The synergistic efficacy of a very-low-calorie liquid diet (VLCD), Optifast®, combined with behavioral meal scheduling therapy, including a daily body weight chart, etc., was studied in 13 moderately obese female outpatients (body mass index, BMI=30.1±1.3kg/mm²). After their weight reductien diminished or ceased during behavioral meal-scheduling therapy, the patients were put on a liquid VLCD 5 packets of 420 kcal Optifast® with no less than 1, 500ml of non-caloric liquid per day for 2 successive days per week. This procedure was continued for 4 weeks, and their daily weight pattern was charted throughout the period of treatment. Body weight in the pretreatment period was compared with body weight immediately after, and 1 and 3 months after all treatment had been concluded. Twelve of the 13 patients completed the protocol. Body weight was decreased significantly during treatment (p<0.01). The mean weight reduction was 4.0±0.4kg, and BMI decreased to 28.7±1.5kg/mm² (p<0.01). The body weight reduction was maintained for 1 to 3 months after treatment (p<0.01). Seven patients who were followed up for 12 months after treatment had maintained their weight reduction (4.7±1.8 kg, p<0.05). No snbjective or objective side effects were found during treatment except for slight hunger on the second day of VLCD. The 2 day liquid VLCD method combined with behavioral mealscheduling therapy was effective in reducing the weight of moderately obese outpatients and produced no rebound phenomenon.

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In a similar way, it can be inferred that uncooked soy sauce used as a seasoning results in foods with a high NH₃-N content. It appears that patients with high blood NH₃-N levels in liver cirrhosis should eat foods with a low NH₃-N content. Consequently, since non-heat-treated soy sauces contain a great deal of NH₃-N, such patients should refrain from comsuming unprocessed soy sauce with their meals. We believe that education based on the above finding will have a significant therapeutic effect in preventing hepatic encephalopathy in association with hyperammonemia in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis. The NH₃-N content of a variety of foods was measured using the method described by Fujii and Okuda. A slightly high NH₃-N content was detected in meat, chicken, and various canned foods. Extremely high concentrations of NH₃-N were found in all soy sauces except the processed Dashiwari variety. Low NH₃-N concentrations were found in fresh miso and milk. Since Dashiwari soy sauce was the only one with a low NH₃-N content, it was concluded that NH₃-N content decreased to 1/3 to 1/5 when foods were heated.

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Plasma, erythrocyte and urine selenium concentrations of 104 healthy male employees of companies in Osaka Prefecture were determined fluorometrically, and their intake of selenium-rich foods (bread, eggs, meat and fish), smoking habits, and alcohol consumption were surveyed by means of a simplified questionnaire. Geometric mean selenium concentrations were as follows: plasma, 110ng/ml; erythrocytes, 261ng/ml; urine, 27μg/g creatinine. Erythrocyte selenium concentrations were significantly correlated with weekly fish intake (r_s=0.479, p<0.001). Weekly fish intake was found to be the unique factor associated with variations in erythrocyte selenium concentration on the basis of multiple regression amlysis using weekly intake of selenium-rich foods, age, smoking habits, alcohol consumption and Broca index as variables. Urinary selenium concentration was significantly correlated with intake of selenium-rich foods at breakfast on the day of urine sampling and at supper on the preceding day (r=0.248, p<0.01). Intake prior to urine sampling was found to be the unique factor associated with variations in urinary selenium concentration based on multiple regression analysis. High intake of selenium-rich foods, particularly bread, eggs and meat, before blood collection was associated with higher plasma selenium concentrations. Multiple regression analysis showed that age and alcohol consumption were also associated with plasma selenium concentration. Serum albumin, negatively correlated with age, was significantly correlated with plasma seleniumc concentration (r=0.236, p<0.05). These results indicate that 1) habitual fish intake is the main factor contributing to erythrocyte selenium concentrations, 2) urinary selenium concentration is strongly associated with selenium intake before the urine sampling, 3) plasma selenium concentration is influenced not only by selenium intake before blood sampling but by age and alcohol consumption.

