Recent advances in the dietary treatment of the patients with renal disease were reviewed with special reference to the indications and limitations of the diet therapy. The diet was classified into the five different categories depending on the underlying disease-states, i. e., nephritic, nephrotic, acute renal failure, chronic renal failure and terminal renal failure on vivodialysis.
1) The diet variably low in salt and protein indicated for the patient with acute nephritis has been used for the patients with chronic nephritis and with or without renal insufficiency. No distinct beneficial effects were observed unless the diet provided enough calories.
2) The diet low in salt and high in protein indicated for the patient with nephrotic syndrome has been useful along with other therapeutic managements (the rest, steroids and immuno-suppressive agents, etc.) when the renal function stayed within normal limits.
3) The diet severely restricted in salt, protein and water but provided large calories has been successfully used for the patient with oliguric or anuric acute renal failure.
4) The diet low in protein and high in calorie used for the patient with chronic renal failure showed not only antiazotemic effect but also life-prolongation effect. Follow-up study on the dietary treatment revealed the possibility that further deterioration of the renal dysfunction could be prevented by an early indication of the diet.
5) The patients with terminal renal failure on either peritoneal dialysis or hemodialysis have been adequately maintained on the diet which provided the minimal requirement of protein. A once weekly peritoneal dialysis performed with 30-45 liters of dialysate and combined with a diet of 30g protein and 2, 200 calorie per day has been conducted without blood transfusion over one year period in the Toho university hospital.
To make the diet efficiently applied in the treatment of renal failure, the balanced four nutritional components of salt, protein, calorie and water should be considered. The diet foods such as less sweet glucose-polymers (Konaame and Kaloreiner) than suger and glucose, low-protein bread and spaghetti, and medium chain triglyceride-containing products have been useful for this purpose.

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Modification of nutritive value of protein resulted from its enzymic digestion was examined by using casein and egg protein.
Casein was partially hydrolyzed by acid or alkaline proteases which were prepared from Aspergillus niger and a bacteria of subtilis group, respectively. One of the enzyme-treated egg proteins which was reported in previous paper was termed Egg-No. 1, and it was treated by protease from Aspergillus rhizopus. Another one prepared newly was termed Egg-No. 2, and it was treated by protease from different strain of Asp. rhizopus.
The level of free methionine in portal veinous blood was higher in rats fed the casein treated with alkaline protease (Cas-B), compared with those in rats given the acid protease-treated (Cas-A) or untreated caseins. More amount of methionine was found as the free form in Cas-B. The rats fed on Cas-B had a higher growth rate. From the present study it is suggested that availability of methionine contained in casein might be improved by treating with alkaline protease.
Feeding on Egg-No. 1 resulted in better growth than that with Egg-No. 2. More amount of free aspartate was found in Egg-No. 1, but when Egg-No. 1 was administered the level of aspartate was not high in portal veinous blood. However, the present observation that the growth rate of rats fed EggNo. 2 was improved be addition of aspartate presents a view that the nutritional sighificance of nonessential amino acid also should be reconsidered.
Interrelation of free amino acid patterns in rat portal vein showed high level in among feedings with Cas-B and Egg-No. 1.

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Konnyaku powder (CM) has been reported to reduce hypercholesterolemia in cholesterol-fed rats. CM contains glucomannari (MR) as the main constituent and nitrogenous compounds and ash as the minor constituents (ME). It also contains a very small amount of Tobiko (TO) which is contamination in the process of preparation of CM. But, it is still unknown which constituents of CM is responsible for the hypocholesterolemic effect of CM. Then, hypocholesterolemic effect of CM, MR, ME and TO were tested by adding them at the 5% level to hypercholesterolemic diet.
Results obtained were as follows. CM and MR lowered serum and liver cholesterol level, and TO lowered only serum cholesterol level. ME did not lower either serum or liver cholesterol level. Further more, CM and MR reduced the fatty infiltration of the liver which seemed to be caused by disturbance of the lipid metabolism.
The relationship between the molecularity of MR and its hypocholesterolemic effect was examined, using four kinds of standard konnyaku powder, the viscosity of which is different at the same concentration. And, the effect of quantity of MR was examined by adding to the diet at the level of 0.5, 1, 3 and 5%.
It was shown that serum cholesterol level was affected by high-molecularity of MR, whereas liver cholesterol level was affected by quantity. It has been reported that the 3 or 5% level of MR added to hypercholesterolemic diet . shows hypocholesterolemic effect. In this study, it was shown that even the level of 0.5% was effective.

