Thirty four young female subjects living in the metabolic unit in the college were fed the experimental diets, 24-hour urine throughout the experimental periods were collected and urinary creatinine and creatine contents were analyzed. Three subjects were fed the diet with 200 g meat for five days after five day period of meat free diet. Creatinine excretion increased on the first day of the meat diet and maintained constant level following four days. Creatine excretion increased successively throughout the meat diet. Other five subjects were fed protein free diet for ten days and the following ten days the diet including 250g egg were fed. Creatinine excretion decreased slowly throughout the protein free diet and the egg diet periods. Creatine excretion decreased immediately into very low level in the protein free diet period but slightly increased by the egg diet. Other three subjects were fed meat free diet (protein 80g) for three days after the ten days period of protein free diet, but both creatinine and creatine excretion did not increase at all compared with the prior period. Another group of subjects were fed meat free and 100g, 200g, 300g of meat containing diet for three or four days each. Their creatinine excretion increased as increasing meat intake, but no significant difference was observed between the urinary creatinine level with meat free diet and meat 100 g diet.
These results suggest that when lean body mass is estimated by urinary creatinine content in the field work, it is necessary to collect the urine for three to five days in which period creatine rich foodstuffs-meat, fish or poultry intake are restricted less than 100g. Furthermore another equation to calculate lean body mass by urinary creatinine for Japanese people should be deviced in the future, because the equations suggested up to the present are calculated from the subjects whose diet contained meat or protein far higher level than usual Japanese diet.

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Changes in the concentration of protein, nucleic acids and free amino acids were examined in plasma, liver and muscle of rats during the protein depletion and the concentration ratios of free amino acids in liver and muscle to those in plasma were estimated in order to study the effects of quality and quantity of dietary protein before its depletion.
Three groups of rats were prepared, fed 10% casein diet, 10% albumin diet and 30% albumin diet for 10 days, respectively. Each group of rats was thereafter fed protein-free diet for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 14 and 21 days. In the early period of protein depletion the changes of Prot. /DNA and RNA/DNA in liver and muscle were affected by the quality and quantity of dietary protein; those ratios decreased significantly from the 1st day in the group of 10% casein diet, and from the 2nd day in the group of 10% albumin diet, while in the group of 30% albumin diet they increased up to 2nd day and then decreased gradually. After the 5-7th day of depletion they changed slightly and showed a tendency to recover in liver and continued to decrease in muscle in each group.
The concentration ratios of 4 amino acids (lysine, histidine, threonine and methionine) in liver and muscle to those in plasma indicated conspicuous changes during the period of protein depletion. Concerning lysine, the concentration ratios in liver and muscle to those in plasma were almost the same in each group, those of histidine decreased in each group, especially in muscle, and those of threonine were observed to decrease in the group of casein diet and to increase in the group receiving albumin diet. The concentration ratios of methionine in liver to those in plasma showed the similar pattern to those of threonine.

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The importance of adequate nutrition to health maintenance is now recognized. A number of methods have been developed in recent years which provide reliable indices of the nutritional status, both quantitatively and qualitatively.
In order to assess the immune function from biochemical and hematological indices, serum proteins, hemoglobin, hematocrit, complement system and phytohemagglutinin skin reactivity, and anthropometric measurements were made in 41 malnourished and 10 normal children in Guatemala.
In the immune systems, cell mediated immunity and complement system were altered in different manners by protein energy malnutrition. Skin reaction to PHA reactivity was highly correlated with most of the serum biochemical and anthropometric data but the complement system did not show any correlation except factor B and C4 which are closely linked in the MHC loci in human.
The minimum levels of the biochemical indices to maintain the normal response to PHA reactivity and the complement level were discussed respectively.

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Changes in urine flow, urinary sodium and potassium output after saline loading were investigated in Japanese young men. Subjects (32 males, 19-25 yr) drank 500ml of 0.9% saline within 10 minutes after more than 10 hours' overnight fasting and water depletion at room temperature 24±2°C, and 30-60% humidity in November. Blood pressure, urine flow, and urinary sodium and potassium concentrations were measured throughout the experiment; one hour before drinking and consecutive 4 hours after drinking. Obtained data were compared with that of control experiment in which 500ml of water alone was administrated at the same protocol (34 males, 19-25 yr).
Urinary sodium excretion after saline intake, increased two times as much as that before drinking, and kept constant between one and half, and four hours after drinking. The values were significantly higher than that of control experiment. Total urinary output of water, sodium and potassium after saline intake were 191±87ml, 800±265mg, and 500±214 mg, respectively.

