Glycogen was prepared from the fresh oysters (Crassostrea gigas) , collected every month from June 1990 to April 1991, cultured in Hiroshima bay, and the precise α-1, 4-unit-c:hain distributions of different glycogen preparations were analyzed by high performance anion exchange chromatography (HPAEC) after complete debranchi昭 withisoa町 lase.The unit chains of the glycogen, in average chain length (CL) , 10~11 was found to distribute in a range of G2-G35 (G7-G12, predominant) . However, there was a distinct difference in the pattern of unit-chain distributions between summer (spawning season) and autumn to winter (edible season). The fine structure of oyster glycogen (A : B-chains, 0.7 : 1) was elucidated mainly by repeating of the enzymic trimming, which involved in stepwise degradation by β-amylase and pullulanase, and quantitative analysis by HPAEC. The result showed that the multi-branched spherical molecule might be formed by 5 or 6 times inter-linking of the unit-chains (B-chains).

In the nutritional view point, the oyster glycogen was hydrolyzed by salivaly (human) and/ or pancreatic (hog) α-amylase, and the enzymic digest (amylolysis limit, 48 % ) was analyzed by HPAEC. There were produced a variety of maltosaccharides including double branched oligosaccharides. They were gradually hydrolyzed by the intestinal glucosidase (rat) to glucose, though small amounts of branched oligosaccharides appear to remain as non-digestible saccharides.

To obtain better reproductive efficiency in cows, plasma Se concentration is suggested to be more than 70 ppb. To. attain such a high plasma Se concentration the dietary Se concentration must be increased to 0.3 ppm by Se supplementation. In order to supplement Se it is necessary to amend the present law that designates all Se-containing substances as toxic and prohibits the Se usage for feed supplementation. The governmental guidance for Cu and Zn supplementation to swine rations are questionable from a nutritional standpoint because the recommended upper Cu supplementation level is too low to be effective for the improvement of body weight gain and feed efficiency in growing and fattening pigs, and the recommended upper Zn level in composts is also too low, which makes the Zn supplementation to swine rations almost as difficult. However, the Zn requirement for pigs is relatively high and Zn is essentially nontoxic. V also faces the dichotomy of being either an essential nutrient or a radical-producing element accumulated in the kidneys.

A cross-sectional study was carried out to investigate whether urinary selenium (Se) concentrations are related to allergylike symptoms in Japanese students. Void urine samples were collected from 180 male and 265 female students (18-36 years) in Fukui Prefecture. Their personal and family history of medical treatments for allergy and current statuses of allergylike symptoms were asked by a qustionnaire. Urinary Se level adjusted for creatinine concentration (Se/Cr) was significantly higher in females than in males (p<0.001). Although urinary Se/Cr level showed no significant relationship to personal or family history of allergy, it was significantly higher in students with asthmatic symptoms than in students without such symptoms both for males (p<0.001) and females (p<0.05), respectively. Furthermore, younger onset (below the age of 15) and multiplicity of suffering organs (dermal, nasal, ocular, and/or respiratory) showed increasing effects on urinary Se/Cr level in females but not in males. Thus, our results indicate that urinary Se concentrations can be higher in those who have asthmatic symptoms and especially in women who have chronic allergylike symptoms.

Selenium was determined in rice imported from USA, China or Thailand,. and wheat bran, domestic soybean and soybean imported from USA, China Brazil, Argentina or Canada.

Irrespective of country of import, most imported rice had less thari 50 ng/ g of selenium. Bran derived from hard wheat imported from USA or Canada had more than 700 ng/ g of selenium, while domestic wheat bran had less than 40 ng/ g of selenium. Several imported soybean specimens had more than 200 ng/ g of selenium, while most of the domestic soybean had less than 100 ng/ g of selenium. However, the IOM soybean which was imported from the USA and is the most important material for the production of soy-food in Japan showed a low selenium value similarly to the domestic soybean; most of the soybean with high selenium was one used for oil production.

