Circadian variations in resting energy consumption of female subjects were investigated in relation to those of some blood constituents concerning with energy metabolism. Energy expenditures were measured every one hour from a. m. 7: 00 to a. m. 1: 00 of the following day on five fed and fasted students lying in bed-rest conditions. Fed subjects received the diet containing 500kcal/mm²/day, which were considered as the minimum energy to cover their resting energy consumption. In fast no increase in oxygen consumption was observed until a. m. 10: 00 as compared with that in basal condition. There-after, it increased gradually until p. m. 8: 00 with concomitant increases in free fatty acid (FFA) and thyroxine (T₄) and decreases in RQ, blood sugar and body weight, indicating that enhanced lypolysis occurred in prolonged fasting. High levels of energy expenditures were maintained throughout the night and were also found at a. m. 7: 00 in the next morning. Since the increments of metabolic rate observed in fasted subjects were larger than those predicted from the diurnal changes, increased rates of resting energy metabolism may be partly due to the stress induced by starvation or dehydration. In fed subjects three-phasic changes were found in oxygen consumption which were attributed to the specific dynamic action (SDA) of the foodstuffs. Similar alterations were observed in RQ and blood sugar, however, T₄ concentration in blood did not show any variation, suggesting no participation of this hormone in the manifestation of the SDA. Data presented here were compared with those of male students and from the time-serial point of view correlations between parameters measured were examined.

View full abstract

Effects of dietary carbohydrate on the intestinal hydrolytic enzymes were studied in young and adult rats. Young and adult rats were fed on the following diets of which carbohydrate contents were 30%, 50%, 60% and 70% respectively and contained 20% of casein. The diet was adjusted to isocaloric (4Cal/g) by changing fat contents.
After ten days on these diets, activities of maltase, sucrase, alkaline phosphatase and leucylnaphthyl amidase were determined in the supernatant obtained from 1, 000×g centrifugation of mucosal homogenates. In adult rats, dietary carbohydrate content influenced the activities of intestinal hydrolytic enzymes significantly. The enzyme activities of rats raised on the diets containing 60 and 70% carbohydrate were significantly higher than those of 30% carbohydrate. In young rats, however, maltase and alkaline phosphatase activities were not affected by the dietary carbohydrate content. Sucrase activity was slightly increased and leucylnaphthyl amidase activity was slightly lowered.
The Km values of maltase and sucrase in the adult rat were not influenced by the dietary carbohydrate content. However the V_max values of the enzymes of the rat fed on high carbohydrate diet were higher than those of the rat fed on low carbohydrate diet.

View full abstract

The relationship between nutritional conditions and blood compositions was compared between two groups of female students of the athletic department in a junior college with different levels of dietary nutritional intakes when they attended in a swimming training camp. The experimental period was 7 days. Since the training camp schedules of the both groups were identical, the physical activities were fairly the same. The subjects were all 19 years of age.
The results obtained were as follows:
1) As to the nutritional intake, energy, total protein, and animal protein in the group of a lower level of nutrition were respectively 45.2±2.2Cal/kg, 1.2±0.1g/kg, and 0.45±0.03g/kg body weight, and those in the group of a higher level of nutrition were 49.6±4.6Cal/kg, 1.6±0.1g/kg, and 0.91± 0.05g/kg respectively.
2) In the results for the group of a lower level of nutrition, a significant reduction was ob8erved in hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (Ht) and total protein in serum on the final day of the experimental period. In the group of a higher level of nutrition, those values for Hb, Ht, and total protein in serum did not change.
MCHC (mean corpuscular hemoglobin cencentration) in the lower level group, however, tended to increase. These results suggest that nutritional condition influences the blood compositions when the physical activity is strenous.
3) A negative correlation was found between the individual values of Hb and Ht on the opening day and those values on the final day. This correlation suggests that the reduction of Hb and Ht due to physical training depends upon the level before training and that the reducing rate in Hb and Ht should be evaluated in relation to the values before training

