Temporal changes in the fluidity of heparin-containing blood can be evaluated using MC-FAN. Although temporal fluctuations in blood fluidity reflect differences in platelet coagulability among individuals, these can be ignored if blood is analyzed within 10min after collection without application of shear stress. In this study we measured the passage time of 200μL of whole blood from 12 healthy adult volunteers (9 male, 3 female; age range 22-60yr) before and after administration of Japanese apricot extract for one month. It was found that (1) for blood showing high coagulability, the extract increased endurance to physical stress, (2) for blood showing low coagulability but high viscosity, the extract made the blood less viscous, (3) for blood showing low coagulability and low viscosity, the extract increased the coagulability, and (4) the viscosity of blood tended to converge toward the average value with time. These findings suggest that long-term administration of Japanese apricot extract aids the homeostatic maintenance of blood fluidity.

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Iron deficiency is one of the major nutritional problems in developing countries such as Vietnam, especially among children, infants, and women of childbearing age. The main causative factor is poor absorption of iron from food, and therefore food fortification is assumed to be an effective method for improving iron deficiency. Sodium iron ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (NaFeEDTA), a metal chelate, is one type of iron fortificant. Its safety was provisionally approved by the Joint Food and Agricultural Organization/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) in 1999. We have found that NaFeEDTA is most soluble in fish sauces and also has less effect on food taste and flavor among several iron fortificant tested. In this study, we first investigated the stability of NaFeEDTA in fish sauces compared with other iron fortificant, such as ferrous sulfate, sodium ferrous citrate and emulsified ferric pyrophosphate, that are used to preserve the quality of fish sauce. Sauce containing NaFeEDTA was analyzed for pH value and color 1 month after fortification. After mixing each of the fish sauces and fortificant, the samples were stored at 37°C and then examined. Ferrous sulfate, sodium ferrous citrate and emulsified ferric pyrophosphate were not soluble in fish sauces after 24h. NaFeEDTA was highly soluble in all samples. In addition, fish sauces fortified with NaFeEDTA maintained a constant pH during storage, indicating that NaFeEDTA has little effect on the quality of the sauces. We then examined the efficacy of NaFeEDTA and other iron fortificant for improving iron deficient status in anemic rats fed an AIN-93 diet or a rice-based diet. There was no significant difference in hemoglobin value between rats on the NaFeEDTA diet and other rats. The liver iron content of rats fed the NaFeEDTA-containing AIN-93 diet was lower than that of rats fed the ferrous sulfate-containing AIN-93 diet. On the other hand, there was no significant difference in the liver iron content between rats fed NaFeEDTA-containing and ferrous sulfate-containing rice-based diets. The liver iron content of rats fed the NaFeEDTA-containing rice-based diet was higher than that of rats fed the ferrous citratecontaining rice-based diet, indicating that NaFeEDTA is highly efficient for improving iron deficiency in animals receiving the rice-based diet. These results suggest that NaFeEDTA is a suitable fortificant for fish sauce and may be effective for improving iron deficiency in developing countries.

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Construction has been progressing on the International Space Station (ISS), a joint project of 15 nations including Japan that is orbiting 400km above the Earth. This “laboratory” will remain in space for many years. Its users seek to utilize the potential of space, such as developing new medicine or materials that can only be produced in a microgravity environment. These goals are being achieved through cooperation that transcends national boundaries and ethnic groups. Astronauts/cosmonauts from different countries have been working on the assembly of the ISS. Optical human performance during space exploration is dependent on optical nutritional status, as nutrition affects the maintenance of all medical and physiologic systems, such as cardiovascular system, bone metabolism, neurovestibular system, skeletal muscle function and immune response. Major accomplishments in nutritional sciences for support of human space flight have occurred over the past 40 years. Estimates of daily nutritional requirements for ISS missions are determined by the nutrition working group of the multilateral medical operations panel. ISS space food is currently produced and provided by NASA and RSA. JAXA is trying to develop “Japanese space food, ” making good use of Japanese excellent technology in food science and the nutritional advantages of traditional Japanese food, in hopes of contributing to the ISS program.

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Conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs) are a mixture of positional and geometric isomers of linoleic acid, which are found preferentially in dairy products and meats. Reported data indicate to have potent beneficial effects, including antitumor, antiobese, antiatherogenic, and antidiabetic activities. The molecules have also been shown to prevent the onset of hypertension. The recent reports suggest that each isomer of CLAs has different functions, for example 10trans, 12 cis-CLA has anticarcinogenic, antiobese and anitidiabetic effects, whereas 9 cis, 11 trans-CLA exerts for anticancer effect. It is interesting to know the CLA effect on human beings. However, so far as we know, it is scarce on human data and the reported data on antiobese effect is still controversial. More detailed research on the species difference of responsiveness to dietary CLA would be required.

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