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The formation of lysinoalanine, N^'- (2-amino-2-carboxyethyl) -L-lysine (LAL), during the alkaline treatment of proteins was reported and by the reaction the availability of lysine was reduced. The presence of a large amount of this compound in foods would be toxic.
The determination of this compound is usually performed with amino acid autoanalyser, thin layer chromatograph or gas-liquid chromatograph, but these methods were found to be not always suitable for this determination.
As the micro-determination method, isotachoelectrophoresis has been employed and the application of this method of LAL's assay was investigated.
As a result of the preliminary experiments, it was found that the combination of K cation as a leading cation, and carnitine cation as a terminal cation could lead to the best determination of LAL. By using this system the potential unit value of LAL was obtained, and it was confirmed that this value was completely distinction from those of amino acids. The linear relationship between the zone length and the LAL concentration below 25 nmol/μl was also confirmed and the equation of this linear line was y=0.11χ+0.08.
LAL contents in rat's gastro-intestinal contents measured by this and also by the amino acid autoanalyser method were compared, and the values were well coincided.

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Egg albumin (from Difco) -ethyl linoleate mixture (2 : 1) was stored at 30°C, RH 80%. Damage to methionine and lysine residues, and changes of browning value (whiteness by Hunter) of the oxidized protein with the lipid in this system were estimated. On the oxidation of ethyl linoleate, PV of the lipid increased rapidly after 3-4 days and reached the maximum after 7 days, while CV increased rapidly after 5-6 days and reached the maximum after 8-9 days. Lysine residue (FDNB reactive lysine) of the oxidized protein was damaged gradually after 7 days and whiteness decreased gradually with damage to lysine. Methionine of the oxidized protein, which was determined by both of the Neumann method (iodoacetate treatment-performic acid oxidation method) and gas chromatographic method (cyanogen bromide treatment-methylthiocyanate method), was damaged rapidly after 5 days and about 70% of methionine was damaged during 12 days. From these results, it was concluded that damage to methionine arose more rapidly than damage to lysine and browning of the oxidized protein with lipids. Furthermore it was shown that the method by gas chromatography for determination of methionine residue in proteins was more convenient than the Neumann method.

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The reducing effect of Undaria pinnatifida on blood pressure of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) was studied. The following results were obtained by the oral administration of the powder of Undaria pinnatifida.
1) Increased plasma thyroxine concentration and reduced plasma catecholamine concentration.
2) Increased plasma potassium and calcium concentration.
3) In the growing rats, the body weight gain was suppressed and the curve of body weight gain differed from the control group.
4) The administration from the viviparity stage resulted in the delayed manifastation of hypertension in SHR, but did not suppress the development of hypertension per se.

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Ten varieties of foreign milled rice grains and 7 samples of domestic milled rice grains were cooked by excess water method and electric rice cooker method. Hardness and stickiness of 30-40 cooked rice grains corresponding to 0.6g raw milled rice grains were measured with Texturometer with dual arm. Two Indica waxy and 2 foreign and 7 domestic Japonica non-waxy grains, except one sample, cooked by excess water method were softer and less sticky than those by rice cooker method. On the contrary, 6 Indica non-waxy rice grains cooked by excess water method were softer but more sticky than those by rice cooker method. The relations were discussed among order of stickiness of cooked rice samples, cooking methods, amylose content in the rice grains, and the difference between Indica and Japonica non-waxy rices.

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The changes of amylase and protease activities in pancreas and bile-pancreatic juice of rats fed on a diet containing 50% of potato starch-granules were examined. Bile-pancreatic juice was directly collected by inserting a bile-pancreatic cannula at the common bile duct near by the duodenum. The volume of the juice was significantly increased on fourth day after feeding the diet. Amylase activities in both pancreas and bilepancreatic juice were significantly decreased on fourth day and protease activities in both tended to increase.

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