A study was conduct to examined the effect of physical activity and aerobic capacity (VO₂ max) on basal metabolic rate (BMR) in elderly men and women aged 65-90 years living in a home for the elderly. In addition, variations of BMR in elderly people with regard to age group were examined. All subjects were healthy men (n=10) and women (n=15), and were classified into a 65-79-year-old group and an 80-and-over group. The mean and maximal heart rates in the 80-and-over group were significantly lower (10-20 beats) than in the 65-79-year-old group when awake. Energy expenditure and estimated VO₂ max were significantly lower in the 80-and-over group than in the 65-79-year-old group. The average BMR/kg for men and women in the 65-79-year-old group was 19.7±2.6 and 21.1±4.2kcal, and for the 80-and-over group was 15.7±1.3 and 19.2±2.3kcal, respectively. BMR showed significant correlations with energy expenditure and estimated VO₂ max (r=0.455 and r=0.429, p<0.05, respectively). It is thought that the BMR has decreased gradually over the years since the first report on BMR of elderly people was published in 1955. Also, BMR tends to be overestimated due to the use of a standard value, which would have been larger in the 80-and-over group compared with the 65-79-year-old group. It is concluded that physical activity and aerobic capacity of the elderly must be maintained and improved to prevent any decrease in BMR, and to promote a better quality of life (QOL).

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A study was performed to evaluate the basal metabolic rate (BMR) and energy requirement of bed-ridden elderly women. The subjects were bed-ridden elderly women (n=10, 72-93 years) and normal elderly women (n=14, 68-88 years) living in a residential care home and a special care geriatric home. Fat-free mass was significantly lower in the bed-ridden elderly than in the normal elderly subjects, regardless of height and weight. Plasma concentrations of HDL-cholesterol, calcium, and iron were significantly lower in the bed-ridden elderly, and in particular, plasma calcium was lower than the standard value. The average BMR of the bed-ridden elderly was 22. 5±5.0kcal/m²/h, 16.9± 3.9kcal/kg/day, 23. 9±5.0kcal/LBM/day and 636.3±166.4kcal/day which was significantly 20-30% lower than in normal elderly. There was a correlation between the measured BMR and the estimated BMR of the normal elderly, but there was no correlation for the bed-ridden elderly. Energy expenditure and energy intake were significantly 30% lower in the bed-ridden elderly as compared with normal elderly subjects. No significant correlation was noted between energy expenditure and energy intake in the bed-ridden elderly. As to the actual and calculated energy requirements of the bed-ridden elderly, it was seen that the values agreed at 1, 053 kcal; thereafter, for every 10% increase in calculated energy requirements, the actual value was 57 kcal less.

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The influence of glycemic control on growth and complications in diabetic children was studied. The subjects were 107 children with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, who were enrolled in a Summer Camp for Diabetic Children in Kinki District from 1972 to 1990, and who had undergone at least three measurements of HbA₁ level during the observation period. Many of the children had a high mean HbA₁ level regardless of age. Their height and weight were below the standard for age in many cases, indicating growth retardation. However, SD score for height and weight and other physical indices were not related to the mean HbA₁ level. On the other hand, the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy was related to the elevated mean HbA₁ level, whereas that of urine albumin was not. The serum cholesterol level was higher in children with a higher mean HbA₁ level, but serum triglycerides indicated no relation to glycemic control. The incidence of retinopathy during the observation period was closely related to the mean HbA₁ level, but that of urine albumin was not.

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Recently we developed a lactooligosaccharide (PL) with an average molecular weight of 750 obtained by heat treatment of lactose. In the present study we examined the effects of PL on physiological functions such as bowel movement, blood glucose, and serum cholesterol. The results are summarized as follows: 1) PL was resistant to salivary amylase, pancreatic amylase, and intestinal mucosa disaccharidase in vitro. 2) PL was well fermented in vitro by some strains of Bifidobacterium and Bacteroides but not by many strains of Clostridium and E. coli. 3) The excretion ratio in feces after a single administration of PL was estimated to be 36% in rats. 4) In rats fed a basal diet supplemented with 5% PL, gastrointestinal transit time was significantly shorter (7.7±0.9h) than that of control rats (12.1±0.5h). 5) The percentage area under the curve of plasma glucose after PL loading at 1.5g/kg body weight was 35%, compared with lactose loading at 1.5g/kg body weight. 6) The level of serum total cholesterol in rats fed a cholesterol-free high-sucrose diet for 4 weeks was signifi cantly higher than in rats fed a 10% PL-supplemented diet. 7) No significant changes were shown in serum GPT, BUN, total protein, and haemogram in rats fed a 5-10% PL-supplemented diet for 4 weeks.

