stopping the administration. The results suggested that the half life of 25-OH-D₂ in plasma might be 4-5 weeks.

View full abstract

Weanling male rats were fed a riboflavin or seleniumdeficient diet for 5 weeks, and the glutathione content and its relating enzyme activities in the livers were examined. The glutathione content and glutathione reductase activity were decreased by deficiency of riboflavin, but not by that of selenium. Glutathione peroxidase activity was increased by addition of selenium to the diet, but without its addition, the activity was higher in the riboflavin-deficient rats than in the riboflavin-sufficient rats, in spite of the increase of lipid peroxides in the former rats. Glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity was decreased significantly by riboflavin deficiency.
In another experiment, riboflavin was intraperitoneally injected into rats fed the diet to which neither riboflavin nor selenium had been added. The glutathione content and activities of glutathione reductase and glucose 6phosphate dehydrogenase returned to the control level of riboflavinsufficient rats in 24 h, the lipid peroxide level in 48 h, and the glutathione peroxidase activity, being higher than that in the control rats, in 72 h after the injection, respectively.
These findings indicate that the increase of lipid peroxides in the livers of riboflavin-deficient rats is caused by the decrease in the glutathione content as well as glutathione reductase activity rather than by that in the selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase activity.

View full abstract

A rice bran protein concentrate (RBPC) was prepared from de-fatted rice bran by extraction with a 1% sodium chloride solution and by acetone-precipitation. This protein concentrate contained 45% protein, which was as good as casein in terms of protein quality being judged from the results of amino acid analysis. On the other hand, RBPC possessed the trypsin inhibitor activity corresponding to the complete inhibition of about 6 mg of bovine trypsin per 1g of dry material. The activity was, however, completely destroyed by autoclaving RBPC for 30mm at 121°C. In vitro digestion tests showed that RBPC was easily digested by pepsin but was resistant to the attack by trypsin, compared with autoclaved RBPC. Concerning in vivo digestion, however, there was no significant difference in apparent nitrogen digestibility between RBPC and the heated RBPC. In growth experiments with weanling rats fed a 10% level of protein diet, growth depression and the tendency of slight pancreatic hypertrophy were observed in rats receiving a RBPC diet. It is presumed that one of the reasons which explains these phenomena is the presence of trypsin inhibitor in RBPC.

View full abstract

Effect of starvation or ACTH injection on the urinary level and profile of L-carnitine and its derivatives was studied in four healthy adult men or in a normal child and two patients with myopathy, respectively. Mean total L-carnitine level in the control urine sample obtained before starvation was 389±34μmol⋅man⋅day. The percentage distribution was found to be 46% for free-, 9 % for acetyl and 45% for aryl-L-carnitine. The acyl-L-carnitine fraction contained short-chain (65%) and long-chain acyl-L-carnitine (35%). With 2-day starvation urinary excretion of free-L-carnitine was slightly decreased and, in contrast, that of acetyl-L-carnitine was considerably increased, resulting in a significant increase in urinary total L-carnitine levels. Urinary excretion of acyl-L-carnitine was increased two-folds with starvation, but that of longchain acyl-L-carnitine was not changed. In a normal child (female, 3.5 yr) and two patients (female, 4.5 yr and male, 23 yr) with myopathy, ACTH injection induced a significant elevation of urinary total L-carnitine levels, being mainly caused by an increased excretion of free-L-carnitine and, in the adult patient, acyl-L-carnitine. Muscle total L-carnitine contents were normal in two children but abnormally low in the adult patient, who had simultaneously very low urinary total L-carnitine level before ACTH injection. Thus, in the adult patient myopathy might be possibly caused in part by carnitine deficiency. Starvation and ACTH-induced changes in urinary level and profile of L-carnitine and its derivatives were discussed in relation to carnitine biosynthesis as well as renal regulation of carnitine clearance.

View full abstract

A composition analysis of Okinawan sugar cane rind materials was conducted, and it was found that the main components were lipids, crude fiber and water indicating about 27%, 19.6% and 14.6%, respectively. The lipids were effectively extracted from rind materials by benzene. Wax (18%) and fatty alcohol (8%) were found to be the main components, totaling up to 96% of the lipids.
Separation and partial purification of wax and fatty alcohol were attempted by means of silica gel column chromatography, thin-layer chromatography (TLC), infrared (IR) absorption spectra and gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).
The major components of the wax were considered to be two compounds with the molecular weights of 408 (C-26) and 436 (C-28), and those of fatty alcohol were di-ol with molecular weights of 440 (C-29) and 468 (C31). Both wax and fatty alcohol were purified by rechromatography on a silica gel column and the samples obtained seemed to be satisfactory for use in experimental rats' diets.

