Five different triglycerides were chemically synthesized each with a single saturated fatty acid of even-numbered-carbon-atom (C₈-C₁₆). Cholesterol and other lipid contents in plasma, liver and adipose tissue were compared among rats fed for 4 weeks different formula diets containing 1% of cholesterol and 5% of the authentic fats.
1) Body weight gain in each experimental group during 4 weeks feeding was almost the same as that in C_{18: 2} group.
2) Not only total but also free cholesterol contents in plasma were almost the same and there was no significant difference between C_{18: 2} and CF group. As compared with C_{18: 2} group, plasma cholesterol levels increased significantly in rats fed C₁₄ or C₁₆. Plasma cholesterol levels generally decreased in rats fed medium chain triglycerides. Especially, the level of total cholesterol of C₁₀ or C₁₂ group and free cholesterol of C₁₀ group were significantly lower than that of C₁₆ group.
3) Marked increase of HDL-cholesterol level was observed with C₁₂ or C₁₄ group, and these did not differed significantly from the level of C_{18: 2}·
4) Phospholipid level in plasma of rats fed experimental fats remained within the level of C_{18: 2} group.
5) Triglyceride level in plasma of rats fed diet containing C₁₂ or C₁₄ was almost the same as compared with C_{18: 2}, however these levels of other experimental rats decreased markedly.
6) By the administration of cholesterol, not only total lipids but also cholesterol levels in liver were increased. These levels of experimental group were almost the same, except that cholesterol level of C₈ group was uniquely high.
7) Fatty acid composition of liver and adipose tissue lipids showed the pattern of essential fatty acid deficiency: not only the high monoene and triene but also low diene ratio was observed in all experimental group.

View full abstract

Six different triglycerides were chemically synthesized each with a single saturated fatty acid of even-numbered-carbon-atom (C₂-C₁₂). Cholesterol and other lipid contents in plasma, liver and adipose tissue were compared among rats fed for 4 weeks different formula diets containing 1% of cholesterol and 5% of the authentic fats.
1) Body weight gain in each experimental group during 4 weeks feeding was almost the same as that of C_{18: 2} group, except that the values in C₄, C₈ and C₁₀ group were slightly less than that of C_{18: 2}.
2) The food efficiency ratio of each experimental group was significantly lower than that of C_{18: 2} group.
3) Not only total but also free cholesterol contents in plasma were almost the same in each experimental group, except that the values of C₆ group were much higher than that of other groups.
4) Marked increase of HDL-cholesterol level in plasma was observed with C₄ group, while the levels in other experimental groups were almost the same.
5) Phospholipid level in plasma of rats fed experimental fats remained within the level of C_{18: 2} group, but animals fed either C₆ or C₈ showed exceptionally high level. Especially marked increase was observed with C₆ group.
6) Triglyceride level in plasma of rats fed experimental fats was almost the same, except that marked increase was observed in C₆ group.
7) By the administration of cholesterol, not only total lipids but also cholesterol levels in liver were increased. These levels of rats fed diet containing fatty acids of C₆, C₁₀ and C₁₂ were almost the same, except that cholesterol level of C₈ group was uniquely high. By feeding diet containing C₂ or C₄, the lipid level decreased markedly, but for the cholesterol level, only C₄ showed the same tendency.
8) Fatty acid composition of liver and adipose tissue lipids showed the pattern of essential fatty acid deficiency: not only the high monoene and triene but also low diene ratio was observed in all experimental group.

View full abstract

Strepto-zotocin-induced diabetic rats were fed a high cholesterol diet containing 2.5% cholesterol and 0.5%cholic acid with or without adding dietary fiber (5% guar gum or 10% cellulose) and cholesterol concentrations in serum lipoprotein fractions were determined at 10, 20 and 40 days after the test feeding started.
1) Serum total cholesterol levels of rats raised by a high cholesterol diet were significantly lowered by the addition of 5% guar gum, but not significantly by 10% cellulose.
2) LDL cholesterol levels were markedly increased by a high cholesterol diet, while the addition of guar gum or cellulose was accompanied by significant reductions in LDL cholesterol levels. How-ever, such an effect of cellulose was observed only at 10 days.
3) Although a high cholesterol diet had little or no effect on HDL cholesterol levels, the addition of guar gum slightly increased its average values, but the difference was statistically insignificant. In contrast, cellulose showed a tendency to lower the level at 20 and 40 days after the test feeding started.
4) These results suggest that some dietary fibers such as guar gum induce animprovement in cholesterol metabolism of diabetic rats, although the level of effects of dietary fibers may be different from each other.