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The uptake and release of carnitine in primary-cultured guinea pig hepatocytes were investigated. Hepatocyte monolayers were incubated for 1-24 h in medium containing 0.05 or 0.1mM L-carnitine as an initial concentration. The contents of acid-soluble total and short-chain carnitine in cells incubatsed with 0.1mM carnitine increased with time, whereas the carnitine content of cells incubated with 0.05mM carnitine remained constant after reaching a maximum at 10 h. Free and total carnitine in cells preincubated with 0.5mM carnitine decreased rapidly during incubation in medium without carnitine, whereas the concentration of carnitine in the medium increased. Preloading with fatty acids did not affect the uptake of acid-soluble total carnitine, but decreased the content of free carnitine.

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In rats fed a 40% lard-containing diet for 2 h after fasting for 24 h, the concentration of free fatty acid, or nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) in serum was about 1, 600μEq/l, which was about four times higher than that of rats fed a control diet. This lard-diet feeding increased the concentration of free L-tryptophan (Trp) in the serum, but did not affect the serum total Trp and albumin concentrations, or Trp concentration and tryptophan 2, 3-dioxygenase activity in the liver. When the relationship between NEFA and free Trp concentration in the serum was checked, there was a significant positive correlation between the two. The rate of increase of free serum Trp concentration was much higher at serum NEFA concentrations exceeding 1, 000μEq/l than at concentrations of less than 1, 000μEq/l. When control and lard-fed rats were injected i. v. with a Trp solution (100μmol/kg BW), the disappearance rate of total blood Trp in the lard-fed group was significantly higher than that in the control group at 0.5, 1, and 3 min after the injection, but there was no difference in the rate between the two groups thereafter. When the control and lard-fed rats were injected i. v. with a Trp solution (100μmol/kg BW) containing [3H] Trp, there was no difference in radioactivity in the liver, brain, kidney, spleen, and muscle between the two groups 10 min after the injection. These results suggest that under physiological conditions (ca. 100 prvi Trp and 4% albumin), an increase in free serum Trp concentration subsequent to an increase in the serum NEFA level does not have a large influence on the transport of Trp into the liver.

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Effects of rapeseed phospholipids on serum and liver lipids were compared with other phospholipids using male Sprague-Dawley rats fed diets containing 5% purified phospholipids with or without added cholesterol. The phospholipids used were those from rapeseed, soybean or egg yolk, whereas the control diet contained 5% olive oil or soybean oil. 1) When rats were fed the hypercholesterolemic diets containing the rapeseed, soybean or egg yolk phospholipids for 2 weeks, the serum and liver cholesterol concentrations were significantly lower in the rapeseed phospholipid group than in the control group (olive oil group), but no significant difference was observed among the three phospholipid groups. Apparent excretion ratios of fecal cholesterol to ingested cholesterol in all the phospholipid groups were two-fold greater than that in the control group. 2) When rats were fed the cholesterolfree diets containing rapeseed or soybean phospholipids for 4 weeks, no adverse effects on growth were observed. The concentrations of serum total and HDL-cholesterol, and liver cholesterol were decreased in the rapeseed and soybean phospholipid groups compared with the control (soybean oil) group. These results show that the effects of dietary rapeseed phospholipids on serum and liver lipids are similar to those of other phospholipids, although the types of component phospholipids and constituent fatty acids differ somewhat among these phospholipids.

