In the Republic of Kazakhstan, both one-humped (Camelus dromedaries) and two-humped (C. bactrianus) camels are occurring in pure or mixing herds. A beverage, named “shubat”, is prepared by fermenting camel milk without prior thermal processing. The production procedure is the same as those for the other camel milk beverages named “qaris” and “garris” in African countries, Mongolian “hoormog”, and also “kumiss” that is prepared from raw mare's milk. In this paper we analyzed 5 samples of Kazakhstan made “shubat” prepared from the milk of one-humped camel. The pH of the samples was 3.8-4.1, and the ethanol level varied from 0.6 to 2.8%. There was no significant difference in the chemical composition. The highest levels of amino acid, Ala and Pro contents were 7.8 and 12.3 mg/100 ml, respectively. Regarding trace components, the Zn content was highest in all samples. Sixty-five lactic acid bacterial strains isolated from the samples were identified as Lactobacillus plantarum, L. paracasei subsp. paracasei, L. casei, L. helveticus, and Lactococcus lactis. The identification of yeast is ongoing, and most isolates exhibit a lactose-fermenting property. Since interest in health products has recently been increasing in Kazakhstan, the benefits of “shubat” may be re-evaluated in the near future.

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 We evaluated the daily intake of energy, protein, and micronutrients in exclusively formula-fed infants at 1/2-6 months of age. In 2006-2007, we researched the growth and volume of formula intake in 33,642 infants until 6 months of age by a cross-sectional survey in Japan. The daily nutritional intakes were assessed in 578 exclusively formula-fed infants. The average volume of formula intake was 819, 834, 869, 864, 869 and 928 mL per day at 1/2-1, 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, 4-5 and 5-6 months of age, respectively. The average energy intake per body weight (128 and 84 kcal/kg/day at 1-2 and 5-6 months of age respectively) was comparable to the estimated energy requirements set by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The daily intake of protein and micronutrients except biotin, selenium, and iodine at each age exceeded “the adequate intake” for each nutrient indicated in the Japanese Dietary Reference Intakes (JDRIs). The daily intake of vitamin A and vitamin D at each age was less than “tolerable upper intake level” indicated in the JDRIs, respectively. In the previous report, we showed that growth of the formula-fed infants was comparable to that of breast-fed infants until 6 months of age. In conclusion, the present study has demonstrated that the formula-fed infants take adequate energy to the estimated energy requirements, and that the daily intake of each nutrient from the infant formula is adequate to JDRIs, except for biotin, selenium, and iodine.

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 Trans-fatty acids are contained in partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (PHVO) and ruminant fat. Epidemiological studies have reported that a high intake of industrial trans-fatty acids such as PHVO associates with increasing risk of cardiovascular disease because of their influence on lipoproteins in plasma. In contrast, such a relationship has not been established for ruminant trans-fatty acids. These contrary health effects may be caused by the difference in the distributions of trans-octadecenoic acid (C18:1) positional isomers in PHVO and ruminant fat. However, the differences in the metabolism of trans-C18:1 positional isomers are still under debate. Therefore, many researchers have so far developed analytical methods for the separation and quantification of trans-fatty acid positional isomers by gas chromatography to reveal their metabolic character. This paper reviews the current situation of trans-fatty acid issue and the recent advances in analysis of trans-fatty acid positional isomers.

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