View full abstract

Contents of sodium saccharin in 2, 598 foods, BHT in 1, 297 foods and BHA in 1, 415 foods were analyzed for the samples collected at Sendai, Kofu, Osaka, Matsue and Kitakyushu from 1976 to 1980. The average intakes of these additives were calculated with using the results of the “National Nutrition Survey” carried out in 1978 by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The average intakes per capita of sodium saccharin, BHT and BHA were respectively 10.4 mg, 0.273 mg, and 0.216 mg. When the analysis of the three additives were conducted in the five cities and Tokyo for one week on meals prepared according to the model menu, the average daily intakes of sodium saccharin, BHT and BHA were 4.8 mg, 0.008 mg and 0.166 mg, respectively. FAO/WHO evaluated the ADI of sodium saccharin as 2.5 mg/kg body weight, BHT as 0.5 mg/kg and BHA as 0.5 mg/kg and, assuming that the average body weight of Japanese adult was 50 kg, it is allowed to accept 125 mg of sodium saccharin, 25 mg of BHT and 25 mg of BHA. Accordingly, it was found that the daily intakes of sodium saccharin, BHT and BHA in Japan corresponded to 3.8-10.0%, 0.03-1.3% and 0.6-2.3% of the each ADI respectively.

View full abstract

In this study we investigated the effects of overloading parenteral solutions on the metabolic status of rats. Normally fed and starved rats were infused intravenously at 13.5ml/kg/hr for 48 hours with three different solutions. Each solution contained the same contents of amino acids, electrolytes, vitamins, trace elements and 5.0%, 14.8% or 20.6% glucose, which were assigned to Group I, II and III, respectively.
In the cases of normally fed rats, there was a significant body weight loss in the Group I and was a slight decrease of body weight in the Group II. No weight loss was observed in the Group III, but the relative weight of liver increased.
In the cases of starved rats, the Groups II and III exhibited marked gain in the body weight, enlargement of liver, retention of sodium and potassium, hyperglycemia, appearance of urinary glucose, remarkable accumulation of liver glycogen and triglyceride, and swelling and vacuolar degeneration of liver cells. These metabolic alterations were more remarkable in the Group III than in the Group II, and were similar phenomena as overloading syndrome shown in clinical findings during total parenteral nutrition. In the Group I, the body weight was maintained during the infusion, and the initially elevated levels of hematocrit and hemoglobin tended towards the normal levels.
In conclusion, the overloading syndrome was induced more likely in malnutrished rats than in normally fed rats. This suggests that parenteral solution with high calorie should be infused by stepwise increasing manner according to nutritional demand of animals or patients.

View full abstract

Coupling sugar (C-sugar) has a similar taste to cane sugar and it is now practically used as a sugar substitute to reduce the incidence of dental caries.
In this study, the effects of substitution of coupling sugar for sucrose on the physical characteristics of some food were investigated. (1) C-sugar appears in the form of millet jelly like maltose syrup. However, the viscosity and dynamic elasticity of C-sugar were lower than those of maltose syrup. This suggested that C-sugar was rather similar to sucrose solution, Newtonian fluid. (2) Addition of C-sugar raised the heat-denaturating point of ovalbumin or gelatinization point of starch, the point raised linearly with the concentration of C-sugar. (3) The hardness, cohesiveness, adhesiveness and viscosity of starch gel were increased by addition of C-sugar than by addition of sucrose. (4) C-sugar also has stronger effects than sucrose on the foaming-ability of ovalbumin and the foam produced was more stable comparatively. (5) C-sugar was less sensitive to caramelization, but more sensitive to Maillard reaction than sucrose was.
These results suggest that C-sugar possesses some excellent characteristics as the materials for food processing.