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A comparison was made between the effect of sodium ferrous citrate (SFC) and a heme iron preparation (HIP) for treatment of rats with iron deficiency anemia (Hb 4.5-4.9g/dl) induced by repeated bloodletting. HIP was prepared by proteinase treatment of livestock hemoglobin. During 16 days of treatment, the anemic rats received either of the iron sources at 1 or 5 mg/kg body weight daily through a stomach catheter, or were fed on iron-poor diets with no iron supplement for the same period. At the end of iron administration, the best recovery score was observed in the group given SFC at 5 mg Fe/kg, as recognized by gains in Hb (Δ7.2±0.3g/dl) and Ht (Δ23.9±1.1%), and HRE (hemoglobin rege-neration efficiency, 25.98±4.51%), transferrin saturation (25.0±4.0%) and liver nonheme iron (391±65μg/head). These values were significantly higher than those in both the controls and the group given HIP at 5mg Fe/kg. The values in the latter group were ΔHb 1.6g/dl, ΔHt 9.0%, HRE 5.28%, transferrin saturation 6% and liver nonheme iron 184μg/head, which were similar to the values in the group given SFC at 1 mg Fe/kg. We observed that SFC iron was better utilized than HIP iron for recovery of anemia in iron-deficient rats.

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Total and protein nitrogen (N) in feces, total N in urine, and food intake were measured in ICR-strain male conventional (CV) and germ-free (GF) mice which were given diets containing 6, 10 or 14% (calculated by N%×6.25) purified whole-egg protein (WE) or crystalline amino acid mixture (AA) with the same amino acid composition as WE, and a protein-free diet. These mice were reared in commercially available plastic cages using chopped filter paper for bedding. In the WE diet group, food intake of CV mice was greater than that of GF mice, but generally, body weight gain and food intake were not changed by the different N sources of the diets in both CV and GF mice, except for a few cases. Food intake per day per 100g body weight was less in the high-N content diet group. Generally, total N of feces per day per 100g body weight in mice fed the WE diet was higher than that of mice fed the AA diet, but there were no differences between CV and GF mice, or among the different dietary N contents. On the other hand, total N excretion in urine in creased according to dietary N content in both CV and GF mice. Total N in urine per day per 100g body weight in CV mice fed the WE diet was higher than that in GF mice. Total N excretion in urine of mice fed the AA diet was higher than that of mice fed the WE diet for both CV and GF mice. The ratio of protein N to total N in feces was higher in CV mice than in GF mice, except for a few cases. The present results show that rearing mice in cages with chopped filter paper for bedding is useful for the separate collection of feces and urine and for measurement of food intake and N metabolism.

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Protein nitrogen from undigestible food residue is not present in the feces of mice fed a diet containing an amino acid mixture (AA) as the nitrogen (N) source, and protein N from in testinal microbes and related materials is notpresent in the feces of germ-free (GF) mice. In order to study fecal proteins, a WE diet containing 6, 10% or 14% (as N (%) ×6.25) purified whole-egg protein (WE), AA diets with the same amino acid composition as the WE diet, and a protein-free diet were given to conventional (CV) and GF mice. Protein (as protein N (%) ×6.25) excretion in the feces was then compared between mice fed the WE and AA diets or between CV and GF mice. In general, protein excretion in the feces of the WE diet-fed mice was much higher than that of the AA diet-fed mice, and a larger quantity of protein was excreted into the feces of CV mice than into the feces of GF mice. Fecal protein excretion differed according to the N content of the diet; mice fed the 14% diet showed the highest level, whereas micefed the protein-free diet showed the lowest. The fecal protein originating from undigestible foodresidue and intestinal microbes was related to the dietary N content, and mice fed diets with a low N content excreted less protein in the feces. However, excretion of protein originating from debris of intestinal mucosa and digestive juice was not related to the dietary N content. The protein corresponding to metabolic fecal N in the feces, i. e., protein of feces less the protein originating undigestible food residue (as protein) in the feces of the CV mice fed the AA diet, per g offood dry matter intake was as follows: proteinfree diet, 7.7mg; 6% diet, 8.4mg; 10% diets, 9.6 and 11.7mg; 14% diet, 11.2mg. The protein corresponding to metabolic fecal N per 100g dry matter in the feces was as follows: proteinfree diet, 4.49g; 6% diet, 5.42g; 10% diets, 6.37 and 7.28g; 14% diet, 7.31g.

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