These findings indicate that there is no difference between imported and domestic rice in selenium content, American or Canadian hard wheat has high selenium, and most soybean used for the food production in Japan has less than 100 ng/g of selenium whether domestic or imported.

Eighteen weaning male Wistar rats were produced glioma in brain and were divided into three groups, which received selenium (sodium selenite)0, 2, 5 ppm in drinking water. The accumulation and retention of selenium in brain bearing tumor was investigated. Significant higher concentrations of selenium were observed in tumor tissue than normal brain tissue after exposure to sodium selenite.The difference in selenium concentration between the tumor tissue and contralateral normal brain tissue was not influenced by the weight of body, and water consumption. We observed that selenium was accumulated in the tumor tissue more than in normal brain tissue.

During the investigations of phyiological and pharmacological activities of selenium (Se) compounds, we found that selenite which is the +4 oxidation state of selenium has a good insulin-like action, as evaluated by in vivo and in vitro experiments.

Normalizations of both blood glucose and free fatty acids (FAA) levels of streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats (STZ-rats) were found when they received daily ip injection of both sodium selenite ( +4 Se) or sodium selanate ( +6 Se). However, sodium selenite was effective to inhibite FAA release from isolated rats adipocytes treated with epinephrine.

Based on these results, selenite or selenide, which is a reduced form of Se in cells, was proposed to be an active form of selenium in providing the insulin-mimetic action of selenium compounds.

A tetrapeptide, Secys-Gly-Pro-Cys, is a selenium analog of the peptide moiety occuring at the active site of thioredoxin, which forms an intramolecular 14-membered disulfide loop structure in the oxidized state. We have synthesized the selenium-containing tetrapeptide, and studied its glutathione peroxidase-like activity. The tetrapeptide showed glutathione peroxidase-like activity, which was three times higher than those of glutaselenone and diphenyldiselenide. The high catalytic activity is considered to be due to the intramolecular selenosulfide bond formation in the catalysis.

Fifty μ mol/kg body weight phylloquinone (K₁) and menaquinone-4 (MK-4) were administered perorally to rats cannulated in portal and femoral veins. Two hundred μl of blood was collected from both the veins 0, 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 30, 60, and 120 min, later. Fifty μl of plasma was used to measurement of vitamin Ks with high performansed liquid chromatography. After the administration of K₁ or MK-4, only the same chemical species of Vitamin K administered were detected during the experiment. After the administration of K₁ and MK-4 mixture, K₁ appeared in plasma from 15 min, MK-4 from 10 min, and MK-4 concentration was significantly higher than that of K₁ from 15 min upto 60 min. There was no difference significant in plasma vitamin K concentrations between portal and femoral veins. The concentration of K₁ at 120 min of the mixed dose was 1.3 times as high as that of single dose. In contrast, the concentration of MK4 at 120 min of the mixture dose was 0.5 times as high as that of single dose. These result suggest that the main absorption route of MK-4 may be an extra-portal pathway, MK-4 is absorbed faster than K₁, and some interactions may be present between K₁ and MK-4.

The differentiation-related down regulation of MPO gene was studied in two human myeloid leukemic cell lines. The MPO gene was also strongly expressed in monocytic cell line SKM-1. Exposure of HL-60 or SKM-1 cells to all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) resulted in a remarkable decrease of MPO mRNA levels. Tlie MPO mRNA levels in SKM-1 cells decreased faster than those in HL-60 cells after exposure to ATRA. Exposure of HL-60 cells to 1α ,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃ (1, 25-(OH)₂D₃) resulted in a time-dependent decrease of MPO mRNA levels. While, no decrease of MPO mRNA levels was observed in SKM-1 cells. The increase in c-fms mRNA levels was observed in SKM-1 cells after two days exposure to 1, 25-(OH)₂D₃. The percentage of NBT positive cells in SKM-1 cells was also increasd after 4 days exposure to 1, 25-(OH)₂D₃

