In order to estimate the daily energy expenditure of healthy (free-living) adults, a simpler and more accurate technique was developed by modifying the 24h heart rate ratio (24h-HRR) method of Hashimoto et al. (1987). Seventeen healthy adults, 8 men and 9 women, aged 20-69 years, were employed for the experiment, and their heart rate (HR) was monitored with a daily trend graph. To calculate the daily energy expenditure, the method originally defines the 24h-HRR as the mean of the 24h-HR divided by resting HR×100. In the present study, the following three standard values, instead of resting HR, were employed to divide into the mean 24h-HR: 1) T-RHR; the mean value of resting HR for 15-30 min at 2h after breakfast obtained from the daily trend graph, 2) SHR-I; the mean value of HR for 6h during sleep obtained from the trend graph divided by 0.9, 3) SHR-II; the mean value of HR for 6h during sleep multiplied by 1.2. The values of daily energy cost calculated by the 24h-HRR method using these three standards were compared with those obtained by the VO₂/HR method. The regression of the daily energy expenditure by the 24h-HRR method using SHR-II on that by the VO₂/HR method was y=0.9570x+152 (kcal/day) and showed the highest correlation coefficient (r=0.958), with an average error of 1.9±5.9%. These results suggest that the use of SHR-II for the 24h-HRR method gives good predictive values of daily energy expenditure more easily than the original method.

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We examined chronological changes in muscle relaxation in ICR mice after p. o. administration of ethanol. The effect of ethanol was found to be dose-dependent. We also carried out an investigation to determine whether or not the muscle relaxation induced in mice by ethanol and acetaldehyde-induced acute toxicity could be suppressed by sesamin. When sesamin (500mg/kg/day) was administered p. o. for 7 or 14 consecutive days, the muscle relaxation induced by ethanol (1.5g/kg, p. o.) was markedly suppressed. Sesamin pretreatment also markedly prevented acetaldehyde-induced acute toxicity (LD₅₀) in mice, but the ethanol clearance in blood did not show any significant changes. We have not yet determined the mechanism by which sesamin inhibits ethanol-induced muscle relaxation, although the effects seen unlikely to be due to enhanced clearance of ethanol alone.

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We prepared a mixture (SK-204) consisting of dried shiitake mushroom (Lentinus edodes) treated by wet-heating and fructo-oligosaccharides (7: 3), and evaluated its action on blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and salt-sensitive Dahl rats (Dahl S) as models of essential hypertension in humans. After chronic administration of SK-204, development of hypertension and cardiac hypertrophy were inhibited, and the pathological changes tended to be inhibited in both SHR and salt-loaded Dahl S. Moreover, SK-204 effectively prevented the occurrence of cerebral hemorrhage, accompanied by abnormal behavior and signs, which were observed in untreated salt-loaded Dahl S. Based on these results, it is suggested that SK-204 is effective not only for suppressing the increase in blood pressure, but also for alleviating the various abnormal changes, including cardiac hypertrophy and cerebral hemorrhage, in SHR and salt-loaded Dahl S.

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The characteristics of plasma low-level chemiluminescence upon stimulation by exposure to cigarette smoke were studied. When rats were exposed to cigarette smoke for 3min, the plasma chemiluminescence after 20min showed a significant increase of about 3-fold compared with that in control rats, and the chemiluminescence decayed to the control level after 80min. The plasma chemiluminescence upon enhancement with cigarette smoke had maximum emission bands around 500-580nm, and the intensity was not dependent on the tar content of the cigarettes. Oral intake of carotenes had no effect, but plasma supplementation with sulfhydryl compounds such as cysteine and glutathione suppressed the cigarette smokeinduced chemiluminescence.

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High-density (HD-RBC) and low-density (LD-RBC) red blood cells were separated with Percoll solution (d 1.108) from rats fed for 28 days on commercial F-2 pellets, a soybean oil diet or a fish oil diet, and their phospholipid hydroperoxide contents were measured to investigate the peroxidation of RBC membranes in vivo. Rat RBC contained both phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxide (PCOOH, 50-127nM/packed RBC) and phosphatidylethanolamine hydroperoxide (PEOOH, 47-108nM/packed RBC) as the major hydroperoxides, and the peroxide content of RBC in rats fed fish oil was significantly higher than that in rats fed soybean oil. No difference in the peroxide content was observed between LD-RBC and HD-RBC. These results suggest that peroxidative damage to phospholipids in the RBC membrane is not as significant as expected during the aging of RBC, but that it is profoundly influenced by the type of dietary oil ingested. A fish oil diet causes more peroxidative damage to RBC membrane phospholipids than a soybean oil diet in the rat.