View full abstract

Enhancement of phagocytosis of alveolar macrophages (AM) was examined by cytochemical and electron microscopic studies on macrophages from protein-deficient rats. The macrophages from rats fed on 5% casein diet had longer microvilli, more phagocytic vacuoles and more lysosomes with acid phosphatase activity than those from control rats. Many phagocytic vacuoles were seen close to the site of attachment of opsonized sheep red blood cells (SRBC) and were mainly located in the subplasmalemmal layer which was rich in microfilaments but contained few cytoplasmic organelles. After attachment, opsonized SRBC were engulfed through a hemispherical crater into the phagocytic vacuoles. The phagocytic vacuoles seemed to be formed by invagination of the cell surface because they had membrane ATPase activity continuous with that of the outer surface of the plasma membrane.
In the cell, the vacuoles fused with the numerous preexisting lysosomes in the interior of the cell receiving the contents of the latter. The mechanism of enhancement of phagocytosis in protein-deficiency is discussed.

View full abstract

Thirty-six hair samples, which were collected from specimens of different Japanese women, cut during the period from 1902 to 1968, were analyzed for cystine content. Cystine content of the samples in the period of World War II and post-war confusion represented the lowest value among the samples.

View full abstract

Effect of the different intensities of iron-deficient anemia in pregnant rats on the maternal tissue iron and the fetal development was investigated.
The different intensities of iron deficiency were produced by changing period of feeding on the iron depleted diet (0.38mg/100g diet) prior to gestation. The anemic rats were divided into three groups with the hemoglobin levels of 12, 10 and 8g/100ml on the first day of gestation. Then, rats of each group were fed on the iron adequate and on the depleted diets during gestation. The whole body weights of the three deficient animals were lower than those of the corresponding controls on day-21 of gestation. Food intakes of the three deficient groups tended to be lower than those of corresponding controls. The values of hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (Ht) and red blood cells (RBC) decreased with the progress of pregnancy, and the hypochromic anemia was observed in all deficient animals. Iron contents of various tissues and the ratio of ferritin iron to total iron in liver and spleen of each deficient group were also apparently lower than those of corresponding controls. The numbers of placenta of the deficient groups were similar to those of corresponding controls. The litter size of severe anemic-animals was less than those of light and moderate anemic-animals, and the average body weight of fetus in severe anemic-animals was much lower than those of other groups. These results suggested that a higher severity of anemia in the mother at the beginning of pregnancy may result in a more frequent resorption of the fetus but the anemic status did not affect the ability of gestation itself.

View full abstract

The functional ability of pituitary-adrenocortical system in relation to adequacy of vitamin A-nutriture was studied by comparing magnitude of its response to stress in vitamin A-depleted rats with that in normal animals. Repeated 4 h-daily immobilizations provoked a significant increase in urinary excretion of free plus conjugated transcortinbindable corticosteroids with a concomitant rise in serum and adrenal content of free corticosteroids. In the vitamin A-depleted rats stress-evoked increase in urinary excretion and, serum and adrenal level of corticosteroids was less marked than those in the normal animals. The serum ACTH response to the stress was also decreased in the vitamin Adepleted rats. These results suggest that stress-induced activation of the pituitary-adrenocortical axis is significantly reduced in the vitamin Adepleted rats and that this depression is due, in part, to reduction of hypophyseal secretion of ACTH.

View full abstract

To assess the effect of dietary lactose on the utilization of ⁴⁰Ca and ⁴⁵Ca, a one-day balance experiment was carried out. The urinary ⁴⁵Ca excretion and ⁴⁵Ca deposition in the femur were significantly higher in the 10% lactose diet group. In the second experiment, non-flushed lower small intestine was ligated in situ and calcium absorption was observed shortly after injecting lactose solution into the loop during the postprandial state. The estimated amounts of ⁴⁰Ca and ⁴⁵Ca absorbed and of ⁴⁵Ca deposited in the femur were increased in the presence of lactose in the test solution. These results suggest that dietary lactose stimulates calcium utilization and also increases calcium absorption from the undisturbed small intestine containing digests.

View full abstract

The lipids were extracted from the winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus) seed with water-saturated n-butanol. Lipids were separated into groups by preparative TLC on silica gel G. The amount of each lipid type was determined by analysis of the fatty acid constituents in each lipid type.
Glyceride was the major lipid accounting for 89.6% of the total, followed by an unknown lipid 4%, free fatty acid of 2.3%, 1, 3-diglyceride, 1, 2diglyceride and steryl ester as 1% each and finally a polar lipid as 0.2%. The results show that winged bean oil should be suitable for edible purposes. Triglycerides showed a similar profile of fatty acids to those of whole lipid: the major fatty acids were palmitic (10.9%), stearic (4.5%), oleic (37.1%), linoleic (19.0%), eicosenoic (3.6%), behenic (18.5%) and lignoceric (4.2%) acids. Compared to soybean oil, winged bean oil contained long chain fatty acids and a fairly small amount of linolenic acid which is favorable regarding oil stability against autoxidation.

View full abstract

The Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, commonplace in Australia, might be prevented by the enrichment of alcoholic beverages with thiamine. The use of the well absorbed thiamine alkyl disulphides for the enrichment of the most relevant Australian beverage, namely beer, is examined. A liquid chromatographic method is described whereby thiamine tetrahydrofurfuryl disulphide and thiamine propyl disulphide can be detected in beer in concentrations down to 125 ng/ml. It is concluded that the thiamine alkyl disulphides offer no special advantage because their disulphide bonds are reduced by substances in beer, yielding free thiamine.

View full abstract