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Two hundred sixty-seven strains of Bifidobacterium were tested for an inhibitory effect on the growth of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacteroides fragilis and Clostridium perfringens. Testing was by the disk diffusion method using skim milk culture supernatants of Bifdobacterium incubated at 37°C. Most supernatants with pH values of 4.0-4.5 had an inhibitory effect on E. coli, P. aeruginosa and B. fragilis, however, when the pH of the supernatants was adjusted to 5.4 with an alkaline solution, more than 10 strains of Bifidobacterium had an inhibitory effect on B. fragilis alone. This inhibitory effect persisted even after adding catalase to the supernatants.

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The effect of the ethanol-utilizing yeast Candida solicola WY-1, which is tolerant to acid and ethanol, on blood ethanol and acetaldehyde concentrations in rats fed ethanol were examined. When the C. solicola cells (3g/kg b. w.) were administered to rats 5min before ethanol (2g/kg b. w.) administration, maximum blood ethanol and acetaldehyde levels were 37% and 23%, respectively, less than those in non-cell-fed rats, causing a larger decrease than in commercial diet-fed rats (3g/kg b. w.). When heat-treated C. solicola cells were tested, no decrease in blood ethanol or acetaldehyde concentration occurred. These results suggest that the decreases in concentration were caused by the ethanolmetabolizing enzymes of C. solicola.

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The nutritional effect of medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) was compared with that of long-chain triglyceride (LCT) in Mann-Williamson rats (MW rats). Bile and pancreatic juke secretions were surgically bypassed into the ileum in the animals used in the present study. Normal rats fed LCT were used controls. MW rats fed LCT had poorer fat absorption and nutritional status than normal rats. MW rats fed MCT had considerably higher fat absorption than the group fed LCT. Animals fed MCT also had better growth rates, nitrogen balance, and serum albumin and total protein levels than animals fed LCT. These results suggest that MCT is utilized more efficiently than LCT in the absence of bile and pancreatic juice in the small intestine and that it may be a useful dietary fat source in the fat malabsorption syndrome.

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The effect of medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) on the nutritional status of Mann-Williamson rats in which bile and pancreatic juice secretions were surgically bypassed into the ileum was investigated. The rats were fed a 13% MCT diet (MCT diet) or dextrin diet with equivalent energy and nitrogen for 5 days postoperatively. Body weight gain was significantly greater on the MCT diet than the dextrin diet, and nitrogen balance was significantly higher on the MCT diet than the dextrin diet. Muscle RNA/DNA ratio and protein/DNA ratio were also higher on the MCT diet, however, there was no difference between the diets with respect to urinary 3-methylhistidine excretion. Nor were there any differences in the serum activities of GOT, GPT, or ALP on either diet. These results indicate that the diet containing MCT serves as a more efficient energy source than the diet containing dextrin alone under the experimental conditions used and that MCT stimulates protein synthesis in muscle.

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Four-week-old male Wistar rats were fed a vitamin E-deficient diet for 8 weeks followed by intraperitoneal injection of DL-buthionine- [S, R] -sulfoximine (BSO), an inhibitor of r-glutamylcysteine synthetase, 1mmol/kg body weight, once a day for 3 days. The TBA value, GSH content, lipofuscin content and enzyme activities of the kidneys of the rats and their BUN, creatinine content and LDH activity were measured over time. BSO treatment caused glutathione (GSH) depletion in the kidneys of the rats. Renal TBA values decreased with time. Renal lipofuscin content, on the other hand, markedly increased on day 2 after BSO administration. Serum BUN and creatinine content were increased by GSH depletion along with the significant increase in lipofuscin production, but LDH activity increased markedly on day 2 after BSO administration. It seems that lipid peroxides produced by VE deficiency may be responsible for the accumulation of lipofuscin during renal GSH depletion, followed by necrosis of the epithelium of the proximal renal tubules. These results suggest that GSH plays an important role in preventing lipofuscin production as a result of reaction of lipid peroxides with amino acids.

