The usual quantitative approach to obtain regional characteristics of dietary habits and life has mainly taken the linear or spatial view of a given cross-section of the historical continuum. In the present study, a principal component analysis with external criteria was employed in an attempt to understand the key changes in the main phenomena of dietary life and the regional pattern in Japan. The fundamental data were calculated in relation to the overall expenditure. These data were expenditures by items on food expenditures for the respective regions from the “National Survey of Family Income and Expenditures” (1959, 1964, 1969, 1974). The year of the survey was usedzas an external criterion.
The following results were obtained.
1) Dietary habits and life in Japan tend to change toward less dependence on rice and an increase in foods of animal origin and convenience foods. The authors have termed this tendency an “ongoing evolution in dietary life. ” Evidence was found that the tendency toward weste n dietary habits and life was simply imitation with no deep roots in the traditional alimentary customs of this country.
2) A regional difference corresponding to the East-West cultural zone was found in Japanese dietary life as a reflection of East-West culture. East and West Japan, moreover, could be corresponded to 2 different alimentary modes, a traditional and a modern dietary one. “Progressive dietary life” and “difference in local conditions for food production”, were found as two additional characteristic factors in each region.

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Some anticipatory response in several behavioral and physiological activities are known to occur before the start of the feeding time when rats are kept to eat during the restricted time of day. In order to examine an anticipatory response in feeding behavior, we devised a special cage with a touch sensor in front of the feed bin that could detect a rat approaching to the feed bin. When the rat was fed ad libitum under a 12-hr light-dark cycle, the approach activity was high during the dark phase, reflecting a nocturnal feeding habits of rats. When the rat was restricted to eat for 4-hr in the daytime, the approach activity was higher in the daytime, and a burst of the approach activity was found before the start of the feeding time. The increase in the approach activity was observed even under starvation during the expected feeding time for several days. A similar effect of restricted feeding was also found under a constant lighting condition. It was concluded that, when rats were fed regularly once a day, hey could learn the feeding time and come to anticipate the daily feeding. This anticipation takes the form of greatly increased approach to the feed bin before the feeding time.

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In vitro protein digestibility of soy products, tofu, (soy curd), abura-age (fried soy curd), nama yuba (soy film) and dried yuba (dried soy film), were investigated with a view to assess their nutritional values, using soybean as reference. The following hydrolytic processes were adopted: pepsin-pancreatin digestion (a model system before intestinal absorption) and aminopeptidase-prolidase hydrolysis [a model system on intestinal mucosa (membrane digestion) and after intestinal absorption (intracellular hydrolysis) ]. Specific activities of trypsin inhibitor contained in these soy products were only a few percent of that of soybean. The maximum average residual numbers of hydrolysates of these soy products by pepsin-pancreatin were less than 15. These values were smaller than that of soybean (<20). The hydrolysates of these soy products contained lesser large peptide than were present in the hydrolysate of soybean. Almost all the essential amino acid contents of these soy products were released by pepsin-pan reatin digestion followed by aminopeptidase-prolidase digestion, contrary to the case of soybean by itself. Loss of available lysine and oxidation of methionine were rarely found in these soy products.
These results demonstrate that proteins of tofu, abura-age, nama yuba and dried yuba are nutritionally excellent from standpoints of in vitro digestibility by proteolytic enzymes.

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The effects of long-term administration of oxidized linoleic acid (OLA) on lipid and protein contents in serum were studied using male Sprague-Dawley rats. One hundred rats were divided into five groups, fresh linoleic acid group (control), No. 1 OLA group, No. 2 OLA group, No. 3 OLA group and No. 4 OLA group corresponding to Table 1, and were administered at small amounts of testing oil (0.01ml/day/body 100g) for 6 months respectively.
The results obtained were as follows;
1) Total protein in serum was significantly increased in rats given No. 3 and No. 4 OLA, and a decrease in grobulin fractions was observed in rats administrated OLA. Appearance of unknown protein peak for a low molecule part in albumin fraction was observed in rat given No. 4 OLA.
2) Total lipid contents in serum was not significantly changed in rats given OLA, whereas significanty increase in the contents of choresterol and phospholipid in serum was observed in rats given No. 3 and No. 4 OLA.
3) Increase in the activities of lutamic oxaloacetic transaminase and glutamic pyruvic transaminase, and decrease in the activity of alkaline phosphatase in serum were observed in rats given No. 3 and No. 4 OLA.
4) Increase in the amounts of TBA reactive products and decrease in the total amounts of tocopherol in serum was observed in rats given No. 3 and No. 4 OLA.
These changes in the rat serum components suggest that the injury of liver is caused by the long-term administration of oxidized linoleic acid.

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Efficiency of protein utilization was studied in growing rats of the Charles River CD strain and Fischer strain. Biological value, NPR and (A/U) X I_p were used as criterion of efficiency of protein utilization in the rats of both strains fed on 10% casein diets with or without 0.3% L-methionine. On 10% casein diet, the protein utilization evaluated by biological value and (A/U) X I_p was more efficient in the Charles River CD rats than in the Fischer rats, while no significant difference in NPR was found between these strains. When supplemented with 0.3% methionine to the 10% casein diet, biological value, NPR and (A/U) X I_p increased in the rats of both strains.
In this case, the biological value in the Charles River CD rats reached almost about 100. And the extent to which NPR and (A/U) X I_p increase caused by the supplement with methionine was greater in the Charles River CD rats than in the Fischer rats.
These results indicate that efficiency of protein utilizati n was different between the Charles River CD rats and the Fischer rats when 10% casein diets with or without methionine were fed.