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Wistar strain male rats with experimental hypertension and hypercholesterolemia were fed for 18 weeks to study the influence of dietary protein on serum and liver lipids. The dietary protein sources were 20% casein, 10% casein, 60% casein and 20% α-protein. Hypercholesterolemia was induced by feeding hyperlipidemic diet containing 5% cholesterol, 2% cholic acid and 0.3% thiouracil. Hypertension was produced by unilateral nephrectomy, by administration of 1% NaCl solution as drinking water and by subcutaneous every other daily injection of 1mg deoxycorticosterone acetate (DCA) in sesame oil.
The hypertensive rats showed lower values of body weight than the normotensive rats. Among the hypertensive rats, the highest blood pressure was shown by animals in the 60% casein group. Serum cholesterol level was higher in the animals of the 10% casein and 20% α-protein groups than in those of other groups. Among these eight groups, no difference was revealed in the serum triglyceride and phospholipid levels at 6 weeks, but at 12 weeks a relatively higher triglyceride level was shown by the rats of the 20% α-protein group among the hypertensive rats, and by the 10% casein group among normotensive rats. Higher total lipid and cholesterol contents in the liver were shown by rats of the 10% casein and 20% α-protein groups than by others. Histologically the most severe atherosclerotic changes were observed in kidney, heart and aorta of animals in the 60% casein-hypertensive group. Similarly, the medial thicknesses of the mesenteric arteries were more significantly obvious in hypertensive rats than in normotensive.
From this study, it was stressed that dietary protein should play an important role on the production of vascular lesions and on the lipid content in liver and plasma in the experimentally induced atherosclerotic rats.

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As a preventive or therapeutic diet concerning diseases of an adult or the old aged, if foods of animal origin were applied, it should be more desirable not to elevate the serum cholesterol level (ΔChol.) ; but preferably to lower it.
Among various methods of cooking, there would be some which reduce cholesterol and fatty acids. Accordingly, it is necessary to be aware of the response of each food previous to its cooking, from the serum-cholesterol level.
Serum cholesterol level (ΔChol.) was computed in accordance with following multiple regression equation presented by the Diet Heart Study of the American Heart Association in 1968:
ΔChol. =1.35 (2ΔS-ΔP) +1.5ΔZ
Where Δ specifies change from baseline to experimental periods; Chol. is serum cholesterol in mg/dl; S and P are the percentage on dairy total calories of saturated and polyunsaturated fat; and Z is the square root of dietary cholesterol in mg/1, 000Cal.
Total calorie was assumed as 2, 150 as revealed by the Caloric Allowance taken on the Japanese population in 1969.
Results showed that white meats of fish, egg white, chicken and mutton produced the lowest ΔChol. ; in fish meat of bloody color, beef, liver and whale meat, it was slightly higher; in shellfish, crustacea, cephalopoda and fish egg, ΔChol. was more higher; and in pork and egg yolk, it was the highest.

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Antioxidant activity and some reductones are demonstrated in the course of non-enzymatic browning of foods by amino-carbonyl reaction. Reductones, the important intermediate, are converted to melanoidin by condensation with some amino compounds. On the other hand, in the case of enzymatic browning, quinones are firstly formed from polyphenol compounds by the polyphenol oxidase and then polymerized to melanoidin by the similar reaction. Thus, the close relationship between enzymatic and non-enzymatic browning is presented. Therefore, reaction of quinones with amino compounds may offer an essential part of clue to elucidate the mechanism of browning of foods. From this point of view, reaction of p-benzoquinone and glycine was investigated as the model system.
Antioxidant activity was formed to some extent by heating of p-benzoquinone and enhanced by addition of glycine to the reaction mixture. In the reaction of p-benzoquinone and glycine, browning and reducing value as well as antioxidant activity were elevated with increasing pH, concentration of glycine and reaction time. Formation of diphenol was also observed after heating of p-benzoquinone with or without glycine. By comparing the course of these reactions, it was indicated that antioxidant activity was closely related with browning of the reaction mixture, but not much with reducing value and amount of diphenol formed. Furthermore, instead of glycine, efficiency of several amino acids such as cvsteine was also established.

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1. As an amino acid base a mixture composed by 1, 500mg/l glutamic acid, 500mg/l glycine, 500mg/l serine and 1, 000mg/l arginine was prepared according to the contents of amino acids in natural foods and to the taste tendency of various amino acids; The molar ratio of glutamic acid (sapid), glycine (sweetness), and arginine (bitterness) in this amino acid base is 2: 2: 1, respectively.
2. Addition of 1, 000mg/l alanine and valine, 500mg/l lysine and proline, 300mg/l leucine and isoleucine, 100mg/l threonine and phenylalanine, 50mg/l aspartic acid and asparagine and 5mg/l glutamine to the amino acid base gave a favorable, sapid solution. But addition of tyrosine, methionine, histidine, cystine and tryptophane to the base resulted in the decrease in the sapid taste.
3. Addition of 0.5% sodium chloride enhanced the sapid taste.
4. Addition of 250mg/l 5'-inosinic acid and 125mg/l 5'-guanylic acid gave the best result.
The resultant solution was found to have a considerably high buffer-action.

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[in Japanese]

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