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A study was undertaken to determine the effects of a low concentration (1%) of lactulose on the growth and intestinal microflora of rats. Male Wistar rats (4 weeks of age; body weight 53-54g) were fed either a control diet or an experimental diet cotaining 1% lactulose for 45 days. The following results were obtained: 1) The lactulose group showed a slight decrease in body weight gain during the 45 days. There was less retroperitoneal fat tissue in the lactulose group than in the control group, suggesting that fat synthesis from starch was depressed by lactulose intake. 2) The feed efficiency ratio, protein efficiency ratio, energy efficiency ratio, apparent nitrogen digestibility and apparent nitrogen retention were lower in the lactulose group than in the control group. 3) The weight of the cecum was increased in the lactulose group. In the cecum, pH was decreased, and thiamin, riboflavin and bifidobacteria increased.

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The effects of soybean fiber (SBF) on lipid metabolism, growth and gastrointestinal transit time were investigated in rats. The types of dietary fiber used soybean fiber treated with ethanol and enzyme (SBF), commercially available soybean dietary fiber (CAD), and cellulose as a control. Electron microscopy examination of the fibers showed a matrix structure in SBF and a rather smooth surface in CAD. SBF had a higher water-holding capacity and settling volume than CAD (p<0.01). Animals were fed semipurified diets containing 6% of these dietary fibers in combination with 1% cholesterol. The serum cholesterol concentration at the end of the first week was significantly lower in the SBF group than in the CAD (p<0.05) and cellulose (p<0.01) groups. No significant difference was seen in liver cholesterol and phospholipid levels, fecal steroid excretion and gastrointestinal transit time between the groups. These results suggest that the hypocholesterolemic effect of SBF is ascribable to its porous structure, which is responsible for a higher water-holding capacity and settling volume, rather than increased fecal sterol excretion.

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To develop new uses for okam-tempe (OT), a high-fiber foodstuff made of fermented okara, OT was applied to hamburger steaks and cupcakes, and the effects on their rheological and sensory scores were studied. In hamburger steaks in which 20% of the minced meat was substituted with minced OT, the drip outflow and shrinkage of the hamburger were suppressed during broiling, whereas hardening of the hamburgers during storage at 4°C was significantly retarded. The substitution of minced meat with up to 20% OT did not affect the sensory scores of the hamburger steaks. When cocoa-cupcakes were prepared with 10% OT-substituted wheat flour, hardening of the cupcake texture and retrogradation of starch were retarded during storage at 4°C for 4days. Moreover, the fat oxidation in cupcakes stored at 40°C was inhibited. Sensory tests on the cupcakes showed that the substitution of 10% of the wheat flour with OT did not affect subjective preference. These results suggest that OT could be a useful food additive for improving the qualities of both hamburger steaks and cupcakes during processing and storage.

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A method for evaluation of protein intake was devised, involving estimation of the urea/creatinine ratio (U/C ratio) in a single urine sample. The first morning urine sample (taken after 0900h) was found to represent all urine samples taken in a day. The U/C ratios of first urine samples were significantly correlated with protein intake per body weight on the previous day. The U/C ratios of first urine samples from minors were linearly correlated with the logarithmic values of age, height and weight, but the ratios for adults were not correlated with age. Then the U/C ratios of first urine samples from groups of similar ages were determined. Persons whose ratios were beyond the permissible range calculated from the mean value would be examined for excess or deficient protein intake.

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Selenium contents were determined fluorometrically in rice imported from the USA, China, Thailand and Australia, and domestic soybeans and soybeans imported from the USA, China, Brazil, Argentina and Canada. Except for rice imported from Australia, most imported rice contained less than 50ng/g selenium. Several imported soybean specimens contained more than 200ng/g selenium, whereas most of the domestic soybeans examined contained less than 100ng/g selenium. However, the IOM soybeans imported from Indiana, Ohio and Michigan in the USA, which is the major source of soybeans for food processing in Japan, showed a low selenium value similar to that of domestic soybeans; most of the soybeans with a high selenium content were used for oil production. These findings indicate that there is no difference in selenium content between imported and domestic rice, and suggest that most soybeans used for food processing in Japan contain less than 100ng/g selenium, irrespective of whether they are of domestic or foreign origin.

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