During the course of the study on the oxidative damage in fishes, we previously revealed that the primary target organ of ozone toxicity to fish was not gill to cause gill injury but rather red blood cells (RBC). Then decrease of blood antioxidative substances were observed. However, the effect of Vitamin C and Vitamin E against ozone-induced damage has remained unrevealed. In this study.we examined the protective effect of Vitamin C and Vitamin E against ozone induced damage of rainbow trout. The fish, weighing about 65g average, were fed experimental diets containing Vitamin C (V. C ; 100mg / 100g diets), Vitamin E (V. E; 50mg / 100g diets) and V. E-V. C mixture (V. C / E ; V. C 100mg and V. E 50mg / 100g diets) for 10 days. Level of V. C and V. E in plasma and RBC were directly reflected to diets. Fish in ozone exposure group were intermittently exposed to high concentration ozonated water (1.5ppm) for 45min. Control group turned moribund condition by ozone exposure, but V. C, V. E and V. CI E dietary group were little affected by ozon exposure. Then V. C, V. E and V. C / E suppressed RBC hemolysis, membrane lipid peroxidation and decline of Na⁺ / K⁺ ATPase activity by ozone exposure. These results indicate that dietary supplementation of V. C and V. E can be effective protection against oxidative ozone damage.

The palatal development of mouse embryos on day 12 of gestation was studied by a suspension culture technique of the maxilla. In palatal explants of control embryos after 72 hours in culture, the fusion of palatal processes was significantly increased to about 80% in biotin-supplemented medium (more than 10^-8M), as compared with 27 % in the biotin-free medium. Organic acids associated with biotin enzymes such as propionic acid and menthyl crotonic acid, as well as avidin affected the development and fusion of palatal processes. In biotin-deficient palatal explants, the incidence of tha palatal fusion was only 30 % even in biotin-su.pplemented medium (10^-6M). The development of biotin-deficient palatal processes was not completely recovered by biotin supplementation and injection. No pathological changes were observed in the palatal processes cultured in biotin-free medium. These findings indicate that biotin plays an important role as a growth factor in the development of palatal processes and/ or that organic acids may interfere with palatal development in biotin-deficient embryos.

The effect of dietary addition of myo-inositol on lipid metabolism was examined in rats fed diets containing either sucrose or corn starch for 16-17 days. Sucrose-fed rats showed significant increases in hepatic weight, total lipids, triglyceride, cholesterol and serum triglyceride, accompanied by the increased activities of hepatic glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and malic enz_yme compared to rats fed corn starch diet. The increases in these parameters due to sucrose feeding were clearly depressed by -dietary myo-inositol. Sucrose intake also increased serum level of phospholipid, but the effect was not influenced by dietary myo-inositol. In the animals fed corn starch, dietary myo-inositol had no apparent effect on lipid metabolic parameters mentioned above. These results suggest that an exogenous source of myo-inositol may be of importance to animals fed sucrose when compared to rats fed corn starch.

Ganglioside (GMl) binding octylsepharose (CL-4B) column was prepared for the measurement of an interaction between ganglioside and amines by the method of on affinity chromatography. Every amine had an affinity to this column with an increased el凶 onvolume (PBS-K or PBS-Ca) as compared to the control column (CL-4B only).

The most of these affinities were based on an acid-base interaction because of a linear correlation between the elution volume and the basicity of amine. Serotonin, curare and 3-methoxtyramine had more strong affinities including the specific interactions with glycoconjugates than the acid-base interactions. Acetylcholine and dopamine had the weak affinities resulted from the interfering effects of binding to ganglioside.

This interaction may cause to increase the opportunity of the receptor-binding of neurotrans-amine by the delaying the diffusion of amines from synapse gap.

Obesity causes various sickness such as hyperlipoidemia, diabetic mellitus and hypercholesterolia. Obesity was judged by ideal body weight or body mass index (BMI) those were calculated with body weight and height. But these values did not reflect the body fat.

