The authors have carried out food consumption surveys in small communities and statistical analysis related to both health evaluation and health improvement. In these studies, many types of indices and their definitions have suggested, i. e., food consumption structure, two-dimensional spatial diagram (for person/ food), food consumption pattern, mean standard deviation model, group cohesiveness, deviation pattern similarity, and acceptability of food articles. In this study the authors gauged the practical usefulness of these dietary indices using food consumption data for 159 female subjects who were surveyed by the authors twice, in 1979 and 1989, and who were living in 5 districts of Japan: Oami-Shirasato (Chiba Prefecture), Nakai (Kanagawa Pref.), Itadori (Gifu Pref.), Ajimu (Oita Pref.), and Tsunagi (Kumamoto Pref.). The results obtained were as follows: 1) During the 10-year study period, the amount of rice intake decreased in the rural districts of Itadori, Ajimu and Tsunagi, but did not decrease in the urban areas of Oami-Shirasato and Nakai, which are in Metropolitan Tokyo. It appeared that the rice consumption of the female population in metropolitan areas had already changed before 1979, while that in rural areas was just beginning to change during this period. 2) There were different levels of acceptability of food articles among the studied districts. Nevertheless, acceptability of rice continued to be constantly positive, whereas milk, the consumption of which had increased very much during this period, garnered only negative acceptability as a daily food; it was still seen as a favorite beverage, like juice or soda. 3) Food pattern plotted as a two-dimensional spatial diagram (for individual persons) was able to clearly delineate rural and metropolitan areas. Rural districts showed movement towards modern food patterns, while metropolitan districts showed movement towards easy/fast cooking patterns. 4) Deviation pattern similarity was able to show clearly chronological changes in the food intake patterns of each individual. It was evident that these patterns in the three rural districts and those in Oami-Shirasato changed considerably, while the patterns for subjects in Nakai did not change, during the study period. The above results confirmed the usefulness of our food consumption analyses, and changing food patterns among Japanese women were clearly identified.

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Eggs rich in α-linolenate (LNA, 18: 3, ω3) were produced by supplementing the feed of laying hens (Dekalb XL-L) with 2% linseed oil. Four healthy volunteer students (19-21 years) with low ω3/ω6 ratios of fatty acids (less than 0.11) in plasma were selected from 94 female students. They had a low fish consumption, but usually ate eggs every day. During the experimental period, they added two eggs rich in LNA (LNA-Egg) per day to their ordinary diet for 3 weeks. Then plasma cholesterol (CHL), triaclyglycerol (TG) and fatty acid composition were compared with those during the basal period. Plasma levels of CHL and TG in the LNA-Egg-fed students tended to decrease in comparison with their basal values. Analysis of plasma fatty acid composition showed that the percentage of docosahexaenoic acid (22: 6, ω3) was significantly increased, and that those of LNA and icosapentaenoic acid (20: 5, ω3) tended to increase after dietary supplementation with LNA-Eggs. LNA-Egg supplementation of the diet for 3 weeks reduced the level of plasma arachidonic acid (20: 4, ω6), but no significant effect was observed on the level of plasma linoleic acid (18: 2, ω6). Consequently, the ratio of ω3 to ω6 fatty acids in plasma was elevated significantly from 0.07±0.03 to 0.16±0.08 (p<0.01) after intake of the LNA-Eggs for 3 weeks. We conclude that LNA-Eggs may be a useful dietary component for increasing the ratio of ω3 to ω6 fatty acids in subjects with a low fish intake.

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A proline-deficient (PD) diet was fed to rats to attain the same proline concentrations in blood plasma as those in fasting animals. Plasma amino acid concentrations in the carotid artery and renal vein (arteriovenous difference), and renal vein blood flow were measured. The findings suggest that, with a control diet, renal proline uptake occurs when the carotid arterial proline concentration is higher than when fasting, and with a PD diet, renal proline release occurs when the plasma proline concentration is equal to that during fasting. Eight hours after feeding, a high negative correlation existed between the arteriovenous difference of arginine concentration and the plasma proline concentration in the carotid artery (γ=-0.816, p<0.01). The above findings suggest that the release and uptake of proline by the kidney depend on the carotid arterial proline level, and that renal arginine release, which is vital for normal growth, decreases temporarily in response to dietary proline deprivation.