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Rats were raised on diets containing 10% or 20% of cellulose or glucomannan for 7 and 13 weeks. The body weight, gastrointestinal transit time, cecum and colon weights, and serum concentration of cholesterol and triglyceride were determined. The results obtained were as follows;
1. The body weight gain was suppressed more severely in rats fed diets containing glucomannan than diets containing cellulose.
2. Gastrointestinal transit time was shorter in rats fed a cellulose diet than a glucomannan diet, and longer in 13-week feeding than in 7-week feeding.
3. There was an inverse correlation between gastrointestinal transit time and daily stool weight.
4. Increase of colon weight was remarkable in rats fed cellulose and that of cecum weight was great in rats fed glucomannan.
5. Serum triglyceride level was decreased remarkablly by both cellulose and glucomannan. The effect was stronger in glucomannan than in cellulose.
6. The serum cholesterol level was significantly decreased by glucomannan a d cellulose-I, but not cellulose-II, after 13-week feeding, though the decrease of serum cholesterol was not significant after 7-week feeding. These results indicate that the several physiological functions of unavailable carbohydrate differ between water-insoluble matter as cellulose and water-soluble matter as glucomannan, and that the effects are also concerned with feeding period.

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Experiments were conducted to study the difference of nutritional effects between UHT-pasteurized (120°C for 2sec.) and UHT-sterilized (140°C for 2sec., indirect heating method, aseptically packaged in aluminum-lined Tetrapacks) milk, These samples were obtained from a commercial plant in Hokkaido. The pasteurized milk was stored at 4°C for 2 weeks and sterilized milk was stored at 4°C aad 20-25°C for 10 weeks and both were examined for chemical changes at intervals of 1 week. The results obtained were as follows;
1) The contents of mtive whey nitrogen compounds, β-lactoglobulin and α-lactalbumin remaining in pasteufized milk were calculated as 38.7%, 42% and 65% respectively. whereas those in sterilized milk were calculated as 35.9%, 35% and 55% respectively. There was a little more amount of denaturation of the whey proteins with sterilization than with pasteurization, but a gradual decrease in denatured whep proteins was observed during storage at 4°C and 20-25°C. Ig was no de tectable in all samples, and non protein nitrogen values did not vary significantly between samples.
2) Hydroxymethyl furfural concentration in sterilized milk was approximately two times higher than in pasteurized milk, however, the available lysine concentration was similar to pasteurized and sterilized milk and no losses were observed during storage for 10 weeks at 4°C and 20-25°C.
3) Permeable Ca in milk heated to 140°C was decreased slightlp more than that heated to 120°C, but increased during storage far the first 4 weeks, then dropped slightly far 10 weeks of starage.
4) Vitamin B₁ and B₂ degradation in UHT milk (120°C to 140°C heating) were 4-8% and 0-3% respectively, but no significant difference were observed in pasteuri ed and sterilized milk.

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After fresh denounced tunny entrails which were washed and saturated with acetone were crushed to gieces, they were dried at 60°C for one week and powdered. Using weaning rats, the nutritive value of protein of the tunny entrails powder and the growth of animals fed the entrails diets modifying total amino acid contents of them were compared with those of casein.
1) Both protein efficiency ratio and net protein ratio of the protein of tunny entrails were about 75% of those of casein.
2) Biological value of the protein was not so different from that of casein, but net protein utilization was approximately 90% of that of casein owing to its rather lower digestibility.
3) There was no difference in growth of the animals between the tunny entrails and casein diets which had the equal amounts of total amino acids.
4) The growth of rats was not affected by the addition of tunny entrails oil to a casein diet.

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It is necessary to know the daily mineral intake and its balance value for estimating the mineral requirement. Therefore, the mineral balance test was performed for assessing the nutritional states with daily normal diet of 9 male and 10 female children (age: from 3y5m to 6y9m) who are living in the Welfare facilities.
Results Avg. value per kg body weight Intake Retention Calcium 21.7±0.7mg 5.3±0.6mg Phosphorus 31.5±0.8mg 1.7±0.9mg Magnesium 7.0±0.3mg 3.2±0.3mg Sodium 121.9±3.81mg 20.6±2.4mg Iroa 593±19μg 225±26μg

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Quantitative analysis of the tocopherols by direct TLC-densitometry were studied.
This method composed of coloration of tocopherol with bathophenanthrolin and measurement of the optical density at 535nm on the TLC-plate.
From the calibration curves 0-2μg of tocopherols were determinative.
This methods would be applicable in nonequiped laboratory with HPLC.

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The amount of dietary fiber (neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and lignin) in the edible portion; leaf, stalk and bud; of 53 species of wild plants was determined by Van Soest method and also the amounts of crude fiber, water, fat and ash of these plants were estimated. These plants were taken in Fukushima prefecture and belonged to Compositae, Liliaceae, Umbelliferae, Polypodiaceae, Araliaceae, Cruciferaeae, Uruticaceae, Polygonaceae, Caprifoliaceae, Equisetaceae, Rosaceae, Lardinabalaceae, Campanulaceae, Leguminosae, Chenopodiaceae, Saururaceae, Plantaginaceae, Berberidaceae, Saxifragaceae, Rutaceae, Gramineae, Actinidiaceae and Clethraceae.
Takadiastase digestion of plant before analysis of neutral detergent fiber had little effect on the amount of neutral detergent fiber in leaf, stalk and bud of wild plants. The amounts of neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and crude fiber of these plants were 1.07 to 5.92%, 0.79 to 5.19% and 0.64 to 3.67% respectively. The correlation (r) of c ude fiber with neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and cellulose; the difference between acid detergent fiber and lignin; were 0.63, 0.65 and 0.77 respectively. Neutral detergent fiber had a little correlation with nitrogen free extract (r=-0.64) but no correlation with protein and ash (r=-0.24, 0.22).

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