Tocopherol contents in 74 foods and 44 cooked foods Were determined by high performance liquid chromatography and daily tocopherol consumption was calculated on the basis of tocopherol contents.
1) In general, tocopherol contents in cereal were low, oil contalned a large amomt of tocopherol. Tocopherol contents of fruits are from 4.82 to 0mg/100g as α-tocopherol. Foods excepting oil hardly containled tocopherols other than α-tocopherol.
2) Tocopherol contents of cooked foods were lower than those of corresponding raw foods in many kinds of foods. Tocopherol contents of fried foods were much affected by oil used in cooking.
3) According to “National survey of nutrition, ”we estimated daily tocopherol intake on the basis of tocopherol contents of foods; 10.46mg (total tocopherol/day/person) and 5.07mg (α-tocopherol equiv. /day/person). These values should be plused about 20% of them, because tocopherols were not determined for about 20% of all foods.

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Taurine and other free amino acids were determined in human and cow's milk at different days of lactation. Taurine concentrations in human milk were high next to glutamic acid and taurine percent of total free amino acids was almost constant during lactation. Taurine concentrations in cow's milk of 3 days lactation were similar to those in human colostrum, but pooled cow's milk from which infant formulas are prepared was considerably lower than those of human mature milk. Characteristic patterns of other free amino acids were observed with days of lactation. Especially high proline in human milk and high glycine in cow's milk were marked at the stage of colostrum. These differences may reflect the phenamena of protein synthesis in the mammary gland. Ethanolamine, phosphoethanolamine and phosphoserine which are ninhydrin-positive compound related to phospholipid were observed in the milk of both man and cow. The response af serum taurine concentrations to feeding one of formulas with and without taurine suppl mentation or human milk was measured in the term and premature infants. The premature infants appear to be more susceptible to taurine deficient formulas than does the term infant. Supplementation of formula with amounts of taurine comparable to those present in human milk will maintain nearly the same serum taurine concentrations as human milk does.

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Three groups of weanling male rats were fed for five weeks on diets, which were added about 25 mg/100g of roughly equal mixture of α-, β-, γ; - and δ-tocopherol and lard, beef tallow or safflower oil as dietary fat (LA-25, BT-25, or 50-25, respectively). After feeding, the effect of dietary fat on tissue uptake and the accumulation of each of tocopherols were investigated by analyzing tocopherols in various tissues of those rats, using high performance liquid chromatography.
1) During feeding, the body weight of rat in the group BT-25 fed on the lowest content of linoleic acid was significantly lower than those in other two groups. However, no significant differences were found among three grougs in the relative organ weight for both liver and lung after feeding.
2) Comparisons of groups LA-25 and BT-25 showed that the concentration of each tocopherol in any tissue hardly changed by a deficiency of essential fatty acids.
3) Comparisons of groups LA-25 and SO-25 showed a tendency that the concentration of α-tocopherol in any tissue decreased with an increase in the content of linoleic acid in the diet, while the concentration of β-tocopherol rather slightly increased. Thus, in terms of the composition of tocopherols, the percentage of α-tocopherol decreased while that of β-tocopherol increased.

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Three groups of rats were fed on vitamin E (VE) deficient, normal (control) and rich diets for 51 days, and bloods were collected by cutting the tail ends of rats, then hemolysis (%) and serum VE content were measured. After the feeding for one more week on the same diets, autoxidized linoleate (AL) was orally administered to each rat of the three groups at a daily dose of 0.2-0.3ml/100g, continuously for five days. The blood was withdrawn from the decapitated rats, and fractions of S-9 and microsome were prepared from perfused livers. The activities and contents of enzymes in the electron tranSfer system of liver microsome, and S-9 activities were determined with hemolysis (%), serum VE content, and serum GOT and GPT activities. The hemolysis (%) and serum VE content reflected well dietary VE level before and after AL administration, respectively. AL administration increased serum GOT and GPT activities in all groups and particularly in VE deficient group. The activities of NADPH-cytochrome c reductase and the contents of cytochrome P-450 in liver microsomes remained at essentially the same level in all groups even after AL administration, except that the cytochrome P-450 content in rats given VE rich diet was higher than that of the other two groups. The S-9 activity of VE rich diet group was intact in metabolic activation of 2-acetylamino fluorene, while that of the other two groups disappeared. These results suggest that disappearance of S-9 activities in control and VE deficient diet groups was due to destruction of microsomal membrane rather than that of drug metabolic enzymes, and show that VE rich diet protects effectively the in vivo drug metabolism system under the above conditions.