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The hydrolytic activity of the rat small intestine with respect to the newly developed sugar substitute palatinose condensates was characterized using brush border membranes and purified sucraseisomaltase and glucoamylase. Palatinose dimer, palatinose trimer and palatinose tetramer were all hydrolyzed yielding glucose at rates similar to that of palatinose by small intestinal brush border membranes. The kinetic constant, K_m and V_max values of sucrase-isomaltase complex in the case of the palatinose condensates were similar to those for palatinose. Purified glucoamylase also hydrolyzed the palatinose dimer, trimer and tetramer, but the K_m values for these palatinose condensates were approximately 10 times greater than in the case of palatinose, suggesting that at low concentrations the contribution of glucoamylase to the hydrolysis of palatinose condensates is small. These results suggest that small intestinal isomaltase possesses broad substrate specificity for palatinose condensates regardless of the number of condensed palatinose molecules and that palatinose condensates are readily hydrolyzed by sucrase-isomaltase to produce glucose and residual fructose condensates.

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In order to utilize Okara Tempe (OT, a fermented product of okara) as a foodstuff, its activities were studied in vitro from the standpoint of fat digestion and bile acid metabolism. OT is ability to bind lipase, oleic acid and cholic acid was lower than that of wheat bran, suggesting that OT has less inhibitory effect on fat digestion than wheat bran after ingested. The neutral detergent fiber of OT (OT-NDF) has a stronger binding capacity for deoxycholic acid (DCA) than cellulose, suggesting that OT-NDF can increase DCA excretion. When OT-NDF was fermented by rat cecal flora, it had no effect on cholic acid metabolism. These results indicate that OT is suitable as a foodstuff.

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Four glycoconjugates (H-II₃, H-II₄, H-II₅ and H-II₆) were isolated from the hot water-soluble material of cabbage leaves previously extracted with water using a combination of Sepharose CL-4B and DEAE-Toyopearl column chromatographic techniques. Three major components (H-II₄, H-II₅ and H-II₆) eluted from a DEAE-Toyopearl column at 0.175, 0.2 and 0.3M NaCl, respectively, were assumed to be pectic substances because of their high uronic acid content (73-78%). A glycoconjugate (H-II₃) eluted at 0.15M NaCl, on the other hand, was found to be a typical arabinogalactan-protein (AGP) consisting of protein (13.6%), neutral sugar (79%) and uronic acid (7.4%) and had a molecular weight of 1×105. The carbohydrate portion of H-II₃ was composed of arabinose/galactose/rhamnose/glucose/uronic acid in molar ratio of 6/7/1/1/1, and its protein portion was rich in hydroxyproline (8.2%), serine (17.9%), glycine (12.7%) and alanine (11.0%). This AGP was quite similar to that of the water-soluble AGP, A-II, in terms of molecular weight and electrophoretic mobility, and its content was 2.5 times greater.

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Yeast accumulates large quantities of thiamin from thiamin-containing solutions. The intracellular localization of thiamin and thiamin pyrophosphate accumulated in baker's yeast was studied. About 40% of both thiamin and thiamin pyrophosphate were released during protoplast preparation. After homogenization of the protoplasts and fractionation of the homogenate, most of the thiamin and thiamin pyrophosphate remaining in the protoplasts were found in the S₂ fraction (20, 000×g supernatant fraction), although some was also recovered in the P₂ fraction (20, 000×g pellet fraction). The activity of a mitochondria-marker enzyme, succinate dehydrogenase was mostly found in the P₂ fraction and that of α-glucosidase, a cytosol-marker was found exclusively in the S₂ fraction, indicating that P₂ was particulate and that S₂ was mostly non-particulate.

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The effects of yogurt starter culture and bifidobacteria cells were studied in female ICR mice subcutaneously implanted with Sarcoma 180. Daily oral administration of bifidobacteria cells for 21 days significantly decreased tumor weight (p<0.05) and spleen weight (p<0.05) when compared with control mice (saline administration). There was a weak correlation between tumor weight and spleen weight (r=0.48, p<0.01). Macrophage migration significantly decreased (p<0.05) in the saline group.

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