This present report was examined about the health condition of middle aged general public, and the relationship between total body fat (TBF % ) and the blood test values.

TBF % was measured by bioelectrorical impedance analysis method. Blood test was measured on Total Cholesterol, Red Blood Cell, Hematocrit, HDL-Cholesterol, Trigriceride Total Protein GOT, GPT, ALP, Y -GTP, ZTT, Blood Sugar and Blood Pressure. All tests were enforced in medical examination at Kita-ku in Kyoto city.

3152 persons were measured (male 811, female 2341). 90% of male and of female had some abnormal values in the blood test. Among normal subjests, 28. 5 % of female was judged as the obesity from TBF % data, whereas 13.7 % of male was judged as the fatness. Total Cholesterol, HDL-Cholesterol, Triglyceride, GOT, GPT, ALP, γ-GTP, Blood Sugar and Blood Pressure had the correlation with TBF %

Rooibos tea is a kind of herbal tea, which is originated in South Africa. The purpose of this paper is to clarify Con A-Sepharose associated substances in Rooibos tea.

Main mineral contents of Rooibos tea are almost the same as human body fluids. (extra-cellular fluids plus intra-cellular fluids). The Con A-Sepharose associated subsfanes have relatively high values of velocity constant against superoxide radicals. From these results, it is suggested that scavengers and an ideal mineral balance in Rooi}?os tea prevent some adult and geriatric diseases.

The effect of whey mineral complex (WMC) on bone metabolism was studied in growing male rats. The diets containing WMC, defatted WMC, or CaCO₃ were fed to i animals in each group for 28 days. Calcium level in each diet was 0.5 % . The length, width and volume of the femur were not different among all groups. Dry weight and crude ash contents of the femur were significantly higher in the WMC group than in the CaCO₃ group. On the other hand, the femoral dry weight and the crude ash contents in the defatted WMC group were not different from that in the CaCO₃ group. There was the same tendency in breaking energy of the femur as observed in dry weight and crude ash contents. Bone tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase, an index of bone resorption, tended to be lower in the WMC group than the CaCO₃ group. These results suggest that WMC increases bone contents and its mechanical strength. Fat-soluble components of WMC may affect bone metabolism and, thus, may improve bone quality.

The effect of aging on the mineral status in bone was studied using two strains (SAMP1 and SAMR1) of senescence accelerated mouse. Two month old, 6 month old and 10 month old female SAMP1 and SAMR1 mice were fed a commercial diet. Iron, zinc, copper, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sulfur, sodium and potassium concentrations in tibia of the mice were determined. In SAMP1, the iron concentration of 2 month old mice was higher than that of older mice and a significant difference was detected between 2 and 6 month. In addition, the iron levels in SAMP1 were lower than those in SAMR1 at the respective age. The zinc concentration of SAMP1 was significantly increased with age. The zinc concentration of 2 month old mice of SAMP1 was significantly lower than that of SAMR1. In SAMR1, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus concentrations of 10 month old mice were lower compared with those of younger mice. The magnesium concentration of 2 month old mice was significantly higher than that of 10 month old. With respect to aging, the results on iron may reflect a decrease of bone marrow hemopoiesis in SAMP1.