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The Sprague-Dawley-strain rats were devided and classified into four groups: (1) the rats fed on the basal diets, (2) the rats fed on the basal diets containing 1% cholesterol, (3) the rats fed on the basal diets containing 16% spirulina, and (4) the rats fed on the basal diets containing 16% spirulina and 1% cholesterol.
The results obtained were as follows. Elevation in total cholesterol, LDL+VLDL cholesterol, and phosholipids in serum caused by cholesterol feeding (Group 2) were reduced clearly by feeding (Group 4). Fall' in HDL cholesterol level caused by cholesterol feeding (Group 2) was reduced by feeding spirulina (Group 4). It was expected from these results that spirulina may prevent dietary hypercholesterolemia and arteriosclerosis. And, dietary hypercholesterolemia caused by cholesterol feeding was cured by spirulina feeding.
The fatty liver caused by high-fat and high-cholesterol diets was also cured rapidly by feeding spirulina.

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Biological effect of vitamin B₆-deficiency on biosynthesis of B₆-enzymes in Streptococcus faecalis R. ATCC 8043 was investigated.
Vitamin B₆-enriched cells were grown on the medium added with 10μg per ml of pyridoxal, and B₆-deficient cells were grown on synthetic amino acid medium free from vitamim B₆-vitamers which was supplemented with 200μg per ml of one of the stereoisomers of alanime (D-, DL-, or L-alanine).
The transaminase activity of B₆-enriched cells was compared with that of B6-deficiemt cells of sonicated cell-free extracts. Transaminase of B₆-enriched cells was made up of a half part of apoenzyme and another half part of holoenzyme, while the enzyme of B₆-deficient cells consists of a quarter part or one third part of holoenzyme of total activity.
Purifed preparations of transaminase obtained from those of B₆-enriched or B₆-deficient cells of Streptococcus faecalis R. were confirmed as a single protein preparation by acrylamide disc gel electrophoresis.
Molecular weight of transaminase from B₆-enriched cells was calculated to be about 32, 000, while the molecular weight of the enzyme purified from B₆-deficient cells was calculated to be about 64, 000 by gel filtration of sephadex G-150 column.
Michaelis constant (Km) of both enzymes for pyridoxal 5'-phosphate was calculated to be 5.6×10_-7M. Km values for α-ketoglutarate and aspartate were calculated to be 3.0-6.5×10^-4M and 2.2-5.7×10^-3M, respectively.

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Chopped-onions roasted with butter, salad oil or silicone oil gave rise to good-flavor. We attempted to elucidate the components responsible for good-flavor caused from roasted onion.
Onions were roasted with silicone oil at 140°C for 25 min and steam-distilled for 4 hr. Roastedonion flavor and fresh-onion flavor were identified by GC and GC-MS. Major components of roastedonion flavor were 2, 4-dimethylthiophene, methyl propyl trisulfide and propyl propenyl trisulfide (cis and trans). Those of fresh onion flavor were 2, 3-dimethylthiophene, propyl propenyl disulfide (cis and trans), dipropyl disulfide and dipropyl trisulfide. Trisulfides being stable components were increased by roasting.
Roasted-onion flavor components were separated in the 7 fractions by chromatography on a column of silica gel-celite 545 (1: 1, w/w) with n-hexane-ether gradients. Most of sulfides in volatiles were eluted in the first fraction with n-hexane and they smelled fresh onion flavor. This fraction was further separated by chromatography on a column of 10% AgNO₃-silica gel with n-pentane-n-hexane gradients. But sweet-smelling flavor components were not eluted in a single fraction. The flavor of other 6 fractions separated by silica gel-celite 545 column chromatography was not so good-flavor. However, mixing of a few fractions in the first fraction revealed the roasted onion flavor again.