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A study was undertaken to determine the effects of Natto and steamed soybeans on body growth and the intestinal microflora of rats. Male Wistar rats (5 weeks of age and weighting 80g) were fed a control diet containing no Natto and steamed soybeans and an experimental diet containing either 10% Natto or 8.9% steamed soybeans for 31 days. Protein levels in the 3 groups were the same (15%). The results obtained were as follows: 1) Body weight gain during 31 days did not differ among the groups fed the various diets. 2) The retroperitoneal fat tissue weight per carcass weight (%) in the Natto and steamed soybean groups decreased. 3) The nitrogen balance of the Natto and steamed soybean groups increased. 4) The Natto and steamed soybean groups showed a tendency to increase in the length of the small intestine and thiamin content in the cecum. In the cecum, the pH and number of E. coli per g were decreased in the Natto and steamed soybean groups.

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We investigated the effects of several kinds of dietary protein such as casein, egg white, zein and wheat gluten on galactosamine hepatitis and cirrhosis of the liver induced by carbon tetrachloride in rats. Male Wistar rats were fed the experimental diets for 2 weeks. On the last day of feeding, the rats were injected intraperitoneally with D-galactosamine solution (800mg/kg body weight). The elevation of glutamicoxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) was depressed in the groups fed the diet containing gluten at 20% of the level of protein. However, the ratio of plasma free branched-chain amino acids to plasma free aromatic amino acids (MR ratio) did not differ significantly among the groups. On the other hand, in rats injected with carbon tetrachloride (50% in olive oil, 1ml/kg body weight) twice a week for 11 weeks and then fed the experimental diets for one week, plasma glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (GPT) activity was higher in the groups fed the diets containing wheat gluten, although the MR ratio did not differ significantly among the groups.

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The effects of Maitake (Grifola frondosa) on blood glucose level in rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes were investigated. Diabetic rats were produced by injecting 80mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ) into 2-day-old neonates. From the age of 9 weeks, the rats were given Maitake as a dietary admixture at 20% food weight for 180 days. Diabetic rats showed obvious diabetic symptoms such as hyperglycemia, hyperphagia, polydipsia, polyuria and glucosuria. The diabetic levels of blood glucose, water consumption, urine volume and glucosuria were significantly decreased in the rats fed Maitake. From these results, it may be considered that the bioactive substances present in Grifola frondosa ameliorate the symptoms of diabetes.

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The preventive effect of tryptic hydrolysate of milk casein against cardiovascular disease was studied in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP). Blood pressure, body weight, brain weight, heart weight, survival rate, incidence of stroke and pathological data after oral administration of the hydrolysate were investigated. An amino acid mixture with the same composition as that of the hydrolysate was given to a control group. Thirty week feeding with the 10% hydrolysate significantly retarded the increase of brain weight due to cerebral edema and the incidence of stroke. In addition, the diet tended to reduce the increase of heart weight due to cardiac hypertrophy caused by hypertension. These results suggest that this tryptic hydrolysate is useful for preventing cardiovascular disease in rats and increasing their survival rate.

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The effects of guar gum (5% in the diet) and various levels of cholestyramine (1%, 2%, 4%, 6% or 8% in the diet) on the plasma cholesterol level and fecal steroid excretion were examined in male rats fed a cholesterol-free feed for 14 days. Cholestyramine increased dose-dependently the fecal excretion of bile acid and neutral steroid, but the hypocholesterolemic effect of cholestyramine was not significant. The plasma cholesterol level in rats fed the guar gum diet was significantly lower than that in rats fed a cellulose diet (control), although fecal steroid excretion in rats fed the guar gum diet was comparable to that in rats fed the 1% cholestyramine diet. These results suggest it is unlikely that the plasma cholesterol level is decreased significantly by an increase of fecal steroid excretion alone in rats fed a cholesterol-free diet, and that some other mechanism contributes to the hypocholesterolemic effect of guar gum.

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Stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP) were fed a docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) -Euglena diet which was prepared from dry cells of Euglena gracilis Z enriched with DHA as a major protein source from 8 weeks until 20 weeks of age. The effects of the DHA-Euglena diet on lipid metabolism in the serum and liver were then investigated and the results obtained were as follows: 1) The DHA-Euglena diet had no effect on growth. Moreover, no marked change in blood pressure was observed. 2) Serum concentrations of total cholesterol and phospholipid were significantly lower than those in the control group. In addition, the serum levels of apolipoproteins A-I, A-IV, B and E were also significantly lower than those in the control group. These results suggested a hypolipidemic effect of the DHA-Euglena diet. 3) The hypolipidemic effect of the DHA-Euglena diet was due to decreases in very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL), judging from the distributions of lipid and apolipoproteins among the various lipoprotein fractions. 4) The relative weight of the liver to total body weight was significantly elevated and the hepatic content of phospholipid was significantly decreased compared with the control group. However, there was no significant change in the activities of microsomal cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase and acyl-CoA: cholesterol acyltransferase.

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