To clarify effect of ionized calcium water for drinking water in rats, 36 Male Wistar rats weighing about 50g were randomly divided into 6 groups, and given following diet and drinking water :1 Ca-sufficient diet, tap-water; 2 Ca-sufficient diet, calcium lactate added-water; 3 Ca-sufficient diet, calcium lactate added-ionized calcium-water : 4 Ca-deficient diet, tap-water; 5 Ca deficient diet, calcium lactate added-water :6 Ca-deficient diet, calcium lactate added-ionized calcium-water. The diets were given by paired-feeding method 4 weeks and drinking water was ad libitum. The significant change of calcium concentration in the rats were as follows; Ca concentration of plasma, spleen, kidney, testis and tibia in Ca deficient groups 4,5,6 were significantly low compared with these in Ca sufficient groups 1,2,3, Ca concentration in brain of groups 4,5,6 was low compared to these in groups2, Ca concentration in heart and muscle of group 4 was low compared to Ca deficient groups1,2,3, but these in group 5 drank Ca added-water was recovered and these in group 6 drand ionized-Ca-water was higher than these in any other groups. Ca concentration of liver in groups 4 were significantly lower than that in group 1,3 and Ca concentration of liver in Ca deficient rats (groups 5,6) drank Ca-added-water were high compared to these in group4. In 24 hours urine discharge of group2 was high compared with groups 4,5,6. In 24 hours feces discharge groups 1,2,3 were high compared with groups 4,5,6. These results suggest that ionized Ca in drinking water may be active for intestinal absoption.

The calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium status of elderly people was studied on 23 healthy men (74.1±2.9 years old ; mean±SD) and 16 healthy women (71.9±2.5 years old) living in Kyoto. We carried out balance studies and dietary surveys by the weighing method for three consecutive days. The mean daily intakes of energy and nutrients fulfilled the recommended dietary allowance for Japanese of their sex, age, weight, and degree of physical activity except for women’s iron. The apparent absorption rates of calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium were negatively correlated with fecal dry weight, except for magnesium in women. Women’s absorption rate of calcium (2±38%) was lower that men’s (23±30%). The mean calcium balance was approximately at equilibrium (-0.6±3.0mg/kg) for men and negative (-1.8±4.1mg/kg) for women. The apparent absorption rate of phosphorus was about 60 % , and phosphorus was approximately balanced in both sexes. The apparent absorption rate of magnesium was about 15 % in both sexes. The calcium balance was negatively correlated with the fecal dry weight.

Selenium (Se) deficiency causes an abnormal hematological profile in animals, and an increased accumulation of iron in various organs. The aim of this study was to investigate whether excess iron has a direct effect on cardiac muscle, leading to increased abnormalities in heart functions, as observed in Keshan disease. Male Wistar rats fed either of following Torula yeast-based Se-deficient [Se (-) ] or Se-adequate [Se (+)] (containing 0.1 ppm Se as sodium selenite) diet for 8 weeks. The animals were injected intramuscularly with iron-dextran (totaling 500mg of iron) . Iron concentrations in the liver and spleen as well as the percentage of transferrin saturation were significantly higher in Se (-) rats without iron overload than in Se (+) rats without iron overload. However,. iron concentrations in the sera, hearts and kidneys did not significantly differ between the groups. Se (-) and Se (+) rats with iron overload showed a 2 to 40-fold increase in iron concentrations of all tissues examined, and 2-fold increase in the percentage of transferrin saturation, regardless of Se status. Se (-) rats with and without iron overload and Se (+) with iron overload all showed a greater T-wave height, a depression of S-T segment and a shallow S-wave. There was a 2-fold increase in T-wave height in Se (-) rats with iron overload compared with Se (-) rats without iron overload. The conclusion derived is that electrocardiogram is abnormal in Se deficiency, probably due to increased myocardial iron deposits.

Bioavailability of iron in ferrous sulfate and hemosiderin, which was prepared from pig liver in the laboratory, was evaluated in terms of hemoglobin regeneration efficiency (HRE % ) in anemic rats. Twenty-four male rats of Wistar strain were made anemic by feeding a casein-based, iron-deficient diet for 21 days. The anemic rats were divided into 4 groups and fed, for additional 30 days, the iron-deficient diet without (negative control group) or with supplementation of ferrous sulfate at 24 or 36 mg Fe/kg diet (24-or 36-reference group) , or the experimental d川 groupreceiving hemosiderin iron at 36 mg Fe/kg diet (hemosiderin group). Relative biological values (RBV), evaluated as HRE % by assuming RBV of 100 for the 24-reference group, were 86 and 90 % for the 36-reference and the hemosiderin groups, respectively. HRE was 47.5±1.6, 40.1±1.6 and 41.8±1.4 for the 24-and 36-reference and hemosiderin groups, respectively. The results obtained indicate that iron in hemosiderin is biologically available as highly as ferrous sulfate is. This observation is in sharp contrast to the previously held notion of the poor bioavailability of hemosiderin iron.