View full abstract

Dietary records, affording individual foodstuffs involved and members of consumption, were described by 7 households living in area of Tokyo and its vicinity for 30 days in November and December 1981. Daily and accumulated numbers of foodstuffs consumed, and daily values of Individuality Index (Suzuki and Okazaki, 1981) of food consumption were analyzed in relation to familiar composition of household, age, sex and occupation of household members, and the period of observation.
1) The accumulated number of foodstuffs consumed increased along with the day of observation and reached at quasi-saturation state after 20 days of observation in all the households.
2) The final value of accumulated number of foodstuffs consumed, the daily number of foodstuffs consumed, and the daily value of Individuality Index of food consumption showed an inter-household difference, i. e., all three values were smaller in the household with 2 members than in the others.
3) When compared the values in the early half of the week with those in the latter half of the week, the Individuality Index was greater in the early half for the household in which the person in charge of cooking was working outside.

View full abstract

The fatty acid compositions of lipids and the stereospecific distributions of fatty acids in triacylglycerols were determined on the lipids extracted from marketed broiler humerus, sterum and femur bones.
Broiler bone marrow lipids were largely composed of neutral lipids, and the major fatty acids of lipids were C_{16: 0}, C_{16: 1}, C_{18: 0}, C_{18: 1} and C_{18: 2} acids. Nearly two thirds of fatty acids in lipids were composed of unsaturated acids. Conse-quently, the broiler bone marrow lipids were in a state of high unsaturation. The polar lipid fractions of bone marrow lipids were abundant in polyunsaturated fatty acids.
The results investigated on the distributions of fatty acids among 1, 2 and 3 positions in the triacylglycerols revealed that the saturated fatty acids, C_{16: 0} and C_{18: 0}, were contained more in 1 position than 2 and 3 positions, and that the unsaturated acids, C_{18: 1} and C_{18: 2}, predominated. In 2 position of triacyl-glycerols. The positional distributions of fatty acids of broiler bone marrow lipids were similar to each other amongthe three bones tested.

View full abstract

A simple method for the elimination of vitamin E from vegetable and fish oils was elucidated for the preparation of vitamin E free diet. Fifty grams of oil were treated with 2 or 4g of active carbon in 50% n-hexane solution for 3 to 5 hours. Alpha-tocopherol was completely removed from safflower and cod liver oils, but about 78% of γ- and 46% of δ-tocopherols were removed from safflower oil. Then, the biological activity of vitamin E of safflower oil reduced to 0.004mg/g α-tocopherol equivalent from 0.358 of non-treated one. In the case of cod liver oil which contained only α-tocopherol, it became completely free vitamin E. Vitamin A in cod liver oil was also reduced with active carbon treatment to about half value.

View full abstract

A simple and inexpensive closed circuit apparatus for measuring gas metabolism of small animals is described.
A hand-made spirometer was used to measure O₂ consumption. The movement of the spirometer bell was calibrated by removal of known quantities of O₂ from the system and a linear relationship was confirmed between the two measurements.
For measurement of CO₂ production, the titration method in which CO₂ absorbed by NaOH was neutralized with HCl was found to be better than a gravimetric method in which CO₂ was absorbed with sodalime.
This apparatus is quite satisfactory for practical use.

View full abstract

It has long been recognized that anemia leads to weakness and malaise. While there are many causes of anemia, by far the most common is iron deficiency. Prevalence rates range from 10 to 20 per cent for some populations in industrialized countries to 30 to 40 per cent or more in some developing countries. What has not been appreciated until recently is the extent to which iron deficiency, even when not severe enough to cause anemia, can be associated with a number of specific functional consequences. These include adverse effects on immunity and resistance to infection, on learning and behavior, physical capacity and work output, and possibly temperature regulation. Most of these effects are rapidly and completely reversed by administration of iron. The causes of iron deficiency are multiple and complex. It is not a simple matter of dietary iron intake because other substances in the diet influence iron absorption. Moreover, a variety of pathological conditions, such as menorrhagia, hookworm, malaria, and schistosomiasis, contribute to iron deficiency.
The functional consequences of iron deficiency should be of concern to industrialized as well as developing countries, and preventive measures are mandatory. The United Nations University has established a network to collect evidence of the effects of iron deficiency and is cooperating with the International Anemia Consultative Group to stimulate research on practical means of preventing iron deficiency in all populations. These include fortification of staple foods, consumption of foods with more available iron, reduced consumption or altered timing of ingestion of foods that reduce iron absorption, and the prevention of blood loss.
The paper will attempt to provide a summary and analysis of currently available information on the nature and consequences of iron deficiency in human populations and its prevention.

View full abstract