View full abstract

In order to investigate the metabolic changes in rats fed high sucrose diet containing 8% of soybean oil, fourty male Wistar rats (initially weighing 80-90g) were divided into four groups and fed diets containing 0% (control), 10%, 20% and 50% of the calories from sucrose for 12 weeks.
Total lipid and total cholesterol levels of serum were significantly increased in 10%, 20% and 50% sucrose diets. Increase in serum triglyceride level observed in sucrose-fed rats was significant in only 50% sucrose diet. There was, however, a tendency to decrease in serum NEFA of sucrose-fed rats, and the effect was significant in 50% sucrose diet.
On the other hand, total liver lipid levels were significantly decreased both in 20% and 50% sucrose diets and liver triglyceride and total cholesterol levels were significantly decreased only in 50% sucrose diet.
There were no significant changes of phospholipid levels both in serum and liver of sucrose-fed rats.
Total protein contents in serum and liver were slightly increased in all sucrose diets. The increase of total protein content in sucrose-fed rats should be due to increase of globulin.
Increase in α₂-globulin fraction and change of electrophoretic pattern in β-globulin fraction were observed in 20% and 50% sucrose diets. Rats fed 10%, 20% and 50% sucrose diets had a higher serum amylase activity than rats fed starch only.

View full abstract

The refining technique for “Wasanbon-to sugar” remains impurities in product, which appear to contribute to the unique flavor of this traditional sugar. Then, the contents of amino acids, organic acids and carbohydrates of the sugar cane pressed juice and of massecuit, which were the raw materials for Wasanbon-to sugar, were analyzed.
Following results were obtained.
Asparagine was the predominant amino acid followed by aspartic acid and alanine. Of organic acids, the content of cis-aconitic acid was 160.92 mg%, making 47.6% of total organic acid except unidentified ones in pressed juice and 32.8% inmassecuit.
The content of pyroglutamic acid markedly increased from the pressed juice to massecuit. It appears to be produced during heating and concentration processes in the refining process.

View full abstract

Six women living in Honolulu, who had finished an elementary school in a village in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, and immigrated into Hawaii, were interviewed in August 1975.
The participants were aged from 55 to 78 and a half of them were windowed mothers.
Questions were devoted to the frequency of use and the method of preparation of the 46 items of food which were often consumed in native village of participants.
Twenty-one items were eaten at least once a week by many participants. Some of them, namely, sweet potato, burdock, daikon, green onion, Japanese leek and tuna, were prepared in a similar way to that in native place of participants.
One of the participants, aged 67, was requested to keep a dietary record for 3 days for herself and her eleven descents. This record showed that some food habits from her native village were keeping up in her descents.

View full abstract

For the purpose of finding antioxidative spices, periodical POV changes of lard containing each of 27 different types of ground spices were quantitatively determined by the modified Lea method and compared with those of lard containing commercially obtained antioxidants. Most of herb spices gave fairly strong antioxidative effect on oxidation of lard, whereas, many spicy spices and seed spices showed no significant antioxidative effect except clove, ginger and mace. Sage, rosemary and mace showed very strong antioxidative effect being almost equivalent to that of BHA at a concentration of 0.1%. The antioxidative effect of thyme, clove or marjoram was considered to be equivalent to that of BHA at a concentration of 0.02%. Oregano and ginger showed stronger antioxidative effect than that of mixed tocopherols at a concentration of 0.1%.
With the results obtained, 8 spices, namely, sage, rosemary, mace, thyme, clove, marjoram, oregano and ginger, were the strong antioxidative spices.

View full abstract

In the case of POV test paper which we have made before (this journal, 28, 403 (1975)), the effect of glass fiber seems to depend on its acids properties. Because, the surface of glass fiber forms Lewis acid, and it was capable of being acid catalyzer for hydroperoxide-potassium iodide reaction. Similarly, silica, alumina, asbestos, etc. can also be used as the acid catalyzer by applying them on a piece of paper or plastic film together with potassium iodide and starch.

View full abstract