To clarify the effects of the low rubidium diet on trace element status (iron, copper and zinc), eighteen male Wistar rats, 4 weeks old, were divided into two groups and fed control (rubidium level, 8.12 mg/kg) or low rubidium diet (0.54 mg/kg) for 11 weeks. Compared with the rats fed the control diet, the rats fed the low rubidium diet had lower rubidium concentration in tissues. The rats fed the low rubidium diet had higher iron concentration in muscle than the rats fed the control diet. The rats fed the low rubidium diet had lower copper concentration in heart, liver and spleen, and the higher copper concentration in kidney than the rats fed the control diet. The rats fed the low rubidium diet had the lower zinc concentration in plasma and testis than the rats fed the control diet. These results suggest that the low rubidium diet causes the depletion of rubidium in tissues and affects the status of iron, copper and zinc.

Vanadyl sulfate (VS) and sulfur ligand-vanadyl complexes such as bis (N.N-dimethyldithiocarbamato) oxovanadium [V-M], bis (N.N-diehy ldithiocarbamato) oxovanadium [V-E] , bis (pyrrolidine-N-carbodithioato) oxovanadium [V-P] inhibited dose dependently the release of free fatty acid (FFA) from rat adipocytes. Among them, V-P complex was found to be the most effective complex. Therefore, the V-P complex was given to the streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats (STZ-rats) orally or intraperitoneally to examine the effect of the complex in vivo. Blood glucose levels of STZ-rats dropped from hyperglycemic levels to the normal range within one or two days after treatment with V-P complex. In normal rats treated with V-P complex, vanadium distributed in almost tissues, especially in bone and kidney. But in rats treated with VS, vanadium was found in kidney abundantly. Thus, it was suggested that the renal toxicity due to V-P complex is lower than that of VS, indicating that V-P complex is a good agent to treat the diabetes.

Rats of three different ages, i.e., 4 weeks old (stage 1) , 5 weeks old (stage 2) , and 7 weeks old (stage 3) were assigned to four groups, as follows : initiation, zinc-deficiency, ad libitum control and pair-fed control with 8 rats in each group. Before and 4 weeks after the initiation of feeding trials in each growth stage, animals were sacrificed and plasma zinc concentration and body composition were measured. In the earlier 2 stages, contents of protein, fat and ash were less in the zinc-deficient animals than the pair-fed control. And the ratio of fat/protein was lower in the zinc-deficient animals than the pair-fed ones. It is suggested that zinc deficiency more severely impaired the deposition of fat than that of protein of in the younger rats. On the other hand, these impairments disappeared in the last stage when fat deposition most rapidly occurred in ad libitum groups. It appeared that the suppressive effects of feeding the zinc-deficient diet were attenuated in the latter growth stage.

The preparation of no-carrier added Mg-28 (half-life 20.9h, β, r) from a pure Al target irradiated by an a-particle beam has been developed for its biological use. Mg-28 in mice fed the magnesium-sufficient diet had a remarkable accumulation in the kidney, heart, bone and liver. The radioactivity decreased with time in the kidney, heart and blood. The brain uptake was not as high. The radioluminograms presented a accumulation of Mg-28 mainly in heart, kidney, bone and glandula submandibularis in control mouse fed the magnesium-sufficient diet. The radioluminograms of a mouse fed the magnesium-deficient diet revealed high accumulations of Mg-28 in the heart, kidney, gut, and submaillry gland compared with that of control.