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Beef, bacon, almond and bread were heated in an electric roaster at 150-250°Cfor twenty minutes. The amino acid residues of protein, especially serine, threonine and arginine, in the foods were easily decomposed above 180°C. The racemization in the amino acid residues also occurred, and aspartic acid and glutamic acid were markedly racemized. The order of the racemization of food was generally as follows: bacon>beef>almond>bread. The promotion of the racemization of amino acid residues by lipid were speculated on four foods. In vitro digestibility of the roasted food protein extremely decreased above 210°C, and it decreased to 8-20% at 250°C.

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Contents of tocopherols. and polyunsaturated fatty acids in breakfast, lunch and dinner of college and its dormitory cafeteria for 7 days in November 1982, and serum tocopherol level of female students were analyzed.
Means of α-tocopherol, polyunsaturated fatty acids of three meals (per day) were 7.28±1.39mg and 11.53±1.32g, respectively and yield a ratio of 0.63. Daily intake of tocopherol; 7.28 mg in this study was suitable to meet the ratio of 0.6 which was suggested to an adequate vitamin E nutririon by Harris.
Serum tocopherol level of female students was 0.98±0.15mg, an average of Japanese.

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Reduction of amount of salt intake is claimed to be one of the way to prevention of hypertension or cerebrovascular diseases. While the amount of salt intake is considered, the other nutrients in food are ignored. Amount of nutrients taken from the food containing one gram salt is calculated using the 4th edition of Japanese Food Composition Table for the Japanese foods popularly consumed. Miso-soup and salted foods are said that they are the source of salt in the Japanese diet, but, at the same time, the mean nutrient-values of miso-soup, which are calculated from 3, 888 meals, are very rich in protein, calcium, iron and vitamin A, and salted greens are well off for calcium. We have to consider not only for the salt, but also for the other nutrients of the foods and the survival value of our diet.

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The protease inhibitor leupeptin decreased tyrosine release from rat diaphragm incubated in vitro while pepstatin did not decrease tyrosine release. Leupeptin also decreased N^τ-methylhistidine release. These results suggested that protease being inhibited by leupeptin degraded muscle proteins and myofibrillar proteins.

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The effects of dietary carbohydrate on the induction of gastric intestinal metaplasia by oral administration of N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) were observed with the rats raised on two different diets, viz, a starch diet (70% as starch) and a sucrose diet (46% of the total weight in the form of sucrose, 24% as starch). MNNG was administered at a concentration of 83μg/ml in drinking water for 3 months from 6 weeks old. Rats were examined at 3, 5, 7, 10 and 13 months after the start of MNNG administration.
Intestinal metaplasia detected as sucrase activity by tes-tape and tumors were induced in the glandular stomach at 5 months after MNNG administration in both dietary groups, and developed with aging. The incidence and sucrase activity of intestinal metaplasia were higher in the starch-fed rats than sucrose-fed rats. No tumor was found in the stomach without MNNG administration, but intestinal metaplasia was found with aging, although sucrase activity was lower than that of MNNG-administered rats in both dietary groups. The activities of maltase and sucrase in the proximal small intestine were slightly lower in MNNG-administered rats, but did not show any significant difference between starch and sucrose-fed rats. These results suggested that high starch intake involved in the early stage of the development of intestinal metaplasia as well as aging.

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The qualities of ginkgo nuts stored at room temperature in general deteriorate gradually and consequently the cookability of the nuts is losted in a year. There has not been reported about the mechanism underlying the loss of cookability depending on storage time and conditions. In this work, changes in components of ginkgo nuts during storage under different conditions were studied and storage conditions essential for the preservation of the good qualities were determined.
Ginkgo nuts were stored for 6 months under five different conditions of temperature, relative humidity and air oxidation state. Moisture, total lipid, crude fiber, ash, crude protein and SH group were determined after 2, 4 and 6 months of storage.
After 6 months, the qualities of almost all nuts under two conditions of low temperature were preserved on the satisfactory state, however more than 80% of the nuts stored under three conditions of high temperature deteriorated.
The remarkable decrease of SH groups and moisture and a so ewhat decrease of total lipids in the deteriorated nuts show that the deterioration is due to the cross-linking on proteins, the oxidation of lipids and the dehydration.
The chemical changes under different storage conditions show that the storage temperature is the most critical parameter, but the relative humidity and the air oxidation are not so significant for the deterioration.
Consequently low temperature is essential for the preservation of the good qualities of ginkgo nuts.

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